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Augusta Richmond County History
Editorial Committee
Dr. Russell K. Brown, Editor
Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell
Trav Paine
Molly Montgomery
C. Tom Sutherland
The journal is issued twice a year to all members. Cost of the journal to
non-members is $6.00 plus postage. Copies are made available to all local
middle and high school libraries. Bound copies or copies of back issues
may be purchased from the Society ofice.
Augusta Richmond County History publishes papers dealing with local and
area history. The Editors do not assume responsibility for errors of fact or
opinion on the part of the contributors No portion of this journal may be
reproduced by any process or technique, without the consent of the editors
and publishers.
ISSN 99355119
AUGUSTA RICHMOND COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
c/o Reese Library, Georgia Regents University
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Augusta, GA 30904-2200
(706) 737-1532
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Augusta: A Pictorial History
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Confederate City: Augusta, Georgia, 1860-1865
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Historical Markers and Monuments of Richmond County, Georgia
Marguerite Flint Fogleman ............................Paperback ........................... $9.95
Reminiscences of Augusta Marines
Edited by A. Ray Rowland ............................Hardback .......................... $15.00
Journal of Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell
Edited by Colin Campbell .............................Paperback ......................... $15.00
Memories: The Academy of Richmond County, 1783-1983
Alethia E. Nowell ..........................................Hardback .......................... $25.00
Trustees of the Town: The Story of Richmond Academy Trustees
Alethia E. Nowell .........................................Hardback .......................... $20.00
From Greenhouses to Green Jackets (Expanded Edition)
Compiled and Edited by
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From Balloons to Blue Angels
Dr. Edward J. Cashin ....................................Hardback .......................... $25.00
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Augusta Richmond County
Historical Society, Inc.
2014
Executive Committee
President
President-elect
Past President
Treasurer
Secretary
Advisor
Administrator
Trav Paine
Dr. Jim Garvey
Charlie Tudor
Hamp Manning
Julia N. Jackson
Dr. Robert R. Nesbit
Molly Montgomery
Board of Directors
2012-2015
Richard Magruder
Dr. Robert R. Nesbit
Catherine Wahl
2013-2016
Cobbs Nixon
Thomas H. Robertson
Corey Rogers
2014-2017
John Bell
Elizabeth Henry
Robert Osborne
Standing Committees
Historian
Journal Editor
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Veterans Affairs
Web Master
Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell
Dr. Russell K. Brown
Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell
Mary Gail Nesbit
C. Tom Sutherland
Edward M. Gillespie
Veterans History Project Coordinators
World War II
Korea and Vietnam
Fred Gehle
Bill Tilt and Stan Schrader
1
Augusta and the Civil War Symposium Series
hursday, November 6, 2014
At the Morris Museum of Art
1 Tenth Street
6:00 p.m.: Reading by Allan
Gurganus, author of Oldest Living
Confederate Widow Tells All.
Reception and book signing follow.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Augusta Museum of History
560 Reynolds Street
6:30 p.m.: Dr. Edward J. Cashin
Memorial Woodrow Wilson
Lecture: “Marching hrough the
Heart of Georgia,” presented by
Dr. Anne Sarah Rubin, University
of Maryland,-Baltimore. Reception to follow. he Friday night event is open to
the public free of charge.
Symposium Series
1864
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Augusta Museum of History
560 Reynolds Street
9:00 a.m.: Registration (Cost $30.00)
9:30-10:30 a.m.: “Gen. William
H.T. Walker of Augusta in the
Atlanta Campaign of 1864,” presented by Dr. Russell K. Brown.
The War Comes
to Georgia
10:30 -10:45 a.m. Break
10:45-11:45 a.m.: “Ella Gertrude
Clanton homas,” presented by
Dr. Carolyn Curry
November 6–8, 2014
11:45 a.m. -1:15 p.m.: Lunch
1:15 to 2:30 p.m.: Eighth
Regimental Band “Songs of the
Civil War”
2
Augusta Richmond County History
The Oficial Journal of the
Augusta Richmond County Historical Society, Inc.
Volume 45, No. 2
Fall 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Society Notes .............................................................................................. 4
Devoted to the King’s Service:
Loyalist James Grierson of Augusta, Georgia .......................................... 5
Steven J. Rauch
His Brother’s Keeper:
The Life of Major John David Walker, C.S.A. ....................................... 32
Russell K. Brown
3
Society Notes
Our President Trav Paine sends a message to our members:
We thank you for your interest and support of the Augusta Richmond County
Historical Society. Your membership afirms our place as an important cultural
entity in Augusta and helps us fulill our mission: to collect, preserve and present
the history of Richmond County. The diverse stories of our community and its
citizens involve the telling of major nation and international events from our local
history.
We are sustained by our members and contributions, and we need your
continued membership – the annual dues are very reasonable and your membership
fee will enable us to provide speakers programs, publish our semi-annual journal
and expand and maintain our collections at Reese Library. All members receive the
journal and invitations to our regular programs and special events.
We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to renew your annual
membership and reach out to recruit a new member for 2015. You might consider
a gift membership for someone you know who cares about local history. For those
who want to, membership is now as easy as a phone call to the ofice with a credit
card number. Please help us continue to grow and serve our community.
This issue brings us articles about two Augusta soldiers who gave their lives
for causes they believed in, in both cases ighting against the forces of the United
States. Steve Rauch, a name familiar to ARCHS members, brings us the tragic tale
of a Revolutionary era murder while your editor digs into his archives for the story
of the untimely death of a young Confederate oficer.
Reminders about forthcoming and ongoing historically-themed events are
also featured in this issued. Our members are encouraged to attend the upcoming
Civil War Symposium, 6-8 November this year; the annual Jimmy Dyess
Symposium next January; and the regular monthly meetings of the Augusta Civil
War Roundtable. See the advertisements at the front and back of the journal for
particulars.
Our cover illustration is a photo portrait of Major John David Walker, C.S.A.,
courtesy of Hugh M. Walker of North Augusta, S.C.
4
Devoted to the King’s Service:
Loyalist James Grierson of Augusta, Georgia
Steven J. Rauch
Steven J. Rauch is the Command Historian at the U.S. Army Cyber Center
of Excellence at Fort Gordon. He is a former ARCHS board member and a
frequent contributor to this journal.
On October 4, 1781, readers of the Savannah Royal Georgia Gazette
were given the opportunity to read the lyrics of a song entitled “The
Volunteers of Augusta” that relected the wide range of emotions faced
by those living during the turmoil known as the American Revolution.1
The sentiments relected the loyal subjects of the crown; particularly those
who took up arms against their fellow countrymen – the Whig rebels who sought to impose a radical government upon what had once been an
ordered society. The song was to be sung to the tune of the “The Lilies of
France.” The irst stanza conveyed a universal spirit of camaraderie and
military glory that could apply to any group of men, whatever their cause:
COME join, my brave lads, come all from afar,
We’re all Volunteers, all ready for war;
Our service is free, for honour we ight,
Regardless of hardships by day or by night.
The chorus then made clear, this free service was for Great Britain by the
lines:
Then all draw your swords, and constantly sing,
Success to our Troop, our Country, and King.
The second stanza relected the destruction and death attributed to
the Whig rebels intended to generate raw emotion and hate toward the
“patriots” with the lines:
The Rebels they murder, - Revenge is the word,
Let each lad return with blood on his sword;
See Grierson’s pale ghost point afresh to his wound,
We’ll conquer, my boys, or fall dead on the ground.
5
For Georgia Loyalists the mention of Grierson’s wounded ghost
needed no further explanation – he was a martyred victim of the
murdering rebels. As if to stir the baser emotions, the Chorus changed to a
more violent tone:
Then brandish your swords, and constantly sing,
Success to our Troop, our Country, and King.
The third stanza relected a crescendo of violence and revenge, perhaps
to convince those wavering as to why the Whigs deserved no sympathy:
They’ve plunder’d our houses, attempted our lives,
Drove off from their homes our children and wives;
Such plundering miscreants no mercy can crave,
Such murdering villains no mercy shall have.
With that, the chorus bluntly stated what needed to be done:
Then chop with your swords, and constantly sing,
Success to our Troop, our Country, and King.
So who was Grierson and why was his name used in this song to
justify killing the hated rebels?
Colonel James Grierson had been the commander of the 2nd Regiment
of Royal Georgia militia and was murdered while conined as a prisoner
of war at his house in Augusta, Georgia, on June 7, 1781. Grierson was
shot to death in the presence of numerous witnesses, to include his young
children, by a vengeful Georgia Whig militiaman. A few days later when
Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the Southern Department
of the Continental Army, demanded to know who committed the crime,
no one came forward with any information. Nobody claimed to have
seen anything, which perhaps relected the strong bond of local interests,
combined with heightened emotions during a period of social disruption
that accepted Grierson’s murder as something that needed to be done.
Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, a Virginian, was so shocked by
such internecine violence he encountered during military operations in
backcountry Georgia and South Carolina that he concluded, “In no part of
the South was the war conducted with such asperity as in this quarter. It
often sank into barbarity.”2
6
James Grierson family bible currently in possession of Willabelle Schyultz. This bible has
travelled across the Atlantic three times and provides a valuable record of Grierson and his
family during their residence in Augusta from 1767 to 1781.
Photo by Willabelle Schyultz, 2007
In the literature of the Revolutionary War in the south, and particularly
Georgia, James Grierson’s death has come to symbolize the violence of
civil war. But it was even more tragic because it was also the death of
an American family that had already lost their mother and two children,
leaving behind three young orphaned boys to the care of strangers.
Because of these circumstances very little documentation such as letters,
memoirs, or other records remain from which to more fully understand
who James Grierson was. However, within the extended Grierson family
descendants, an important document has survived - the family bible,
which provides a glimpse into the Griersons and the tragedy they suffered
while living in Augusta.3 Even with this source, however, information
about James Grierson is scarce and must be gleaned from the few direct
references by his contemporaries and public records, as well as deductive
reasoning based upon the lives of others who shared Grierson’s loyalist
views, and sometimes, fate.
7
Home in Augusta – Grierson and His Family
James Grierson was born on January 6, 1741 in Dumfries, Scotland, on
the Larbreck Estates manor, the oldest of ive children of Thomas Grierson
and Elizabeth Ewart. Two of his younger brothers, Thomas and Robert,
would also join James in seeking a life in the American colonies. Exactly
when James Grierson arrived in Georgia is not clear, but a record of the
Georgia colonial council that convened on September 2, 1766, noted a
petition from him in which he stated he had been living in Georgia since
June 1762, when he was about 21 years old. In the petition, Grierson
sought 1,000 acres of land on the Little River near Upton’s Creek upon
which he wanted to build a saw-mill and grist-mill in order to provide
back-country settlers, “the many Conveniences [that] would accrue to
those People from having a Store settled among them.”4
On May 14, 1767 James Grierson married Katherine McBurnie,
who was also from Dumfries, and later that year they settled in Augusta,
Georgia. Shortly thereafter, on July 7, 1767, Governor James Wright
signed the grant awarding Grierson his 1,000 acres near the Little River
in St. Paul’s Parish. Grierson petitioned the government for additional
Plan of the Town, Common, and Township of Augusta, 1736-1781. Lot 10 was awarded to
James Grierson in 1767. Fort Grierson was probably where the number 10 is shown on the
map. Map drawn by Thomas Heard Robertson, 2002.
8
land later that year, this time a 50 acre township lot near Augusta. That
particular land, identiied as Lot 10 of the township lots, had been
owned by John Pettygrew, who died on February 14, 1758, leaving the
property to his wife Katherine and his daughter Jane. However, the
lot was unoccupied and there was no land grant registered in his name.
Thus Grierson sought to obtain this lot through a grant in his and Jane
Pettygrew’s names as tenants in common subject to the powers and
limitations of John Pettygrew’s will.5 The petition awarding the property
to Grierson and Pettygrew was granted on December 1, 1767. This
lot was situated west of the town of Augusta proper, between two rills
of water known as Campbell’s Gully and Hawks Gully. The location
provided important access to the Savannah River with approximately 660
feet of river front property for use. From the river, the lot stretched 3,300
feet south- south west thus forming an elongated rectangular shape. Today
this lot is identiied as abutting the Savannah River between 12th and
13th streets with the back, or lower, boundary being approximately along
Fenwick Street. The landowners to Grierson’s east and south were Francis
Macartan and Martin Campbell (hence Campbell’s gully) and to the west
the landowner was James Parris.6
On this substantial property, Grierson established an animal pelt
wholesale trading company for which he built an extensive complex of
buildings that included a large brick dwelling house, two additional houses
with brick cellars, several storehouses, or barns, a kitchen, a stable, and
a house for accommodating his servants.7 The Griersons thus joined a
growing community described by fellow resident Robert Mackay, Jr. as
“a small town, the houses standing far apart from each other, being few in
number, but occupied by very worthy and respectable people.”8
Life was good for the Griersons in the early 1770s and their family
soon grew. On May 9, 1768, a son, James, Jr., was born followed by
another son, Thomas, on November 14, 1770.9 On January 7, 1772,
James Grierson, along with James McFarlin, were appointed as Justices
of the Peace for St. Paul’s Parish, thus indicating the now 31- year-old
Grierson was becoming a man of importance and status in Augusta, the
greater parish, and the Georgia colony. On January 24, 1773, another
son, David, was welcomed into the family, further adding to the growing
family, business, and political life of James Grierson. In the fateful year
of 1775, the Griersons welcomed a daughter to their family on March
14. They named her Katherine, after her mother, and like most fathers
9
Grierson became strongly attached to her. She would be followed by one
more child, a son who they named George on July 2, 1777. Unknown
to Grierson at the time, this event was probably one of the last happy
occasions he would experience as a husband and father.
Danger on the Frontier – The Establishment of Fort Grierson
With the opening of new lands for settlement above Augusta in 1773,
the chance for conlict between English settlers and the Creek and Cherokee Indians increased, with a concomitant danger to those living near Augusta. Thus the male inhabitants service as members of the militia would
be needed should an outbreak of violence occur. In 1772, James Grierson
was already serving as a militia oficer in the parish regiment. David
Taitt, deputy to British Indian Superintendent John Stuart, was travelling
through Augusta and noted his impressions about the readiness of the
militia for combat in a journal entry on August 4, 1772 [spelling as in the
original]:
This being His Majestys Birth Day, I went to see the Malitia of
this place Reviewed by their Oficers. The men made a very Sorry
Appearance, some having Old rusty irelocks, other Rifles, and
some being well Clothed and Others with Osnaburgh Shirts and
Trousers; they ired platoons as ununiformly as their Acuttrements
and dress. After the Review I went to Drink his Majestys health
with the oficers, where a Mr. Greersons, who is Captain of this
banditto, came to me to make an Appologey for his brothers
behavour in the Creek nation.10
The state of the militia’s skills was important because in late 1773
bands of Lower Creek Indians began attacking white settlers in the
newly Ceded Lands. On December 25, 1773, a white family was
massacred on their settlement near the headwaters of the Ogeechee
River. The danger to Augusta increased on January 14, 1774, when the
Creeks attacked a stockade settlement known as Shirrol’s Farm west
of the Quaker settlement of Wrightsborough. This necessitated calling
the militia into service and on January 21, 1774, Grierson detached a
small militia unit under Captain William Goodgion to assist the Georgia
Rangers, commanded by Captain Edward Barnard, to quell the uprising.
Unfortunately, this small unit was ambushed by about 100 black and red
painted Indians who drove off the militia who offered little resistance and
10
lost seven men killed in the action. Many settlers then abandoned the
Ogeechee River area until defensive forts could be built for protection.
The emergency soon ended when British Indian agents arrived to restore
order between the Creeks and the Georgians.11
This emergency prompted Grierson and other Augustans to undertake
improvements of their property to ensure their physical safety during any
future Indian crisis. Grierson fortiied his house with a picketed stockade
and bastions, resulting in an extensive structure that became known as
Fort Grierson. These improvements included setting slotted wooden posts
in which boards up to three inches thick were then stacked to form a
ten to twelve foot high wall. Later, in 1779, British commander Lt. Col.
Archibald Campbell described Fort Grierson as “a stockade work with
four bastions and eight small pieces of cannon, . . . about 60 yards from
the west side of the principle street.”12 These bastions, or pentagonal
lankers at the corners of the stockade, were two stories tall and provided
enough room for up to 40 men and for positioning small artillery pieces,
such as two, three, or four pounder cannon, on the second story of the
structure.13
From the information gathered from eyewitnesses such as Campbell,
extant maps of the period, and property records research, Fort Grierson
would have been located south of the 1200 block of Broad Street and
north of Greene Street, between present 12th and 13th streets. Campbell
stated Fort Grierson was located 60 yards (or 180 feet) from the west or
south side of the principle street.14 This information puts it perhaps on,
or just north, of Ellis Street, assuming all measurements were symmetric,
something highly unlikely given the distortion resulting from over 240
years of urban development. Never the less, these facts do establish
that Fort Grierson was nowhere near the historical marker titled, “Fort
Grierson” purporting to be the “approximate location” of the site next
to the Fire Station on the corner of Reynolds and 11th Street, about one
quarter of a mile away.15 In fact, that property was part of Lot 8 or 9 which
was not owned or granted to Grierson.
Friends Versus Friends – Revolution in Augusta
In 1774 the British Intolerable Acts elicited protests from the
American colonies, including Savannah merchants who objected to the
possibility that what was happening in New England could happen in
11
Fort Grierson historical marker next to the ire station on the corner of 11th Street and
Reynolds Street in Augusta. This location is about 1/4 mile away from where the fort
probably stood. There are two errors in the text. Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee,
the father of Robert E. Lee, was at Augusta. Richard Henry Lee was a prominent Virginia
politician, but did not serve in the military. Grierson was captured on June 5, 1781 after
the surrender of Fort Cornwallis, not while leeing during the attack on Fort Grierson. He
was murdered on June 7, 1781. Photo by the author, 2005
Georgia as well. However, the backcountry settlers were of a different
mind-set, mainly because of the government’s recent support of settlers’
interests over that of the Indians and traders in the Ceded Lands, which
resulted in a feeling of harmony with the status quo. In St. Paul’s
Parish, petitions were signed proclaiming loyalty to the King because
of his “powerful aid and assistance as none but Great Britain can give,”
in protection against the Indians which would be jeopardized by those
opposing royal authority.16 One of those signing such a petition was James
Grierson, now a Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Georgia
militia, having been appointed by Governor James Wright in recognition
of his ability to handle responsibility over more than a decade living as a
productive citizen of St. Paul’s Parish.
12
Unfortunately, in the coming struggle for political control of the
colonies, this appointment placed Grierson in a dificult position between
his friends and neighbors who favored the Whig or Patriot movement
and those who rejected such rebelliousness and disloyalty. Here the
record does not mention Grierson’s views or opinions, and perhaps this
omission or the absence of any signiicant comment by contemporaries
about his position may indicate he was very careful about exposing his
true views until certain of the way events were heading. In this regard
his connections as a family man, business man, justice of the peace and
militia oficer appear to have been regarded favorably by those established
residents of Augusta and St. Paul’s Parish who knew him and his large
family. Thus, he may not have been viewed as a threat or with suspicion
by either faction until decisive events or his reaction to them prompted a
change in those views.
One such event that compelled Grierson to take a stand occurred
during the summer of 1775 when loyalist Thomas Brown, a recently
arrived English planter who was granted substantial tracts of land
northwest of Augusta (in the present Appling area of Columbia County),
was treated roughly by a mob of liberty boys to include being tarred and
feathered because of his loyalist views.17 On August 6, 1775, Grierson
wrote to Governor Wright about the political disturbances near Augusta,
speciically the abuse at the hands of the Whigs of Thomas Brown who
was, “brought to Augusta, and having Tarr’d & Feather’d him, Carried
him through the Town in a Cart, Next morning he was Set at Liberty.”18
When Brown led to Ninety-Six, South Carolina, there was a rumor that
Col. Thomas Fletchall with 700 loyalist men were going to visit Augusta
to take reprisals against Brown’s assailants. The parish committee
requested Grierson to call out the militia against Brown and Fletchall,
but he hesitated to do so and on August 6 requested further instructions
from Wright as to what action he should take, closing his letter to the
Governor with, “I shall wait your Excellency’s Instructions for my
further Conduct.”19 Wright replied on August 17 that he thought Grierson
acted “very properly” and ordered him not to call out the militia unless
directly instructed by him, the governor. Though the Loyalist threat
never occurred, one can deduce from the exchange that Grierson’s support
rested with the existing government, however, the unrest was still in its
embryonic stage. The state of affairs became more deined in 1776 when
Wright led the colony, allowing the Whigs to gain control of the Georgia
political structure.
13
For a period of time Grierson somehow managed to maintain an
uncommitted status within the new political environment, but personal
tragedies began to overshadow the social unrest. In 1777 Grierson
learned his brother Thomas had been killed by Whigs on October 30.
Thomas had married a Creek Indian woman and had a son, John
Grierson, who James would provide for in his will. It was during this
time many loyalists lost hope that any help would be coming and began
to uproot and move south to British Florida. Grierson and his family
stayed in Augusta, but tragedy struck their family on August 20, 1778,
when Katherine died at age 42. As 1778 came to a close, the now
37-year-old Grierson found himself a widower with ive small children
to care for and living under a radical government at odds with his
political views.
Sketch map of Augusta, Georgia in 1779 by Archibald Campbell and engraved by William
Faden, 1780. Note the location of Grierson’s property in relation to the town and other
features. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries
14
On December 28, 1778, a British expedition from New York lead by
Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell captured Savannah, prompting the Whig
government to lee to Augusta for refuge. There a new executive council,
called a “committee,” formed on January 9, 1779, and used Fort Grierson
as their headquarters, but only for a brief time because on January 31,
Campbell and his troops arrived in Augusta on a mission to meet loyalist
supporters from the backcountry and assure them their government had
returned. Unfortunately for Grierson and his fellow loyalists, the British
would not stay for long – only about two weeks – when Campbell,
concerned about Whig troops from North and South Carolina gathering
across the Savannah River, decided to abandon Augusta and return to
Savannah, much to the shock of the loyalists.
It is not clear how Grierson fared politically at this time, but his
personal life continued to decline on September 7, 1779, when his four
and a half-year old daughter Katherine died. Grierson wrote in the family
bible, “Katherine My dearly beloved and sweet little daughter died. She
was a pretty and most promising child – my future hope and constant
care.”20 During the long winter of 1779-1780 Grierson’s actions are
unknown, but surely his neighbors and friends on either side of the
political spectrum recognized his grief and he seemed to have weathered
the stormy political waters, still retaining his property and, apparently, his
loyalty to Great Britain.
Return of the Empire – Grierson as a Loyalist Leader
After the British victory at Charleston in May 1780, Grierson emerged
as a prominent Georgia loyalist leader being commissioned again by
Wright in June 1780 as colonel of the 2nd Regiment of militia. When
Lt. Colonel Thomas Brown returned to Augusta with his regiment of
provincial King’s Rangers, Grierson assisted him in re-establishing
royal control of the area. However, that control was tenuous as proved
on September 14 when Georgia militia Colonel Elijah Clarke attacked
Augusta with about 500 Georgia and South Carolina Whig militia. The
attack was such a surprise that Grierson was not able to call out the
loyalist militia in time and while the main battle raged to the west of town,
a Whig column quickly captured Fort Grierson, to include the cannon, and
then made use of the facility as a headquarters during the battle. From
September 15 to 18 Grierson’s exact role in the siege of Mackey’s trading
post is unknown, but he was with Brown participating in the defense until
15
relieved by loyalist units from Ninety-Six led by Lt. Col. John Harris
Cruger. After Cruger broke the siege on September 18, Grierson, along
with the provincial troops and some Indians, captured and killed several
Whig stragglers.
It was during the actions following Clarke’s failed attack that Grierson
likely incurred the wrath of his fellow Georgians. On September 20,
1780, Cruger led a force of loyalists into Wilkes County in pursuit of
Clarke and his fellow rebels. Cruger took his force north-east along
the bank of the Savannah River while Grierson marched the Richmond
County loyalist militia west toward Wrightsboro. For eight days
Grierson’s and Cruger’s men searched the countryside for rebels and
exacted retribution by burning the courthouse and numerous frontier
forts and houses of the “most notorious villains.” Clarke and 700 Georgia
men, women and children escaped beyond the Broad River thereby ending
the Georgia loyalist pursuit which was handed off to a loyalist unit in
South Carolina commanded by Major Patrick Ferguson. In the course of
this punitive expedition, the loyalists seized twenty-one mostly elderly
men as hostages who were then marched on foot from Wilkes County to
Augusta in order to provide insurance against another attack at the risk of
their lives.21
During the fall of 1780 Brown was directed by British general Lord
Cornwallis, commanding in the South, to prepare more thorough defenses
in case of another Whig attempt on Augusta. Brown organized the construction of a fortiication on the site of Saint Paul’s Church, which he
named Fort Cornwallis in honor of his commander.22 The Reverend James
Seymour of St. Paul’s wrote about this fort on the site of his parish,“The
Oficers and Engineers thought it advisable to make a Fortress at Augusta
to guard against a similar attack; where the Church stands was deemed
the most proper ground for that purpose, and the Burying Ground is now
made a strong fortiication.”23
As spring 1781 approached, the loyalist base at Augusta became
increasingly isolated and harassed by numerous marauding Whig bands.
On March 10, 1781, Grierson’s oldest son James died just shy of
thirteen years old. It was also about this time that American Major
General Nathanael Greene, commander of the Southern Theater of
Operations, embarked upon operations to reduce the British and Loyalist
military garrisons in South Carolina and Georgia. The Americans
16
were very successful and by the middle of May, only two major
British posts remained to be conquered, Ninety-Six and Augusta. On
May 4, 1781, Grierson and Brown wrote to James Wright asking for
reinforcements because several hundred rebels had formed a loose cordon
around the town which isolated it from other posts. Wright requested
help from the military commander in Savannah, Colonel Frederick von
Porbeck but was refused as the defense of that city had more priority than
the outposts.
Meanwhile, Greene ordered South Carolina militia leader Brigadier
General Andrew Pickens and Continental Lieutenant Colonel Henry
Lee, commanding Lee’s Legion, a mixed force of cavalry and infantry,
to join forces with the Georgia militia commanded by Clarke to force
the surrender of the garrison at Augusta. Greene would take the main
army to besiege Cruger at Ninety-Six. On May 22 Lee joined Pickens
and Clarke at their encampment in the woods on the hill northwest of
Augusta.24 There, the Patriot commanders studied the Loyalist positions
and formed a plan. Lee and Pickens decided to attack Fort Grierson
irst, defeat the smaller post, and then turn their effort to the main enemy
position at Fort Cornwallis. They observed that Campbell’s Gully
provided good protection for units to maneuver between the two enemy
positions and prevent the loyalists from assisting each other. The patriot
forces consisted of approximately 1,500-1,700 men. Lee had about
468 Continental troops, including a 6-pounder artillery piece; Pickens
had about 550 men from various S.C. militia regiments; and Clarke had
about 500 men from various Georgia and backcountry areas, to include a
4-pounder cannon.25
The plan of attack on Fort Grierson called for Pickens and Clarke to
attack from the northwest with their Georgia and Carolina militia. Major
Samuel Hammond would lead this attack with every second man carrying
an ax to cut away the surrounding stockade.26 A detachment of Georgia
militia commanded by Major James Jackson was placed under command
of Major Pinketham Eaton who along with his North Carolina continentals
would assault from the southeast.27 Lee ordered his legion infantry, supported by the 6-pounder cannon, to move parallel to Eaton down Campbell’s gulley toward the southeast to establish a blocking position to intercept Brown should he decide to save Grierson. Lee ordered Capt. Joseph
Eggleston and his mounted troops to positions south of Fort Cornwallis to
intercept Brown should he try to advance upon Lee.28
17
The loyalists facing this threat were stuck in two fortiications out of
supporting distance (i.e. weapons range) of each other. There were about
236 King’s Rangers,29 a small number of militia, 300 Indians30 and almost
200 slaves31 in Fort Cornwallis along with two artillery pieces. James
Grierson had about 80 militia and two artillery pieces with him inside Fort
Grierson. The total Loyalist force numbered about 800-900 men.
On the morning of May 24, the Whigs attacked Fort Grierson.32 It did
not take long for Grierson and his men to realize they were outmatched
and they attempted to escape by using the cover of the riverbank to make
their way toward Fort Cornwallis. Brown’s rangers sallied from Fort
Cornwallis to cover Grierson’s withdrawal and began to ire upon Lee’s
blocking position with artillery. Lee returned ire from his 6-pounder and
Sketch of the action during the attack on Fort Grierson, 24 May 1781, overlaid on a
contemporary Augusta map. Sequence of events begins with the Whig assault upon Fort
Grierson (1) during which Grierson and his men attempt to lee to the safety of the river
bank (2). Thomas Brown then engages Henry Lee’s troops with artillery to distract and
provide covering ire for Grierson’s escape (3) and enable the survivors to reach the safety
of Fort Cornwallis (4) effectively ending the action for that day. Map by the author, 2014.
18
an artillery duel ensued between Lee and Brown, though it had little effect
nor did it inlicted any measurable losses.33
Grierson’s light to Cornwallis was disastrous and resulted in 30 of his
men killed, including his second in command, Major Howard.34 Georgia
militiaman Samuel Beckaem described the scene as “the old Field was
Strewed from one fort to the other,” with dead loyalists.35 About 45 of Grierson’s men were made prisoner and some of them were wounded. Lee
stated incorrectly in his memoirs that Grierson was made prisoner during
this event and was murdered upon surrendering.36 But Grierson, Major
Henry Williams and a few others made it to Fort Cornwallis where they
joined Brown in continuing the defense.37
During the next several days the Patriots conducted a siege of Fort
Cornwallis in European fashion using entrenchments, a task which the
Whig militia were not experienced at or enthused about. Lee suggested
Illustration of the 2nd battle of Augusta from the perspective of inside Fort Cornwallis
which was located on the present site of St. Paul’s Church. To the right is the Savannah
River, to the front left is the “Maham” tower lying the American lag, and inside are two
iring platforms for the Loyalist artillery. Men of the King’s Rangers are wearing their
green coats and there are several Indians and slaves portrayed as well.
Dick Westcott, Augusta Museum of History
19
an idea employed during the siege of Fort Watson, S.C., in April, which
involved building a wooden iring platform so artillery and musket ire
could be aimed over Fort Cornwallis’ walls directly into the fort. This
tower could hold a 6-pounder cannon and allow more effective ire on the
defenders. Brown was determined to resist and over several days his men
sortied from Fort Cornwallis to attack their besiegers. At one point Brown
tried to place explosives in an abandoned house hoping the Patriots would
try to occupy it so he could blow them up, but the trick was discovered
and the plan failed.
On May 31 Pickens requested Brown to surrender but he refused
and the artillery in the tower began its deadly ire upon Fort Cornwallis.
The patriots were prepared to stage a inal assault on June 4, but Brown
decided that further resistance was not possible. On June 5, 1781, the
British surrendered Fort Cornwallis and the town of Augusta. The
loyalists laid down their arms and marched out of the fort. Total casualties
of the battle were 40 patriots killed or wounded while the loyalists lost 52
killed and 334 captured.
Retribution by the Georgia Patriots
Thomas Brown was allowed to surrender inside the fort prior to the
oficial ceremony and he was then escorted to Lee’s quarters by a heavy
guard from the legion to protect him from the patriot militia. Lee wrote
about these measures:
This precaution was indispensable . . . Lieutenant-Colonel
Browne’s life was, we knew, sought with avidity; consequently it
became our duty to secure his person before the garrison marched
out . . . . The laurels acquired by the arms of America would have
been stained by the murder of a gallant soldier, who had committed
himself to his enemy on their plighted faith.38
The emotionally charged atmosphere between the patriots and loyalists
required extreme precautions to safeguard the oficers of the King’s Rangers, a mission one oficer of Lee’s Legion said was one of the most dangerous he had to conduct during the war.39 Writing after the war, Brown
expressed appreciation for the protection, stating:
20
From Colonel Lee, who commanded the Continental Legion, a
gentleman of the most honourable and liberal sentiments, and
from his oficers, the King’s troops experienced every security
and attention; from the militia, under a General Pickens, every
species of abuse and insult. Colonel Lee and his oficers exerted
themselves in an uncommon degree and took every possible
precaution to protect the prisoners from violence.40
Apparently the blanket of protection given to Brown and his oficers was not extended to the loyalist militia. Grierson was conined to
his house at Fort Grierson and watched by only a light guard. Meanwhile,
Lee was preparing his Partisan Corps (the Legion) to move to Ninety-Six
as soon as possible to assist Greene in the siege there, so he appeared to
have little time for local concerns, which now belonged to General Pickens. According to Dr. Thomas Taylor, a loyalist who was with Grierson
during the battle and subsequent events:
[T]hat very Morning I went to see that gallant unfortunate Man
[Grierson] & upon my carrying him a drink of Water some of the
miscreants about bestow’d upon us both the bitter Curses; he told
me that his Life was threatened & if not remov’d from the Place
where he then was he was certain the Threat would be executed.
He therefore begg’d me to represent the matter thro’ Col: Brown to
Col: Lee which I did but in vain.41
On June 8, 1781, two couriers probably passed each other on Martintown
road between Augusta and Ninety-Six. The messenger from NinetySix carried a dispatch from Greene to Colonel Elijah Clarke at Augusta
intended to address the aftermath of rebel victory over the British garrison.
Greene’s letter was written on June 7 and arrived at Augusta on June 9.
Greene told Clarke:
The high reputation you have . . . induces me to address my self
to you to use your inluence to restrain two very capital evils
which rage in the Country and which if not prevented must soon
depopulate it. I mean private murders and plundering, . . . Let
me entreat you to exert your self as much as possible to stop the
progress of this business, and which if not put an end to very
soon, I shall be obliged to . . . inlict capital punishment on such
offenders which I will most assuredly do if they do not desist.42
21
Obviously Greene had some concerns he felt needed to be made very
clear to Whig militia leaders of the backcountry; that they must keep in
mind the ultimate aims of the war and avoid unnecessary bloodshed in the
name of retribution for past events.
Meanwhile, the letter traveling from Augusta to Ninety-Six intended
for Greene was from Brig. Gen. Andrew Pickens, the senior Whig
commander at Augusta. Pickens had to inform Greene of a “situation”
that had occurred at Fort Grierson:
A very disagreeable and melancholy affair which happened
yesterday in the afternoon, occasions my writing to you at this time.
I had ridden down to Browne’s Fort where I had been but a few
minutes, when information was brought me that a man had ridden
up to the door of a room here, where Col. Grierson was conined,
and, without dismounting, shot him so that he expired soon after, . . .
I have given orders for burying Col. Grierson this afternoon with
military honors.43
This was exactly the type of incident Greene had implored Clarke
to deter. Grierson and Major Henry Williams of Wilkes County were
conined to Grierson’s house in the upper quarters while many rank and
ile were held in the cellar. Samuel Beckaem identiied Captain James
Alexander as the man who called Grierson to the door under the pretense
of speaking to him. Alexander’s father had been one of the elderly
hostages taken from Wilkes County to Augusta during the punitive raid
into Wilkes County back in September 1780. Grierson went to meet
Alexander who, “saluted him with a rile ball” which killed him.
Another account says that Grierson was in an upstairs balcony, but
also identiied Alexander as the killer. His murder also may have
happened in the presence of his three children. Grierson was then
apparently stripped of his clothes, his naked body mutilated, and then
thrown into a ditch outside the house.44 Major Williams was shot and
wounded by a man named Andrew Shulus, but he (Williams) was given
protection and taken to Savannah where he eventually recovered. Thomas
Brown later said, “Thus fell the brave, unfortunate Colonel Grierson….
under the eye of General Pickens, by the hand of a bloody, sanctioned,
and protected villain, in shameful violation of a solemn capitulation.”45
Loyalist Dr. Thomas Taylor expressed similar outrage, stating “Patriots
at home may exclaim. . . on the Impropriety of employing Indians, but
22
their cruelties. . . have been exceeded in number at least four-fold by
those of the Rebels. Putting a man to Death in cold blood is very prettily
nicknamed giving a Georgia parole.”46 Grierson was 40 years old when
he was killed, having lived almost half his life as a respected resident of
Augusta, Georgia.
Greene was furious about this episode calling it an “insult to the Arms
of the United States, as well as an outrage committed upon the rights
of humanity deserves the most exemplary punishment.”47 He offered a
reward of 100 guineas for the arrest of the guilty parties. However, the
reward was never claimed and no arrests were made even though there
were several witnesses to the murder. Greene, of course, was concerned
that Grierson’s murder might be used to justify retaliatory acts by the
British. Governor James Wright wrote to Colonel Nisbet Balfour, British
commander at Charleston, “Poor Grierson was Basely Murdered after the
Capitulation & laying Down his arms. It is to be hoped this worthy Man’s
Death will not Pass without due Notice.”48 Balfour would later invoke
Grierson’s name when Greene protested the hanging of Patriot Colonel
Isaac Hayne in Charleston later that summer.49
Lee said of this incident in his memoirs:
The militia of Georgia, under Colonel Clarke, were so exasperated
by the cruelties mutually inlicted in the course of the war in this
State, that they were disposed to sacriice every man taken. Poor
Grierson and several others had been killed after surrender, and
although the American commandants used every exertion, and
offered a large reward to detect the murderers, no discovery could
be made.50
In the Grierson family bible someone wrote “James Grierson, Esquire,
Coln’l of the Militia of St. Paul’s parish in the province of Georgia was
cruelly murdered by the Rebels in Augusta on the 7th day June 1781
two days after he surrendered in consequence of a capitulation.”51 On
September 20, 1781, Sir James Wright read a memorial offered by Sir
Patrick Houstoun and Rev. Seymour, executors of Grierson’s estate,
noting the “singular service Grierson has been of, to the public in general,
by conducting & transacting all public business at Augusta, not only as
Magistrate, but also as Colonel of the Regiment of Militia [2nd regiment],
that his whole time and attention were devoted to the public service from
23
May 1780 to June 1781….The rebels murdered him in cold blood…when
he was a prisoner of war, and in his own house, merely on account of his
Loyalty, Zeal, and great Exertions to Support Government & the laws &
authority of the Province against Rebellion.”52
First page of the Grierson bible with notations of signiicant family events. The irst
notation at the top records the marriage of James Grierson to Katherine McBurnie in 1787.
The last notation at the bottom records his death in Augusta at the hands of rebels and was
probably written by the Reverend James Seymour in 1781.
Photo by Willabelle Schyultz, 2007
24
Grierson’s murder emphasized the imperative to restore effective civil
government to Georgia. Greene was determined to end the internecine
warfare between the Whigs and Loyalists, which threatened any post-war
reconciliation. He therefore sent Joseph Clay, the army’s paymaster, to act
as temporary civil authority in Georgia. He addressed both of his concerns
in a letter to Clay on June 9, 1781:
You are desired to repair to Augusta and collect as many of the
Militia and Negroes as you can and employ them in demolishing
the works upon the Savannah River. I also wish you to take such
measures as may most effectively stop the progress of private
murders and plundering.53
However, that action was too late for Grierson and his family.
Unfortunately, it would not be the last atrocity as the loyalists and rebels
continued killing each other even after the contest was over.
The Grierson Children
With their parents gone, the three Grierson boys fell under the care
of several of their father’s friends. After the capitulation of Augusta
the older boys, Thomas and David, were taken to Savannah by the
executors of Grierson’s estate, the Reverend Thomas Seymour and
Sir Patrick Houstoun. At some point, word of their father’s death
reached Elizabeth Grierson, their grandmother, who requested the
children be given passage back to Scotland under the care of a London
merchant, James Jackson. At Savannah, Houstoun, Seymour, Jackson,
and Governor Wright all sought to provide for their passage and ensure
they had clothing and provisions for a voyage to Scotland. They were
also given some small personal items, such as their father’s watch, little
trinkets and some items belonging to their mother that were rescued from
their home before they were forced to leave. Unfortunately, adding to the
distress for these boys was that their brother George would not be going
with them and instead, according to a letter written by Seymour to Jackson
on January 23, 1782:
We were very desirous of sending the youngest, George, who was
left at Mr. Galphin’s when the other two came down, but such now
& for sometime past has been the situation of the country that he
could not be brought here without danger & dificulty, as he is but
25
young & as we think he will be taken care of there, we thought
it improper to run any risk. We shall attend to him & when a more
convenient opportunity offers he may follow his brothers.
The reason why he was left at Galphin’s is not known, but there is
some speculation that he was ill, or had some sort of physical problem and
could not easily travel.54 As the war entered into its inal phases and the
ensuing chaos of the British evacuation of Savannah in July,1782, little
George did not make his passage to Scotland. Instead, he remained in
Savannah living in the home of John Milledge, a prominent patriot and
later, governor of Georgia, whose wife, Martha Galphin Milledge, was
probably a close friend of the Grierson family and felt obligated to care
for the orphaned child. George remained with them until his death at age
nineteen in 1796.
The American born Thomas and David arrived in their parent’s
homeland, which was a new environment to them but had some comfort
of family. However, David would not survive beyond age eighteen and
his brother Thomas inherited the task of noting in the family bible, “David
Grierson, son of the late Coln. James Grierson died at Kirkcudbright
the 29th day of August 1790.” Two years later, Thomas married Louisa
Fraser in New Abbey on January 7, 1792, and their daughter Louisa was
born on June 6, 1794. Young Louisa would also suffer not knowing her
father, Thomas, who died on May 14, 1798 at age 27, only four years after
she was born. Thus she would be the only grandchild of the late Colonel
Grierson.
Sometime in 1816 the now married Louisa Grierson Litt received a
package that contained a book once owned by the grandfather she never
knew. The letter that accompanied the present was from an old friend of
the colonel, a notorious Tory himself, Thomas Manson, who had served
in the Royal North Carolina Provincial Regiment.55 In the note to Louisa,
Manson wrote:
This book was presented to me nearly 40 years ago by your late
worthy grandfather – James Grierson, Esq., (whose handwriting
it bears) an imminent merchant and Col. of the Royal Militia at
Augusta in Georgia; a most accomplished gentlemen and sincere
friend – Whose loyalty to his King and country and upon him the
vindictive resentment of a Rebel Assassin when a prisoner of war.
26
I cannot therefore better testify my great respect and esteem for
his memory than by requesting your acceptance thereof as a relic
which you would value still more had you known him.
The book upon which Louisa gazed and in which James Grierson had
written his name prominently in large lowing script on the title page was
authored by John Milton and was entitled, “Paradise Lost.”
Notes
1. The Volunteers of Augusta were one of three troops of horse, or cavalry, raised by
Georgia Royal Governor, James Wright in late 1781. One of the troops was formed by
loyalist refugees from Augusta, hence the name they chose for their unit. This poem was
published in the Savannah, Georgia, Royal Georgia Gazette, October 4, 1781 under the
headline, “The Volunteers of Augusta: A New Song, To the Tune ‘The Lilies of France’.”
The song consisted of seven stanzas, but only the irst two are presented
here. The song in its entirety can be found in Edward J. Cashin, The King’s Ranger:
Thomas Brown and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier (Athens:
University of Georgia Press, 1989), 142-143. It is also available online at Todd Braisted,
“Music & Poetry: The Volunteers of Augusta,” The Online Institute for Advanced
Loyalist Studies, http://www.royalprovincial.com/history/music/voasong.shtml
(accessed August 30, 2009).
2. Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States (New
York: University Publishing Company, 1869; reprint New York: Arno Press, Inc., 1969),
357.
3. In 2007 I came in contact with a descendant, Willabelle Schyultz, whose 7th cousin,
Phillip Hamilton-Grierson sent her the bible of Col. James Grierson. He had obtained
it from his grandfather who inherited the bible and other Grierson items, many of
which were donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. According to
Willabelle, she is the only one left of this Grierson family line. From her transcriptions
and photographs of the bible notations, which were known by many family genealogists
but not substantiated by evidence until now, the history of the family can be more
fully developed. Willabelle Schyultz, e-mail message to Steven J. Rauch, October 20,
2007.
4. Allen D. Candler, ed., The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia (Atlanta, GA: The
Franklin-Turner Company, 1907), IX: 615-616. Hereafter CRG.
5. Candler, CRG, X: 179-180. In the edited colonial records, the lot is identiied as
number 20, but this is likely a transcription error as that township lot had been granted
to others in 1765. See Thomas Heard Robertson, Jr., “The Colonial Plan of Augusta,”
Georgia Historical Quarterly 86 (Winter 2002): 539.
6. Thomas Heard Robertson, Jr., “The Colonial Plan of Augusta,” Georgia Historical
Quarterly 86 (Winter 2002): 511- 543. Mr. Robertson, a professional civil engineer and
land surveyor, has provided the author with additional information used in research
for his article, speciically copies of the original plat images for lots 9, 17 and 18 near
Grierson’s property. Based on his research, Mr. Robertson believes the original plat of lot
27
10 is no longer extant. Thomas H. Robertson, e-mail message to Steven J. Rauch,
September 16, 2014. Mr. Robertson agrees with the author that Lot 10 would lie between
12th and 13th streets, and the river and Fenwick Street today.
7. Cashin, King’s Ranger, 20.
8. Quoted in Cashin, King’s Ranger, 20.
9. Grierson Bible. The Grierson family bible would be passed down through Thomas
Grierson’s line of descendants. Thomas received the family bible and continued to keep
records in it until his death. His daughter Louisa Grierson married John Litt and their
family line lasted until 1946. When that line ended any James Grierson items were passed
to those distant cousins descended from one of the brothers of Thomas Grierson, who was
Col. James Grierson’s father. Willabelle received the bible and some other
books and papers from her 7th cousin, Phillip Hamilton-Grierson. Willabelle Schyultz,
e-mail message to Steven J. Rauch October 20, 2007.
10. “Journal of David Taitt’s Travels from Pensacola, West Florida, to and through the
Country of the Upper and Lower Creeks, 1772,” in Newton D. Mereness, ed., Travels in
the American Colonies (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916): 563.
11. Cashin, King’s Ranger, 11. This short conlict is more extensively described in Todd
Braisted, “A History of the Georgia Rangers,” The Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist
Studies, http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/rhist/garng/garnghist.htm (accessed
August 30, 2009).
12. Archibald Campbell, Journal of an Expedition against the Rebels of Georgia in North
America under the Orders of Archibald Campbell, Esquire, Lieut. Colol. Of His Majesty’s
71st Regimt. 1778. ed. Colin Campbell (Darien, Georgia: Ashantilly Press, 1981), 55.
13. Cashin, King’s Ranger, 34.
14. All of these measurements, calculations, and geographic references are based on
information found in Robertson, Jr., “Colonial Plan of Augusta,” 523-533.
15. Georgia Historical Commission, “Fort Grierson” (Marker 121-4) 1954.
16. Cited in Cashin, King’s Ranger, 13.
17. For details of Brown’s torture and abuse at the hands of the Liberty Boys of the rebel
association for his refusal to join their cause see Cashin, King’s Ranger, 28.
18. Candler, CRG , XII, 434.
19. Ibid, 435.
20. Grierson Bible.
21. Samuel Beckaem, Pension Statement , 1 June 1812, in Peter Force, ed., American
Archives. 4th Series, 6 vols. (Washington DC: 1837-46): II: 1010.
22. This had also been the site of the old Fort Augusta from the early colonial days.
That fort no longer existed and had long succumbed to termites and humid climate. Fort
Cornwallis therefore, was not a reconstruction or improvement, but an entirely new
structure. Edward J. Cashin, Colonial Augusta: “Key of the Indian Country,” (Macon,
Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1986), 63.
23. Cited in Cashin and Robertson, Augusta & the American Revolution, (Darien,
Georgia: Ashantilly Press, 1975), 49.
28
24. This was probably the site of Indian Springs, which was in the vicinity of Hickman
Road and Heckle Street today.
25. The only other total number discovered in any of the sources related to this battle
is given by Boatner, when he stated, “Lee was detached with his legion and the newly
raised NC militia….to support the 1,300 militia of Pickens and Elijah Clarke besieging
Augusta.” So his number adding Lee and Eaton would probably be about 1,500 – 1,600
men as well. Mark M. Boatner, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, (New York:
David McKay, 1966), 50.
26. Cashin, King’s Ranger, 132.
27. There are two conlicting accounts of the approach of this element for the attack. Lee
says Eaton was to “pass down the north side of the lagoon” and approach Grierson from
the south. Pickens in his report to Greene stated “Smiths command [not noting Eaton
had been killed] marched directly from our battery [the 4 pounder?] towards the post we
meant to occupy.” McCall states that Eaton’s battalion and Jackson’s militia “were to
pass down the river and attack the work upon the northeast.” I conclude that Eaton did
not pass along the river for if he did he would have met Grierson and his men leeing the
fort directly head on. I think he approached from the south using Campbell’s gully as Lee
reported. See Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United
States (New York: University Publishing Company, 1869; Reprint New York: Arno
Press, Inc., 1969), 356; Pickens to Greene, Grierson’s Fort 25th May 1781, in Dennis
M. Conrad, ed. The Papers of Nathanael Greene, Volume VIII 30 March – 10 July 1781
(Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1995): 311. (Hereafter
PNG, VIII); Hugh McCall, The History of Georgia, Containing Brief Sketches of the
Most Remarkable Events up to the Present Day (1784), 2 vols. (Savannah: 1811-1816;
Reprint Atlanta: Cherokee Publishing Company, 1969), 518.
28. Pickens to Greene, Griersons fort [Ga.] 25th May 1781, PNG VIII: 310-311.
29. This number is derived from the muster rolls reported on 24 April 1781 at Augusta.
Given a month between 24 April and when the siege began, there was probably more
attrition but this igure matches fairly closely the inal casualty and prisoner reports.
Cashin, King’s Ranger (Appendix: Muster Rolls King’s Rangers, Augusta, April 24,
1781, 61 days, April 25-June 24, 1781), 249-293.
30. This number probably includes all Indians, men, women and children of which
various accounts mention. How many were part of the ighting is not clear, but they did
participate in counterattacks outside of the fort with the loyalist forces. Boatner identiied
these as 300 Creek Indians, but Cashin identiied them as a mixture of Creek, Cherokee,
and Chickasaw tribes. Boatner, Encyclopedia, 50; Cashin, King’s Ranger, 133.
31. The number for the slaves is from an order published by Greene. General Greene’s
Orders, Camp before Ninety Six, SC, 6 June 1781, PNG VIII: 354.
32. Many accounts of this battle indicate it took place on May 22 but some identify May
24 as the date. Lee does not give a date in his memoirs, but makes a statement where one
could believe this battle occurred one day after Fort Galphin. I think that is unlikely as
the plan was very complicated, involved almost 1,500 troops, and required units that had
little experience working with each other to execute the plan. I conclude that it took them
about two days to get organized, issue orders and prepare for action. Also, if the battle
occurred on May 22, either Pickens or Lee or both would have reported this signiicant
29
event to Greene the next day to show how they were making progress. However, the
Greene papers show that Lee wrote to Greene on May 24 that the “connexion of Browne
& Griersons forts” make the situation dificult, thus indicating that the loyalists still held
both forts at least early on May 24. The irst mention of the battle for Fort Grierson is
Pickens letter to Greene on May 25. In that report he stated a battery position “opened
up against the upper fort yesterday morning” [that would have been May 24] and then
described the ight that ensued. The histories related to the North Carolina continentals
also indicate that Major Eaton died on May 24 during the ighting for Fort Grierson. I
therefore conclude the battle of Fort Grierson occurred on May 24, not May 22. See Lee
to Greene, “Camp before Augusta, Ga.,” 24 May 1781 and Pickens to Greene, Griersons
fort [Ga.] 25th May 1781. PNG, VIII: 309-311.
33. Pickens to Greene, Griersons Fort, 25th May 1781, PNG, VIII, 310.
34. Beckaem, Pension Statement.
35. Beckaem, Pension Statement.
36. Lee, Memoirs, 357. McCall also makes this error and misplaced Grierson’s death
with the events of 24 May. These sources are undoubtedly the reason why this mistake
was engraved on the historical marker for Fort Grierson. See McCall, History of Georgia,
519.
37. Cashin, King’s Ranger, 133.
38. Lee, Memoirs, n. 370.
39. George White, Historical Collections of Georgia (New York: Pudney & Russell,
1854), 611.
40. Thomas Brown’s reply to David Ramsay, Nassau, Bahamas, Dec. 25, 1786, in White,
Historical Collections, 618.
41. Robert S. Davis, Jr. ed. “A Georgia Loyalist’s Perspective on the American
Revolution: The Letters of Dr. Thomas Taylor,” Georgia Historical Quarterly 81 (Spring
1997): 136-137.
42. Greene to Clarke, Camp before Ninety Six [S.C.] June 7th , 1781 in PNG, VIII: 356.
43. Pickens to Greene, Augusta, GA 7 June 1781, Robert Wilson Gibbes, Documentary
History of the American Revolution, Volume 3 (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1853;
Reprint Edition, New York: Arno Press, 1971), 91-92.
44. Brown to Ramsey, Dec. 25, 1786, in White, Historical Collections, 618.
45. The motive was that Alexander’s aged father had been made hostage since September
1780 and abused while in captivity. Beckhaem states that “his houses all burnt, his
property borne off, an aged Mother Sisters & brothers left to starve” justiied the action.
See Beckaem, Pension Statement; Cashin, King’s Ranger, 137; and Brown to Ramsey,
Dec. 25, 1786, in White, Historical Collections, 618.
46. Cashin, King’s Ranger, 137.
47. A Proclamation. From Camp before Ninety-Six, SC, 9 June 1781. PNG, VIII, 370.
48. James Wright to Colonel Balfour, Savannah the 11th of June 1781 in Ronald G.
Killion and Charles T. Waller, Georgia and the Revolution (Atlanta: Cherokee Publishing
Company, 1975), 222.
30
49. Cashin, King’s Ranger, 138.
50. Lee, Memoirs, 357.
51. Grierson Bible.
52. James Wright to Colonel Balfour, Savannah the 11th of June 1781 in Ronald G.
Killion Waller, Georgia and the Revolution, 222.
53. Greene to Clay, Camp before Ninety-Six, June 9th 1781, PNG, VIII, 361-361.
54. Willabelle Schyultz, e-mail message to Steven J. Rauch October 20, 2007.
55. Memorial of Thomas Manson formerly of Augusta in the Province of Georgia,
London, 23rd August 1784. Great Britain, Public Record Ofice, Audit Ofice, Class 13,
Volume 36, folio 634-635. Todd Braisted, “Claims & Memorial: Memorial of Thomas
Manson of Georgia” The Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies, http://www.
royalprovincial.com/military/mems/ga/clmman.htm (accessed August 30,
2009).
56. Willabelle Schyultz, e-mail message to Steven J. Rauch October 20, 2007.
31
His Brother’s Keeper:
The Life of Major John David Walker, C.S.A.
Russell K. Brown
A slightly different version of this article appeared in the Journal of
America’s Military Past in 2011.
General William H.T. Walker of Augusta played many roles in his
life: professional soldier, Southern patriot, loving husband and father,
entrepreneur. An additional task he took on voluntarily was as guardian
of his younger brother, John David Walker. John David, the youngest
of the ive children of Freeman and Mary Garlington Cresswell Walker,
lived most of his life in the shadow of his older brother but died when he
was on his own. A veteran of two wars and a combat casualty in both, at a
critical time he made an unfortunate decision, thereby bringing his life to
an early end.
John David was born in Richmond
County, Georgia, near the city of Augusta, in
1825. His father died in heavy debt two years
after John was born and the boy was raised in
relative poverty, the widow and her children
dependent on the charity of her husband’s
brother Valentine. John had two older
brothers and two older sisters.1
The middle brother, William, was a
graduate of West Point and became a wounded
hero at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee in 1837
during the Second Seminole War. At the start
of the Mexican War in 1846, William was a
captain commanding a company of the Sixth Major John David Walker, C.S.A.
Hugh M. Walker
U.S. Infantry. Encouraged by his brother’s
service, John, now twenty-one years old,
went to Charleston, enlisted in the Charleston Company of Volunteers
(which his brother called “a fancy company”) of the South Carolina
Volunteer Regiment (the Palmetto Regiment), and was soon promoted
to irst sergeant. On the beach at Vera Cruz, Mexico, in March 1847, the
brothers met only long enough to shake hands. The elder Walker told his
wife, “John...is full of ighting. His ardor will be a little cooler after a few
showers [of bullets].”2
32
Both Walkers participated in General Winield Scott’s campaign
against Mexico City. At the twin battles of Contreras and Churabusco
in August 1847, William had three bullets pass through his clothing and
was knocked down but not injured by a spent cannon ball rolling on the
ground. John was shot through both thighs. The army doctors, fearful
of the onset of gangrene in the wounds, wanted to amputate the young
man’s legs. William, who had much experience with wounds, took his
brother under his own care, intervened with the surgeons, and the legs
were spared. Shortly after, William was grievously wounded again at the
storming of Molino del Rey. When the brothers returned home in 1848, a
ball and reception hosted by the city of Augusta were organized in their
honor. At that time William received a presentation sword from the state of
Georgia. Then or later, John David was presented with two silver medals
in recognition of his military service, one from the State of South Carolina
and one from the city of Charleston.3
When the size of the U.S. regular army was expanded in 1855,
William H.T. Walker was promoted to major in one of the new infantry
regiments. He asked Secretary of War Jefferson Davis for a commission
for his younger brother, but such was not forthcoming. Shortly thereafter,
John went off to ilibuster with William Walker (no relation) in Nicaragua.
In 1857, brother William, on indeinite leave of absence from the army
because of his health, bought a plantation some ifty miles south of
Augusta. It was a four-thousand-acre tract worked by one hundred slaves.
William acted as owner-manager and John was his overseer. By late 1860,
John had organized 57 of his neighbors as the Troup Light Infantry, which
his brother referred to as “a company of minutemen.”4
Georgia seceded from the Union in January 1861. William H.T. Walker
was soon commissioned colonel of one of the two regiments of infantry
of the “Georgia Army” (William J. Hardee was colonel of the other) and
John secured a captain’s commission. Recruiting for the state army was
slow and in April the two regiments were merged into one at Macon and
accepted into Confederate service as the 1st Georgia Regulars; John David
Walker was captain of Company C, but by July 1861 he had been elected
as major of the regiment.5
The 1st Georgia Regulars traveled by train to Virginia and arrived
in Richmond only days after the First Battle of Manassas. They were
assigned to Robert Toombs’s Georgia brigade in General Joseph E.
Johnston’s Confederate Army of the Potomac in the late summer. In
September, William, now a brigadier general, arrived in Virginia to
33
command the Louisiana brigade.
The brothers were camped near
each other and had a few meetings
but William resigned his commission
in October and returned to Georgia.
John soldiered on through the dismal
winter of 1861-62.6
Spring 1862 brought activity with
McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign
National colors of the
and the Seven Days’ Battles. The 1st
1st Georgia Confederate Regiment
Georgia Regulars saw action from
National Park Service, Fort Pulaski
Yorktown to Malvern Hill. When the
ighting shifted back to northern Virginia in August, John commanded his
regiment, now in David R. Jones’s brigade of Longstreet’s corps, while
Col. George T. “Tige” Anderson of the 11th Georgia led the brigade and
Gen. Jones commanded the division.
At Thoroughfare Gap, on August 28, 1862, as Longstreet’s corps
marched to Stonewall Jackson’s support at Manassas Junction, the
Confederates found the road blocked by Yankee forces. After a brief
reconnaissance by General Robert E. Lee, D. R. Jones was ordered to
press forward, Anderson’s brigade in the van. Federal batteries swept
the deile but Jones could not bring his artillery to bear. The unprotected
troops pulled themselves over the barren rock and through the tangled
mountain laurel. Finally, the 1st Georgia Regulars got within effective
range and made their ire count; an enemy counterattack was repulsed.
John D. Walker won commendation from Gen. Longstreet for his
leadership. Wrote the corps commander, “The conduct of the 1st Georgia
Regulars under Major Walker was dashing and gallant.” Colonel Anderson
added, “The Regulars in this affair (oficers and men) behaved with
distinguished gallantry, as they have on every occasion in which they have
met the enemy, and I only regret that the [whole] army is not composed of
just such men.”7
Two days later, the regiment went into action again at Second
Manassas and Major Walker was wounded in the leg. Leading his
regiment, he was one of seven out of eight ield oficers of Jones’s
brigade to be shot down during the battle. He was treated at a ield
hospital and then sent to Warrenton, Virginia, to recuperate. First reports
of his condition were optimistic. An observer wrote to the Augusta
newspaper, “Major Walker’s wound though severe does not require
34
amputation; he is expected home
soon on a visit to his friends.” But
when gangrene set in, Walker,
recalling his experience in Mexico
ifteen years earlier and far from the
counsel of his big brother, refused
the surgeon’s recommendation to
amputate the limb. Sadly, he did not
live long to enjoy his recently won
laurels. He died in Warrenton of the
effects of his wound on October 3 and
was buried nearby.8
Regimental colors of the
1st Georgia Confederate Regiment
National Park Service, Fort Pulaski
On October 4, 1862, the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, reported,
“Death of Major John D. Walker - We are pained to learn that Maj.
John D. Walker, who was severely wounded during the recent battles in
Virginia, has died of his wounds. He was a brother of the gallant Gen.
William H. T. Walker of this city, and a true and tried soldier. His loss to
the service at this time of our country’s peril is very great.”
The oldest of the three Walker brothers was George Augustus Beverly
Walker (1805-1864), who was called Beverly in the family. Beverly and
his wife, Arabella Pearson, were the parents of nine children. In 1871,
William Pendleton, an Augusta foundry and machinery businessman and
Beverly’s son-in-law, went to Virginia to bring John David’s remains back
to Augusta. The newspaper carried this item:
“On Thursday the remains of Major John David Walker, a native
and for many years a resident of Augusta, and a brother of General
W.H.T. Walker, were brought from Virginia to this city. Major
Walker was an oficer of the Georgia regiment of regulars and was
wounded in the engagement of Thoroughfare Gap, the day before
the second battle of Manassas. After the battle he was removed to
Warrenton, where he died from the wound and where he was buried.
“Several days ago, Mr. William Pendleton of this city went for his
remains. He was treated with the greatest kindness by the Mayor
and citizens of Warrenton. On his return, two of the leading railways
refused to charge anything for the transportation of the body.
“Soon after the remains reached Augusta they were deposited in the
burying ground of the Walker family situated in the rear of the
U.S. Arsenal.”
35
John David’s gravestone is inscribed “Rest,
Soldier, rest, thy warfare o’er.” In death as in life,
he lies in the shadow of his older brother and
keeper, William, who had fallen at the Battle of
Atlanta in 1864. Beverly Walker, who also died in
1864, is buried nearby.9
One of Beverly’s Walker’s daughters, Lucy
Pearson Walker (1841-1873), married her distant
cousin, Clarence Valentine Walker, an Augusta
auctioneer. Their second child and irst son,
born in January 1871, was named John David
Grave of John David
in honor of his deceased uncle. As an adult, the
Walker
second John David became a prominent Georgia
Photo by the author
banker. Although there is no conclusive proof,
it seems likely that the two medals for Mexican War service that had
been presented to the original John David Walker eventually became the
property of his namesake and so passed down through the generations to
his great-grandson, Glenn Aderhold, who has them now.10
In an apparent random act of hooliganism in August 1987, two local
youths dug up Major John D. Walker’s grave in the Walker Cemetery and
removed the contents. There is no evidence that the grave was singled out
for any particular purpose. A Walker family member reported the incident
to local authorities and six months later, in March 1988, a police raid
on a man’s residence recovered two cardboard boxes containing several
loose bones, including John David’s skull and pelvis, and a pair of casket
handles said to be his. The irst set of bones returned to the Walkers turned
out not to be John David’s but the error was corrected. The Walkers never
saw the casket handles. The bones were reburied and the grave has been
restored to its former state.11
As of this writing, the only known artifacts of John David Walker’s
life are his photographic portrait in Confederate army uniform and the two
silver medals from his Mexican War service. There is no record that he
ever married and all of the relics are in the hands of collateral descendants.
Notes
1. Mary Meadows, They Came to Georgia: The Genealogy of the Families ForemonBoisclair, Walker, Beers, Lacy (Easley, S.C.: The Southern Historical Press, 1980),
36
pp. 164, 179; Russell K. Brown, To the Manner Born: The Life of General William H.T.
Walker (1994, reprint, Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2005), p. 3.
2. Brown, To the Manner Born, pp. 4, 12, 26, 34; Letter, W.H.T. Walker to Jefferson
Davis, July 30, 1855, Jefferson Davis Papers, Transylvania University, Transylvania, Ky.;
Letters, W.H.T. Walker to his wife, February 19, March 13, 1847, W.H.T. Walker Papers,
Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
3. Letters, W.H.T. Walker to his wife, undated [August 1847]; W.H.T. Walker Papers,
Duke University; Brown, To the Manner Born, pp. 54-55; Walter A. Clark, A Lost
Arcadia, or The Story of My Old Community (Augusta: Chronicle Job Printer, 1909), pp.
75-76; “Complimentary Ball to Col. Walker,” Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, November
20, 1848; Emails, Glenn Aderhold to the author, June 28, 2009, and subsequent.
4. Letter, W.H. T. Walker to Jefferson Davis, July 30, 1855, Transylvania University;
Clark, A Lost Arcadia, pp. 75-76; Brown, To the Manner Born, pp. 77-79; Letter, W.H.T.
Walker to Henry C. Wayne, January 8, 1861, Incoming Correspondence to the Georgia
Adjutant General, 1861-1865 (Record Group 22), Georgia Department of Archives and
History, Morrow, Ga.
5. Brown, To the Manner Born, 89; Lillian Henderson, comp., Roster of the Confederate
Soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865, 6 vols. (Hapeville, Ga.: Longino and Porter, 1955-1962),
1: pp. 307, 320; William H. Andrews, Footprints of A Regiment: A Recollection of the 1st
Georgia Regulars, 1861-1865 (Atlanta, Ga.: Longstreet Press, 1992), p. 13.
6. Andrews, Footprints of A Regiment, pp. 13, 15; Brown, To the Manner Born, pp. 101,
112; Letters, W.H.T. Walker to his wife, September 8, 11, 24, 1861.
7. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Oficial Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies, 128 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Ofice,
1880-1901), Series I, Vol. 12, pt. 2: pp. 564, 594 (hereafter cited as Oficial Records; all
references are to Series I); Douglas Southall Freeman, R. E. Lee: A Biography, 4 vols.
(New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1943), 2: pp. 312-16; D.S. Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants:
A Study in Command, 3 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1943), 2: p. 120n.
8. Oficial Records, Vol. 12, pt. 2: pp. 580, 595; Clark, A Lost Arcadia, pp. 75-76; Letter
of Lewis Kenan in the Augusta Constitutionalist, September 20, 1862: letter of W.W.
Paine in the Augusta Chronicle & Sentinel, September 8, 1862.
9. Meadows, They Came to Georgia, pp. 179, 187, 192; Augusta City Directory 1872;
Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, January 28, 1871; Ruby Mabry McCrary Pfadenhauer,
“U. S. Arsenal Cemetery, Augusta College Campus,” Richmond County History, 12-1
(Winter 1980): p. 17. There is a discrepancy between the newspaper report and other
accounts of Walker’s wound and death. The gravestone inscription is a variation of a line
from Sir Walter Scott’s poem, “The Soldier’s Rest.”
10. Meadows, They Came to Georgia, p. 192; Allen D. Candler and Clement A. Evans,
ed., Cyclopedia of Georgia, 4 vols. (Atlanta: State Historical Association, 1906), 3: pp.
507-509; Emails, Glenn Aderhold to the author, June 28, 2009, and subsequent.
11. “Richmond teen-ager charged with desecrating Civil War grave,” March 4, 1988, and
“Teen-ager charged with theft of skeleton,” March 5, 1988, Augusta Chronicle; Emails,
Russell “Rusty” Shearer to the author, June 2 and 25, 2006.
37
Sidebar
The medal presented to the soldiers of the Charleston Company is considered
extremely rare and is believed to exist in silver only. The obverse shows the seal of the city
with two bands of inscription. The inner band has the city motto, “Aedes Mores Juraque
Curat.” [She cares for her temples, customs and rights], and “Corpus Politicum” [The body
politic]. The reverse of the medal has the names of the battles in which the South Carolina
Regiment took part. Walker’s name is engraved at the bottom of the reverse.
The medal for the soldiers of the South Carolina Regiment, authorized by the state
in 1848 and presented in 1850, was struck in gold for commissioned oficers and silver
for enlisted men. The obverse shows the American landing at Vera Cruz, with the names
of the battles in which the regiment was engaged. The reverse has the South Carolina
palmetto tree with the names of the regiment’s original three ield oficers. The outer rim
of the reverse bears the state mottos, “Animus Opibusque Parati” (“Prepared in spirit and
resources”), and “Dum Spiro Spero” (“While I breathe I hope”). Walker’s name is inscribed
at the bottom.
Note: alanvweinberg – Early American Medals (online at http://www.neocollect.com/
coll/68/), accessed November 5, 2009; Charleston Courier, May 16, 1850; The Palmetto
Regiment: South Carolina in the Mexican War (on line at http://www.aztecclub.com/
palmetto/pal1a.htm, accessed November 5, 2009. The Charleston Courier article has a
detailed description of the state medal.
Obverse of the
Charleston silver medal
Reverse of the
Charleston silver medal
Obverse of the
South Carolina silver medal
Reverse of the
South Carolina silver medal
Coin images courtesy of Glenn Aderhold
38
The Civil War Round Table of Augusta
Join this diverse group of people who are passionate about history. You may ind
history can actually be exciting! We get pretty excited at our meetings so much
good solid information is presented by outstanding speakers!
he meetings are on the third (3rd) Monday of the month at he Snelling Center
at he Goodwill Center, 3165 Washington Rd at Furys Ferry Rd., just across from
Warren Baptist Church. Dinner begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. Please be there by
6:00 to place your order. Order individually from the menu and be responsible for
all your own costs. If you do not plan to eat, please be there no later than 6:45 p.m.
2014 Program Schedule
November 17
Tad Brown, President of the Watson-Brown Foundation, will speak on the Tom
Watson Brown Book Award, presented by he Society of Civil War Historians.
he 2015 schedule is under development.
39
Save the Date
5th Annual Dyess Symposium
8 January 2015
On hursday, 8 January 2015, the Augusta Museum of History will host the 5th
annual Jimmie Dyess Symposium. Dyess, the only person to have earned America’s
two highest awards for heroism, the Medal of Honor and the Carnegie Medal, will
be honored at this event.
Lieutenant Colonel A. J. Dyess, US Marine Corps Reserve, grew up in Augusta
Georgia. Dyess earned the Carnegie Medal when he saved the lives of two women
when he was a teenager. Dyess, an Eagle Scout and a strong swimmer, dove into
the surf during a big storm of the coast of South Carolina at Sullivan’s Island. Out
of sight for a period of time, he emerged through the heavy surf with both women
in tow. Each year one or more individuals receive the Dyess Symposium’s Distinguished
American Award. In 2014, three will be saluted for a lifetime of service to their
nation, their community and their fellow citizens: Medal of Honor recipient
Barney Barnum, Susan Eisenhower, the grand-daughter of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower, and two extraordinary citizens of Augusta: Mr. Brian Mulherin and
Mrs. Neita Mulherin.
he event will take place at 5 PM on 8 January 2015 at the Augusta Museum of
History (corner of Reynolds and 6th street in downtown Augusta). he public is
invited and there is no charge. However, sponsorships are welcome. Please contact
the Museum at (706)722-8454. Checks should be made out to the Augusta Museum
of History and sent to the Museum at 560 Reynolds Street, Augusta, Ga. 30901.
Questions? Please contact Major General Perry Smith, US Air Force (ret.) at
genpsmith@aol.com or tel 706-399-9754, or Nancy J. Glaser, Executive Director at
amh@augustamuseum.org
Medal of Honor
Boy Scout Emblem
40
Carnegie Medal