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Civil War Trails


"One Nations, Under God, Indivisible"

Article by Kathleen Walls
Photos by Kathleen and Martin Walls

The mural with the two generals shaking hands

A visit to Fitzgerald, Georgia is a trip into our historic past. It's a cozy, little South Georgia town just far enough east of I 75 to be considered "out-of-the-way" but it's well worth the detour.

Fitzgerald is a city founded by P.H. Fitzgerald for Union veterans in 1896. People of the time probably shook their heads at such a scheme, founding a colony of Union veterans in the heart of the Deep South. What is he thinking? However, Fitzgerald was proven right. former enemies can reconcile their differences and become friends.

The seeds of the city of Fitzgerald were planted during the depression years compounded by a devastating drought in the Midwest. When a plea for aid went out from this area peopled by mainly Union veterans the most generous response came from the state of Georgia, Ironically one of the most devastated states during the War Between the States. This planted an idea in the mind of a former Union drummer boy, P.H. Fitzgerald, then a newspaper editor and veterans' pension attorney. He envisioned a warm, southern colony for aging Union veterans away from the bitter winters and oppressive and unrelenting droughts..

The Blue and Gray Museum

He organized the American Tribune Soldiers' Colony Company and soon sold sufficient stock to purchase 50,000-acre. The veterans poured in to this Southern refuge. The company named the North-South streets for both Union and Confederate Generals. The newcomers did not wait for homes to be built they poured in filling the city with shacks, tents and covered wagons. The colony's nickname was "Shacktown." To accommodate new arrivals and guests, a new hotel was built and named the Lee-Grant Hotel. The city's wooden bandstand was the scene of musical performances' where Dixie and Yankee doodle were often played back to back.

In the fall of 1896, the festival committee planed a celebration The colonists erected a Corn and Cotton Palace in anticipation of a great Thanksgiving harvest. Ever conscious of native pride, the Festival Committee originally planned separate Union and Confederate parades. Yet, when the band struck up a march and the parade leader appeared with the Stars and Stripes, veterans in blue and those in gray all marched as one.

The display of swords in the Hall of Honor

First stop should be the Blue and Gray Museum. It's filled with artifacts of Fitzgerald's early days. The museum is housed in the old railroad depot and lovingly tended by curator, Al Stron.

The best way to get an overview of the town and the museum is to view Marching as One , a professionally produced documentary film narrated by Beth Davis, the Blue & Gray's founder.

The Hall of Honor is the heart of the Museum. You enter a "Shacktown tent" symbolic of where early pioneers lived. The pioneer Civil War Veterans' names and places of origin are displayed while over-head there is a display of rare swords and canes.

On one wall there is a mural which had come to depict the city of Fitzgerald. A Union and Confederate general meet with a friendly handshake.

Old Doctors Bag

Colony Days Gallery showcases artifacts of the era from Victorian valentines to clothing, utensils and glass ware. One treasure here is the ancient doctor's bag with instruments that would be foreign to most physicians today.

Naturally, wartime heroes are honored here in the Veterans of All Wars Gallery. Fitzgerald's own most famous veteran, General Raymond Gilbert Davis, USMC (Ret.),is the nation's most highly decorated Marine. General Davis, who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam died in 2003. He was nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award.

The Jefferson Davis Capture Site

One of the most traumatic events of the Civil War occurred nearby. The Jefferson Davis Capture Site is just a few miles away. There is a museum and park there which tells the story of the Confederate president's last frantic attempt to escape and his eventual capture. This even is often overshadowed by the surrender at Appomattox courthouse and prior to that the battles but at the time, it was a climatic event. A huge reward had been offered for Jefferson Davis's capture. Many northern leaders wanted to place the blame for everything from the war to Lincoln's assassination on Davis's head. Once captured Davis faced a very real possibility of death.

Reward poster at Capture Site

One of the posters displayed at the Capture Site Museum announces the reward of $360,000 for the capture of six men based on "indisputably evidence" linking them to the assignation of President Lincoln. Davis's name is first on the list. $100,000 of the reward specifically for his capture.

Another place to vist that iis not always considered a "tourist attraction" is Evergreen Cemetary. The graves here date back to the founding of the colony and offer a great historical resource.

Downtown Fitzgerald is a great place to walk around and adsorb the architecture .   The Grand Plaza in the middle of downtown sets the tone featuring a fountain, mosaic tile topped tables, an open lawn and an amphitheatre stage with a large chess/checker board design. There are even game pieces available should you have a yen to play giant chess. Across the street, the Grand Theater recalls the golden era of movie houses. There is even a topiary depicting those friendly hand-shaking Union and Confederate generals.

Faith Baptist Church

Faith Baptist Church-326 South Lee Street. Ca 1906. is one of the most distinctive buildings. It was used by the Christian Church for more than 80 years and is now the home of Faith Baptist Church. The building is constructed in large part of granitoid and showcases beautiful stained glass windows. Granitoid, seen rarely in South Georgia, is actually rock-faced hollow concrete block, a type of material produced here in the founding years, beginning in 1905, by the Fitzgerald Granitoid Company. Many homes throughout the City are partially or entirely constructed of granitoid.

There is a great walking tour available at the visitors center or you can download it from http://www.fitzgeraldga.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=105

 

A customer orders at Our Daily Bread

 

Downtown is also a great place to have lunch as most of the city's resturants are located here, although there is a very good Mexican restaurant, Rancho Grande, a few blocks away at 703 S Grant Street . I can also vouch for the food at Our Daily Bread located on Main street across from the Plaza. It's not a fancy place but the food is all homemade and delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

Dorminy-Massee House Bed and Breakfast
 

 

A wonderful place to stay while you visit Fitzgerald is the Dorminy-Massee House Bed and Breakfast. It was build by one of the leading citizens just 20 years after the colony's founding. This wonderful inn still retains a family atmosphere blended seamlessly with modern comforts right down to the latest "necessity for travelers," wi-fi. (For more about the inn check out last issue's Inn Roads feature. http://www.americanroads.net/inn-roads-fall2010.htm)

 

 

One of Fitzgerald's wild chickens

You may even spot a few of Fitzgerald's exotic wild chickens strolling around. The chickens are an integral part of Fitzgerald since they were brought in by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in the 1960s to establish a hunting species along the nearby Ocmulgee River. The chickens left the river and migrated to Fitzgerald where they remain, loved by visitors and many residents, detested by some other residents. In fact, Saturday, March 19, 2011 is the date of their annual Wild Chicken Festival. What a great time to visit this historic city.

As we enter this sesquicentennial year of that most terrible war, Fitzgerald should be remembered as the place the old wounds were healed and the nation was once again united.

 

 

For more information:

Fitzgerald Tourism: http://www.fitzgeraldga.org/

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