Ocmulgee

On the west side of Macon is Ocmulgee National Monument. It is there to preserve some wonderful Indian mounds dating back a few hundred years. The British constructed a trading post here in 1690 but there have been Indians living in this area for hundreds of years earlier. The mounds date to about 1350.

It is an interesting place to visit and offers some wonderful views of Macon. It also has a Civil War connection. At the July 1864 battle (that sends a cannonball into Judge Holt's House) the Union has a battery at the mounds.

Union General George Stoneman fails in his effort to take Macon and he forced to surrender at Sunshine Church. Stoneman and his officers will be held prisoner at Camp Oglethorpe in Macon while the enlisted men will be sent to Andersonville.

The park does not have signs or brochures interpreting its Civil War connection. We were told that there were some earthworks across the road from the Visitor's Center. Dad and I have a long history of finding these so while there were no signs the ground in these pictures does look like earthworks.

Here is the view from one of the mounds looking at Macon.

And from that same mound looking at the council mound.

A view of the council mound from the other side, from the Visitor's Center.

You can enter it, but it is a narrow passageway.

Cannonball House

The Cannonball House is one of the buildings that was hit by Union artillery during the July 30, 1864 battle. It is worth a visit because it seems like the house is a repository for Macon's Civil War items.

The cannonball in question first hit the sidewalk out front, then bounced into the house, striking a front column along the way.


The guide said the cannonball came to a rest in this hallway. The bump is visible in person but not in this picture.


The fencing in front of the house was manufactured by the Findlay Foundry, which operated as the Macon Arsenal during the war. The fence itself used to surround the Findlay estate.

In the front yard is this cannon which was made at the Macon Arsenal and shipped out for field service on April 14, 1864.

Finally in the summer kitchen is this old plaque indicating a hotel that Jefferson Davis was held at following his capture in Irwinville. The guide said that the hotel was demolished, the plaque was brought here for safekeeping and was never put back up. I guess the owners of the new building did not want a Confederate plaque on their walls.

Macon

Macon was Georgia's last capitol. When Sherman's troops left Atlanta in mid November for the March to the Sea the Confederates soon had to abandon Milledgeville as their capitol. They next turned to Macon and took over the city hall. City hall had served as a hospital for the previous 14 months (since the battle of Chickamauga). Here the last Confederate Georgia legislative session was held February 16 thru March 11, 1865. The Georgia Supreme Court also met in the building in March 1865. Five Confederate generals surrendered to Union Major General James Wilson here on April 20. They were Major General Howell Cobb, Major General Gustavus Smith, Brigadier General William Mackall, Brigadier General Hugh Mercer and Brigadier General Felix Robertson.


Across the street from city hall is the Macon Volunteers Armory. The Macon Volunteers is the fancy name for the local militia and dates back to 1825.

And in the median of the street in front of the armory is this monument to the women of the Confederacy.

We saw one other Confederate monument, this one was on our way to the Cannonball House, check back tomorrow for that wonderful house.

Macon cemetery

This week the posts will focus on sites around Macon, Georgia. I spent an enjoyable day there as we worked our way back to Atlanta (completing a loop that also saw stops at Chattanooga/Chickamauga, Rome, Columbus, Andersonville, and Irwinville).

Of course we visited the local Confederate cemetery, which is in Rose Hill Cemetery. The local ladies have been decorating these graves since April 1866.

Its a neat old cemetery that has been around since 1840. It is also the final resting place for two original members of the Allman Brothers, Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. Both were killed in motorcycle accidents in Macon, three blocks and roughly a year apart.