Battle of Griswoldville: Marker

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Griswoldville in Twiggs County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Battle of Griswoldville:
The Big Picture

Battle of Griswoldville: Marker Photo, Click for full size

By David Seibert, August 10, 2002

1. Battle of Griswoldville: Marker

Inscription. On Nov. 15, 1864, [US) Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman left Atlanta on his devastating “March to the Sea.” His force divided into two wings and feinted toward Macon and Augusta while on their way to the capital at Milledgeville. [CS] General William J. Hardee opposed Sherman with cavalry under Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler and state troops and militia. Hardee realized the move toward Macon was a feint and ordered [CS.] General Gustavus W. Smith with his Georgia Militia, the Athens and Augusta Defense Battalions and two regiments of the Georgia State Line to protect Augusta and its valuable industries and arsenal. Most of these troops under [CS] Brig. Gen. Pleasant J. Philips caught up with the right flank of Sherman`s right wing under the command of [US] Brig. Gen. Charles Walcutt. For some never adequately explained reason, Philips order his Confederates to attack the veteran Union troops who were lightly fortified along this ridge. The Confederates passed through the still smoldering Griswoldville, set afire by [US] cavalry the day before, and saw the first real results of the devastation being wrought upon their homeland. The Confederates, mostly old men and boys, attacked with great courage and vigor, but failed to change any part of Sherman’s plan in the only pitched infantry battle on the March to Sea.

Erected 1998 by Georgia Department of Natural Resources. (Marker Number 143-12.)

Location. 32° 52.155′ N, 83° 27.6′ W. Marker is in Griswoldville, Georgia, in Twiggs County. Marker is on Baker Road 0.6 miles east of Old Griswoldville Road, on the left when traveling east. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Macon GA 31217, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, as the crow flies. Camp Wheeler (approx. 6.2 miles away); Rev. Vincent A. Tharp Home (1809) (approx. 6.5 miles away); Myricks Mill (approx. 7.2 miles away); Stone Creek Baptist Church - 1808 (approx. 7.7 miles away); William Bartram Trail (approx. 8.5 miles away); Fort Hawkins (approx. 8.9 miles away); Central City College/Georgia Baptist College (approx. 9.1 miles away); De Soto in Georgia (approx. 9.3 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Battle of Griswoldville. Civil War Preservation Trust site on the Battle of Griswoldville. (Submitted on September 30, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.)
2. Battle of Griswoldville. (Submitted on September 30, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.)

Credits. This page originally submitted on September 29, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 363 times since then. Photo 1. Submitted on September 29, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.