Grantville in Coweta County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Gravesite of Lt. (jg) Thomas E. Zellars- Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777

Gravesite of Lt Thomas E Zellars - Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777 Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dianne Wood, April 1, 2010

1. Gravesite of Lt Thomas E Zellars - Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777 Marker

Inscription. Grantville native Thomas E. Zellars (1898-1924) graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1920 and reported for duty aboard the USS Mississippi. As turret commander he rose to the rank of lieutenant. In 1924, an explosion and fire engulfed his turret. Zellars and 47 others were killed but not before he opened a flood valve on the burning powder train - an act that saved the ship and its crew. In 1944 Naval Destroyer USS Zellars DD777 was launched in Zellars' honor. It went on to serve in both WWII and the Korean War receiving five battle stars. The ship was decommissioned in 1971.

Erected 1999 by Georgia Historical Society and the City of Grantville. (Marker Number 38-1.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Patriots & Patriotism. In addition, it is included in the Georgia Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1920.

Location. 33° 14.166′ N, 84° 49.734′ W. Marker is in Grantville, Georgia, in Coweta County. Marker is on Griffin Street west of Grantville Brown School Drive, on the right when traveling south. Marker and gravesite are located at the Grantville City Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Grantville GA 30220, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other

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markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Allen-Lee Memorial Church (approx. 4.4 miles away); William Hogan Plantation (approx. 6.4 miles away); The Attempted Assassination of Isaiah H. Lofton (approx. 6.8 miles away); In Memoriam (approx. 6.8 miles away); Gen. Jos. Wheeler, C.S.A. (approx. 6.8 miles away); The Battle of Brown's Mill: Aftermath (approx. 6.9 miles away); The Battle of Brown's Mill: Ride for the River (approx. 6.9 miles away); The Battle of Brown's Mill: Detour to Battle (approx. 6.9 miles away).

Regarding Gravesite of Lt. (jg) Thomas E. Zellars- Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777. Bio notes about Thomas Edward Zellars, II, taken from Cradled by the Massanutten: The Zellers-Sellers Family by Mary Marie Koontz Arrington:

"Thomas Edward Zellars II attended Culver Military School in Indiana. He won a cadetship at the U.S. Navel Academy, Annapolis, MD, and became a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He was killed June 12, 1924, on the U.S. Battleship Mississippi during battle practice at San Pedro, California while commanding Turret #2, following an explosion causing fire. He was found with his hand grasping the lever that shut off the powder magazine and flooded the turret with water. The disaster killed forty eight men, but his actions

Photographed By Dianne Wood, April 1, 2010

2. Gravesite of Lt Thomas E Zellars -Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777 Marker

preserved the lives of 1400 ship mates. A memorial tablet at the Naval Academy erected in 1927 commemorated his death."

Thomas E. Zellars born Aug 11, 1898 in Georgia and died in San Pedro, CA Jun 12, 1924. He was the son of Thomas M. and Clara E. Fuller Zellars.
He is the grandson of Thomas and Mary Ella Moreland Zellars, who owned and operated a store in Grantville.

Also see . . .
1. Photographic History of the United States Navy. Biographical information and photos of Thomas Zellars and the USS Zellars(DD-777). (Submitted on April 17, 2010.)

2. USS Mississippi. Commissioned in December 1917. Operated in the western Atlantic area until July 1919, when she transited the Panama Canal to the Pacific. Over more than a decade, she operated with the fleet's other battleships, conducting exercises and training operations in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. (Submitted on April 17, 2010.)

Additional keywords. Gravesite of Lt. (jg) Thomas E. Zellars- Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777

Gravesite of Lt (jg) Thomas E Zellars -Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777 Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By David Seibert, June 19, 2010

3. Gravesite of Lt (jg) Thomas E Zellars -Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777 Marker

Photographed By David Seibert, June 19, 2010

4. Gravesite of Lt (jg) Thomas E Zellars -Namesake of USS Zellars DD 777 Marker

Zellars Memorial at Memorial Hall in Bancroft Hall at the US Naval Academy. image. Click for full size.

April 10, 2015

5. Zellars Memorial at Memorial Hall in Bancroft Hall at the US Naval Academy.

This marker is to the far left of the "Don't Give Up the Ship" flag in Memorial Hall.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 30, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 11, 2010, by Dianne Wood of Newnan, Georgia. This page has been viewed 2,095 times since then and 46 times this year. Last updated on April 15, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 11, 2010, by Dianne Wood of Newnan, Georgia. 3, 4. submitted on June 20, 2010, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. 5. submitted on April 15, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.