Columbus in Muscogee County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Civil War Women’s Riot

Photographed by David Seibert, April 30, 2011

1. Civil War Women’s Riot Marker

Inscription. On April 11, 1863, during the American Civil War, sixty-five Columbus women armed with knives and pistols rallied at this site and marched down Broad Street raiding the stores of speculators before police could restore order. During the war many planters ignored the Confederate government’s plea to grow food crops and continued to focus on cotton production instead, which was much more profitable but resulted in a food shortage that hit southern urban women particularly hard. Hoarding food and other commodities by speculating merchants made problems even worse. Women responded by staging riots all across the South, including in every major city in Georgia.

Erected 2011 by Georgia Historical Society and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. (Marker Number 106-2.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: War, US Civil • Women. In addition, it is included in the Georgia Historical Society series list. A significant historical date for this entry is April 11, 1863.

Location. 32° 28.29′ N, 84° 59.593′ W. Marker is in Columbus, Georgia, in Muscogee County. It is on Broadway 0 miles north

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of 13th Street, in the median. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbus GA 31901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: George Parker Swift I (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Battle of Columbus (about 400 feet away); Mathews D. Swift Park (about 500 feet away); TSYS (about 500 feet away); J.S. Pemberton & the Confederacy / The Formula (about 500 feet away); Freedom Day (about 600 feet away); General Benning (about 600 feet away); Calhoun (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbus.

Photographed by David Seibert, April 30, 2011

2. Civil War Women’s Riot Marker

This view is looking north on Broadway at the marker and the fountain by which it stands.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 16, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 2,201 times since then and 57 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 16, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.