Tallassee in Elmore County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry, CSA
⎯⎯⎯
Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters

Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry, CSA Marker (Side 1) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 7, 2016

1. Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry, CSA Marker (Side 1)

Inscription. Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry, CSA
(1822-1891) In his lifetime General Birkett D. Fry was a cadet at Virginia Military Institute and West Point; 1st Lt. (U.S. Infantry) in Mexican War; lawyer in California; mercenary-soldier of fortune in Latin America; colonel (adjutant) of the 13th Alabama (CSA) Infantry Regiment in the Civil War when he was wounded in four different battles including Gettysburg, taken prisoner of war, then promoted to Brigadier General (May 1864); engaged in the tobacco business in Cuba; executive in the Taliassee Textile Mills; public school superintendent in Montgomery, AL; and president of the Richmond, VA Cotton Mill until his death. His body was returned to Montgomery where he was buried next to his wife in Oakwood Cemetery.

Fry was born in Kanawha County, WV (24 June 1822) and died in Richmond, VA (21 January 1891). The son of Thornton Fry (1786-1823) and Eliza R. Thompson (1794-1885), he was married to Martha Augusta Micou (1823-1878), the sister of Benjamin Hall Micou (1825-1887) who was president of the Tallassee Manufacturing Company beginning in 1871.

Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters In

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

the spring of 1864, the Confederate States of America (CSA) moved the Confederate Armory in Richmond, VA to Tallassee, AL, necessitating new housing for the officers and staff. With the help of the Tallassee Falls Mfg. Company, four houses were built on King Street, at 301, 303, 305, and 307.

The Confederate Armory closed in April 1865 at the end of the Civil War and the Tallassee Falls Mfg. Co. gained possession of the houses. The house at 303 King was demolished when the Bank of Tallassee was built. The other three remain.

After the Civil War, Brigadier-General (CSA) Birkett Davenport Fry (1822-1891) returned to Tallassee to live at 301 King Street until 1880, in his capacity as secretary for the Tallassee Mfg. Co., then successor to the Tallassee Falls Mfg. Co. From 1880 until 1966 it was the residence for the managers of the Tallassee Mills Company Stores. Samuel Hugh Scott (1867-1942) lived there from 1900-1942; Belser Ray Carr (1895-1966) followed from 1942-1966. In 2005, it became the office for The Segrest Law Firm.

Erected 2014 by Alabama Historical Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is

Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters Marker (Side 2) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 7, 2016

2. Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters Marker (Side 2)

listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Patriots & Patriotism • War, Mexican-American • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1891.

Location. 32° 32.198′ N, 85° 53.572′ W. Marker is in Tallassee, Alabama, in Elmore County. It is at the intersection of King Street and North Ann Avenue, on the right when traveling east on King Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 301 King St, Tallassee AL 36078, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

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: Jefferson F. Davis

Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters (301 King Street) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 7, 2016

3. Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters (301 King Street)

(about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (about 600 feet away); Nathan Bedford Forrest (about 600 feet away); The Tallassee Confederate Armory (about 700 feet away); Gen. Robert E. Lee (about 700 feet away); Robert E. Lee (about 700 feet away); Thomas Jonathan Jackson (about 700 feet away); Gen. Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tallassee.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Also see . . . Wikipedia article on Birkett D. Fry. (Submitted on June 9, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Additional commentary.
1. Author of text for this marker.
I, William E. (Bill) Goss, Tallassee, AL, am the author of both sides of the text for this marker.

— Submitted June 10, 2021, by William Elbert Goss of Tallassee, Alabama.

301 King Street (Now the Segrest Law Firm) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 7, 2016

4. 301 King Street (Now the Segrest Law Firm)

Older company sign for Segrest Law Firm. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 12, 2013

5. Older company sign for Segrest Law Firm.

Contains info on its' previous use as officers quarters. This historic structure was built circa 1864 as a residence for the Confederate Officers in charge of the Tallassee Armory. After the Civil War, it was the residence of Confederate General Birkett Fry and his wife Martha Micou Fry whose family was among the owners of the cotton mills in Tallassee. In the twentieth century it was the residence of Ray Carr, manager of The Company Stores operated by Mount Vernon Mills.

Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry image. Click for full size.

Public Domain

6. Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry

Credits. This page was last revised on June 10, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 9, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,474 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on June 9, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry, CSA⎯⎯⎯Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters

Brigadier General Birkett Davenport Fry, CSA
⎯⎯⎯
Tallassee Confederate Officers Quarters