Griswoldville

by Bragg, William Harris

• ISBN13: 9780881461688
• ISBN10: 0881461687
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-01
• Publisher: Mercer Univ Pr

Summary

For such a small battle, Griswoldville has always attracted great interest, particularly from those drawn to the story of the Civil War in Georgia. But those with broader concerns have also felt its appeal, notably Shelby Foote, who wrote affectingly of the battle in the last volume of his Civil War trilogy. In numerical terms the battle was practically negligible: more Federals were counted missing after the fighting at Chickamauga (around 4700), than fought on both sides at Griswoldville (fewer than 4000). But what the battle lacked in size and scope was more than made up for in terms of human interest: no mention of the battle ever seems to neglect a reference to the old men and young boys of the Georgia Militia and their ill-starred charge against seasoned, entrenched Union troops. Also, the battle undeniably has a claim to uniqueness, as the only major infantry engagement of the March to the Sea. Beyond that there is the link to what Griswoldville had meant before that raw November day in 1864: the location of a remarkable and justly famed Confederate pistol factory. And the factory's previous incarnation as a center for cotton gin production nicely illustrates the "plowshares to swords" aspect of Southern military industrialization.

Author Biography

William Harris Bragg, a native Georgian, teaches history at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. He is the author of Joe Brown's Army and De Renne, and is co-author (with Bill Scaife) of Joe Brown's Pets: The Georgia Militia in the Civil War. He is past recipient of the Georgia Historical Society's Merton Coulter Award for Excellence in the Writing of Georgia's History

Table of Contents

Dedication
The Rise of Samuel Griswold	p. 3
A Handsome and Thrifty Village	p. 9
Weapons for the War	p. 15
Sabers in Central Georgia	p. 29
Stoneman's Raiders at Clinton and Gordon	p. 36
Cobb's Reserves and Brown's 'Pets'	p. 40
Griswoldville and Macon under Fire	p. 51
The Battle of Sunshine Church	p. 64
The Way to Stoneman's Hill	p. 73
Confederate Thanksgiving	p. 82
Marching toward the Sea	p. 84
Resisting the March	p. 91
Clinton Occupied	p. 95
Griswoldville Destroyed	p. 103
General Howard's Stratagem	p. 108
Digging In at Duncan's Farm	p. 114
Advancing toward Disaster	p. 122
The Battle of Griswoldville	p. 130
The View from the Ridge	p. 139
The Reasons Why	p. 143
Aftermath	p. 151
Notes	p. 159
Selected Sources	p. 175
Afterword and Acknowledgments	p. 183
Index	p. 185
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.