Capt. Dennis Cook of the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Re-enactors escorts a mourner from the grave site of Martin Van Buren Parkhurst.
Ceremony offers tribute to fallen Confederate soldier
Last Saturday, members of the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry re-enactors met at Rose Hill Cemetery to hold a special memorial service for a fallen Confederate soldier.
The ceremony, in honor of a young soldier who never received a proper burial and lay forgotten for decades, is the first area event to commemorate the upcoming sesquicentennial anniversary of the Civil War.
Event organizers used the ceremony to teach area residents about one of the lesser known battles of the War Between the States and generate greater interest in area history.
BATTLE OF KING’S TANYARD
On August 2, 1864, a young Confederate soldier by the name of Wiley Bush came across a group of Union soldiers known as Stoneman’s Raiders.
Stoneman’s Raiders were part of an East Tennessee unit headed by Gen. George Stoneman. The unit was operating in Georgia during the time Gen. William T. Sherman was conducting his Atlanta campaign.
The Union soldiers asked Bush, who was home on leave at the time and not in uniform, to guide them to a safe place to camp for the night.
Bush obliged, leading the enemy forces to a site a few miles away from the area which is now Winder.
After leaving the Union forces encamped, Bush met up with a small force of approximately 100 Rebel cavalrymen and told them where to find the contingent of unsuspecting Yankees.
At daybreak on August 3, 1864, a fierce battle commenced between troops of the Ninth Kentucky Calvary, C.S.A. and Union troops headed by Col. Horace Capron. The skirmish, which became known as the Battle of King’s Tanyard, ended badly for the Union forces.
The surprise attack caused the Yankee forces to flee north to Price’s Bridge which spanned the Mulberry River. The bridge, which had been built at least four decades earlier, was soon overrun with Union forces frantically attempting to escape the pursuing Rebels. As the Yankees fled, the bridge collapsed causing an unknown number of soldiers to end up in the waters of the Mulberry. Before the battle ended, nine Yankees were dead and 430 were captured according to amateur historian David Mann.
Capron, the leader of the Union brigade, managed to escape with just six of his men.
Despite being greatly outnumbered, only one Confederate soldier was killed. That soldier was 19-year-old Martin Van Buren Parkhurst.
NOT SO FINAL RESTING PLACE
Instead of being afforded a proper burial, young Parkhurst’s body was buried at the head of a spring from which a very vocal opponent to the war, John King, drew drinking water.
Parkhurst’s fellow soldiers knew that by burying the young soldier at the site, King would be forced to dig a new well.
According to Mann, the location for Parkhurst’s burial may have been an act of retaliation for abuses committed by Union soldiers as they waged war throughout the area.
“At that period in the war, there were a lot of things that were being done,” Mann said.
Mann explained that Union troops were reported to have poisoned wells and committed other atrocities as they marched through Georgia.
“When Sherman’s troops came through Georgia, they raided a lot of farms and took a lot of animals and food supplies, not necessarily because they needed them, but just to deprive the Southerners of their food sources,” Mann said. The purpose was to weaken morale and support for the war.
“They would kill farm animals and dump them in wells. As a matter of fact, they were known to lead domestic cows and horses inside people’s houses and slaughter them in the house,” Mann added. Disposing of such a large carcass would have been a difficult and unpleasant chore – one which would have bred bitterness and resentment in those who were affected.
Mann believes Parkhurst’s burial site may have been chosen with the horror of those types of Union activities in mind.
For four decades, Parkhurst lay in rest at the head of the spring.
Then, in 1907, Parkhurst – whose name had long been forgotten - was reinterred in Rose Hill Cemetery. The City of Winder provided a burial plot and the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a marker on his grave which identified the deceased teen as an “Unknown Confederate Soldier.”
For years, Parkhurst’s body lay unidentified until the early seventies when one of his descendents, Christine Carruth, posted an advertisement in a local paper requesting assistance in locating his grave.
Charlotte Ingram, wife of Barrow County Museum founder C. Fred Ingram, decided to help locate Parkhurst’s resting place.
Carruth and Ingram reviewed correspondence from soldiers who served with Parkhurst as well as published accounts of the battle. Eventually, the two women concluded that Parkhurst was the soldier buried as the “Unknown Confederate Soldier.”
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Though the mystery of the unknown soldier’s identity was solved, one problem remained.
“As far as I know, there has never been an official memorial or military service for him,” Mann said.
Mann and fellow Civil War re-enactors of the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry decided to remedy that.
On Saturday, the group along with members of the Lawrenceville Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 96 honor guard held a memorial service for Parkhurst.
Mann and his friend Mike Bowen came up with the idea to honor Parkhurst after researching the Stoneman Raid. With next year marking the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Civil War, Mann said he thought it would be a good opportunity to honor the fallen soldier.
The ceremony included a brief history of the Battle of King’s Tanyard and the events surrounding Parkhurst’s death. Participants fired a 21 gun salute in Parkhurst’s honor.
Bush, the young soldier that led the Rebel cavalrymen to the Yankee’s camping place, was also honored for his role in the Confederate victory.
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Mann said many people, even some who study the Civil War, are not familiar with the Battle of King’s Tanyard.
“At the time, this was kind of a sideshow to what was going on around Atlanta,” he said. “This didn’t get a lot of attention back then. Of course, it was a big event to the local people. But, on the whole scale of things, it was a lot smaller battle than what was occurring around Atlanta.”
The battle was just one of more than 500 battles which took place in Georgia during the Civil War. Mann said the fact that few people can name more than a handful of those skirmishes is disappointing.
“Back during that time period, you had the North and the South,” he said. “They had different viewpoints and they would not compromise. Each side took a firm stand and was unwilling to compromise and it led to a war where over 500,000 people were killed. “ Mann sees certain parallels in current events.
“There are a lot of things that are not being taught in history today in our schools,” Mann said. “From my viewpoint, if you don’t study history, you are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history.”
Event organizers used the ceremony to teach area residents about one of the lesser known battles of the War Between the States and generate greater interest in area history.
BATTLE OF KING’S TANYARD
On August 2, 1864, a young Confederate soldier by the name of Wiley Bush came across a group of Union soldiers known as Stoneman’s Raiders.
Stoneman’s Raiders were part of an East Tennessee unit headed by Gen. George Stoneman. The unit was operating in Georgia during the time Gen. William T. Sherman was conducting his Atlanta campaign.
The Union soldiers asked Bush, who was home on leave at the time and not in uniform, to guide them to a safe place to camp for the night.
Bush obliged, leading the enemy forces to a site a few miles away from the area which is now Winder.
After leaving the Union forces encamped, Bush met up with a small force of approximately 100 Rebel cavalrymen and told them where to find the contingent of unsuspecting Yankees.
At daybreak on August 3, 1864, a fierce battle commenced between troops of the Ninth Kentucky Calvary, C.S.A. and Union troops headed by Col. Horace Capron. The skirmish, which became known as the Battle of King’s Tanyard, ended badly for the Union forces.
The surprise attack caused the Yankee forces to flee north to Price’s Bridge which spanned the Mulberry River. The bridge, which had been built at least four decades earlier, was soon overrun with Union forces frantically attempting to escape the pursuing Rebels. As the Yankees fled, the bridge collapsed causing an unknown number of soldiers to end up in the waters of the Mulberry. Before the battle ended, nine Yankees were dead and 430 were captured according to amateur historian David Mann.
Capron, the leader of the Union brigade, managed to escape with just six of his men.
Despite being greatly outnumbered, only one Confederate soldier was killed. That soldier was 19-year-old Martin Van Buren Parkhurst.
NOT SO FINAL RESTING PLACE
Instead of being afforded a proper burial, young Parkhurst’s body was buried at the head of a spring from which a very vocal opponent to the war, John King, drew drinking water.
Parkhurst’s fellow soldiers knew that by burying the young soldier at the site, King would be forced to dig a new well.
According to Mann, the location for Parkhurst’s burial may have been an act of retaliation for abuses committed by Union soldiers as they waged war throughout the area.
“At that period in the war, there were a lot of things that were being done,” Mann said.
Members of the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Re-enactors listen to instructions before the beginning of the July 31 memorial service. David Mann (center) was one of the event organizers. Photo by Kristi Reed
“When Sherman’s troops came through Georgia, they raided a lot of farms and took a lot of animals and food supplies, not necessarily because they needed them, but just to deprive the Southerners of their food sources,” Mann said. The purpose was to weaken morale and support for the war.
“They would kill farm animals and dump them in wells. As a matter of fact, they were known to lead domestic cows and horses inside people’s houses and slaughter them in the house,” Mann added. Disposing of such a large carcass would have been a difficult and unpleasant chore – one which would have bred bitterness and resentment in those who were affected.
Mann believes Parkhurst’s burial site may have been chosen with the horror of those types of Union activities in mind.
For four decades, Parkhurst lay in rest at the head of the spring.
Then, in 1907, Parkhurst – whose name had long been forgotten - was reinterred in Rose Hill Cemetery. The City of Winder provided a burial plot and the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a marker on his grave which identified the deceased teen as an “Unknown Confederate Soldier.”
For years, Parkhurst’s body lay unidentified until the early seventies when one of his descendents, Christine Carruth, posted an advertisement in a local paper requesting assistance in locating his grave.
Charlotte Ingram, wife of Barrow County Museum founder C. Fred Ingram, decided to help locate Parkhurst’s resting place.
Carruth and Ingram reviewed correspondence from soldiers who served with Parkhurst as well as published accounts of the battle. Eventually, the two women concluded that Parkhurst was the soldier buried as the “Unknown Confederate Soldier.”
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Though the mystery of the unknown soldier’s identity was solved, one problem remained.
“As far as I know, there has never been an official memorial or military service for him,” Mann said.
Mann and fellow Civil War re-enactors of the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry decided to remedy that.
On Saturday, the group along with members of the Lawrenceville Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 96 honor guard held a memorial service for Parkhurst.
Mann and his friend Mike Bowen came up with the idea to honor Parkhurst after researching the Stoneman Raid. With next year marking the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Civil War, Mann said he thought it would be a good opportunity to honor the fallen soldier.
The ceremony included a brief history of the Battle of King’s Tanyard and the events surrounding Parkhurst’s death. Participants fired a 21 gun salute in Parkhurst’s honor.
Bush, the young soldier that led the Rebel cavalrymen to the Yankee’s camping place, was also honored for his role in the Confederate victory.
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Mann said many people, even some who study the Civil War, are not familiar with the Battle of King’s Tanyard.
“At the time, this was kind of a sideshow to what was going on around Atlanta,” he said. “This didn’t get a lot of attention back then. Of course, it was a big event to the local people. But, on the whole scale of things, it was a lot smaller battle than what was occurring around Atlanta.”
The battle was just one of more than 500 battles which took place in Georgia during the Civil War. Mann said the fact that few people can name more than a handful of those skirmishes is disappointing.
“Back during that time period, you had the North and the South,” he said. “They had different viewpoints and they would not compromise. Each side took a firm stand and was unwilling to compromise and it led to a war where over 500,000 people were killed. “ Mann sees certain parallels in current events.
“There are a lot of things that are not being taught in history today in our schools,” Mann said. “From my viewpoint, if you don’t study history, you are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history.”
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#1
Edwin Gravitt
on
08/08/10 at 09:17 PM
[Reply]
Kristi, I agree with Mr. Mann that, if you don't study history you are doomed to repeat it. However, I would like to mention that, the victors of wars get to write the history and therefore, in the case of the so called civil war, the truth about it has not been taught in northern or southern schools. What a travesty of justice in our Republic. Many believe that the Lincoln war of northern aggression was to free the slaves, but that is entirely false. Even Lincoln himself said as much on more than one occasion, while stating that his war was to preserve the union. But even that was not true as the union was already preserved north of the Mason and Dixon line, after the southern states had constitutionally seceded. Lincoln had also said that, the southern states had the right to secede, as did Thomas Jefferson before him. Moreover, 400,000 slaves had already been freed in the south before Lincoln was elected president. At the time of the war's beginning 8 northern states and only 7 southern states held slaves, with Rhodes Plantation, in the State of Rhode Island being the biggest and wealthiest slave trading plantation in America. But after all is said and done, the Lincoln war was neither to free the slaves, nor to preserve the union, but was the continuance of the Alexander Hamilton scheme (at the time of his writing the constitution) to advance the cause of a central world banking system and empire building (globalism), such as we are seeing the advancement of today. Even oil was a big part of the Lincoln scheme, and David Rockefeller; even before the war ended was refining oil in NYC and derived tremendous profits from it. Now, I'm sure someone will come on and say that "the South started the war when they bombarded Fort Sumter," but that is not true either. Article I Section 8 of the constitution states that: Only Congress has the power "To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water." The U.S. Congress did not declare war on the southern states because there was no justification for it. But Lincoln proceeded to prosecute his war anyway. Now I'm going to close my remarks for now, in anticipation of rebuttals from someone. Thank you for this article Kristi. I am very much interested in getting the truth out about the civil war.