Civil War Days in Oxford
by George W. W. Stone, Jr.
George W. W. Stone, Jr. was born in 1855 and was the son of a college professor and slave owner. George was a very young boy when the Civil War began in 1861. He was later blinded when he was stabbed him in his eyes with the horns of a goat. As an old man he dictated some of the following reminiscences to his niece Polly Stone Buck.
I remember one day seeing a great many men going towards Covington on horseback. I asked why they were going and was told it was an election. I think it was the election on secession. Father was a very staunch Douglas man and voted against secession. Our county went against secession by a 300 vote majority, but at the state convention, we were very much outnumbered. One of our delegates refused to sign the ordinance after it was passed. Our other delegate was Dr. Alexander Means. He had not voted for secession, but signed it after its passage, and thereafter gave the Confederacy his hearty support, as did most of the other Southern men. Dr. Means showed me the pen once which he used to sign the ordinance.
In May 1861, the college boys began to drill in squads all over the streets of the town, and we constantly heard the fife and kettledrum. The college closed and remained closed until January, 1866.
I remember the first two men from Oxford who went to the army. They were Mr. June Branham and Mr. Watt Griffin. There was a meeting at the church to tell them goodbye. From then on, the men folk of Oxford continued to go to the war until there were only old men -- and only a few of them -- left. Oxford had only four or five hundred inhabitants, yet there were sixty-three in the army. Nineteen of them never came back alive and most of them sleep in unknown graves in Virginia. Five were brought back and buried here.
I remember one day, three companies went from Covington on the same day. One company was commanded by Jefferson Lamar, the younger brother of L.Q.C. Lamar. He was killed at the second battle of Manassas, the same battle in which my Mother’s brother ‘Oddie’ was killed.
The city of Charleston was shelled by the U.S. gunboats and many Charleston citizens became refugees. Several families came to Oxford. Uncle Peter Stevens brought his family here. Also the Crews and the Fairs. When Uncle Frank’s first wife died, he brought his family to Oxford and they lived with his sister, Aunt Mary Stevens.
Miss Zora Fair made a trip on foot to Atlanta in 1864 disguised as a black woman. She brought back a full account of Sherman’s plan for his “March to the Sea.” She wrote it out and sent it to General Johnston by mail, but the mail was intercepted.
Uncle Frank Capers was the headmaster, or commandant, of the Georgia Military Academy at Marietta before the war. This was the West Point of the South, and Sherman and his men took particular delight in burning it to the ground when they were in Marietta.
All the college buildings and the old church were used for hospitals and continued as such until the last of the war. Of course everybody was very much excited over the war, and was willing to do almost anything to help the soldiers. At that time, little boys wore long pants and since the soldiers wore stripes on their pants, I made some stripes on mine of green cockleburs.
As I said, early during the war, the Confederate government took over our Oxford church, using it for a hospital. At that time, the slaves had a church that stood on ground that was afterwards taken into the white cemetery. So, while the old church was used for a hospital, the white folks moved their worship up there [to the slave’s church] every Sunday morning, and the slaves used the same building in the afternoon.
Oxford had an unusually good elementary school [for white children]. When the school was first built it was called the Oxford Female Academy. There was a very fine northern lady named Miss Johnson from Watertown, New York, who taught in our county near Brick Store. She stayed south during the war. Old Uncle Walter Branham and my father were very anxious for her to come teach here in Oxford. One of the trustees, Dr. Gaither (one of these fire and pepper folks) was very much opposed to her. They had a warm time in the trustees meeting. Father was advocating her and made the statement that although she was a northern woman, she sympathized with our side. That made Dr. Gaither very mad. He jumped up and shouted, “That’s a lie!” The trustees suspected a fight, but father was a cool-headed man. He turned to Dr. Gaither and said, “Now, Brother Gaither, you know I am not telling any lie, and when you cool down you’ll say so.” Miss Johnson was elected, and afterwards Dr. Gaither apologized. It is a puzzle to me even now to know how Miss Johnson took care of the school she developed. It was the largest school between Atlanta and Augusta. There were scholars from both Atlanta and Augusta who came here and boarded to be in her school. Some of the girls of the wealthiest families in this county walked two miles over here daily -- some even farther. When we moved to the plantation during the war, Sis Tudie stayed here and went to this school.
In 1861, the overseer at our plantation, Mr. Costley, had to go to the army. Father then moved to the plantation and took charge of things himself. He would stay up there all the week and come home Saturday night. Early in ’63 he decided to move the family up there. We stayed there until sometime in ’65. Father was an excellent farmer and manager, so we always had plenty of everything that could be had. However, some things could not be had then. The grown folks living on the plantation during the war passed through a time of stress and distress, but to us children it was almost a constant picnic.”
In May 1861, the college boys began to drill in squads all over the streets of the town, and we constantly heard the fife and kettledrum. The college closed and remained closed until January, 1866.
I remember the first two men from Oxford who went to the army. They were Mr. June Branham and Mr. Watt Griffin. There was a meeting at the church to tell them goodbye. From then on, the men folk of Oxford continued to go to the war until there were only old men -- and only a few of them -- left. Oxford had only four or five hundred inhabitants, yet there were sixty-three in the army. Nineteen of them never came back alive and most of them sleep in unknown graves in Virginia. Five were brought back and buried here.
I remember one day, three companies went from Covington on the same day. One company was commanded by Jefferson Lamar, the younger brother of L.Q.C. Lamar. He was killed at the second battle of Manassas, the same battle in which my Mother’s brother ‘Oddie’ was killed.
The city of Charleston was shelled by the U.S. gunboats and many Charleston citizens became refugees. Several families came to Oxford. Uncle Peter Stevens brought his family here. Also the Crews and the Fairs. When Uncle Frank’s first wife died, he brought his family to Oxford and they lived with his sister, Aunt Mary Stevens.
Miss Zora Fair made a trip on foot to Atlanta in 1864 disguised as a black woman. She brought back a full account of Sherman’s plan for his “March to the Sea.” She wrote it out and sent it to General Johnston by mail, but the mail was intercepted.
Uncle Frank Capers was the headmaster, or commandant, of the Georgia Military Academy at Marietta before the war. This was the West Point of the South, and Sherman and his men took particular delight in burning it to the ground when they were in Marietta.
All the college buildings and the old church were used for hospitals and continued as such until the last of the war. Of course everybody was very much excited over the war, and was willing to do almost anything to help the soldiers. At that time, little boys wore long pants and since the soldiers wore stripes on their pants, I made some stripes on mine of green cockleburs.
As I said, early during the war, the Confederate government took over our Oxford church, using it for a hospital. At that time, the slaves had a church that stood on ground that was afterwards taken into the white cemetery. So, while the old church was used for a hospital, the white folks moved their worship up there [to the slave’s church] every Sunday morning, and the slaves used the same building in the afternoon.
Oxford had an unusually good elementary school [for white children]. When the school was first built it was called the Oxford Female Academy. There was a very fine northern lady named Miss Johnson from Watertown, New York, who taught in our county near Brick Store. She stayed south during the war. Old Uncle Walter Branham and my father were very anxious for her to come teach here in Oxford. One of the trustees, Dr. Gaither (one of these fire and pepper folks) was very much opposed to her. They had a warm time in the trustees meeting. Father was advocating her and made the statement that although she was a northern woman, she sympathized with our side. That made Dr. Gaither very mad. He jumped up and shouted, “That’s a lie!” The trustees suspected a fight, but father was a cool-headed man. He turned to Dr. Gaither and said, “Now, Brother Gaither, you know I am not telling any lie, and when you cool down you’ll say so.” Miss Johnson was elected, and afterwards Dr. Gaither apologized. It is a puzzle to me even now to know how Miss Johnson took care of the school she developed. It was the largest school between Atlanta and Augusta. There were scholars from both Atlanta and Augusta who came here and boarded to be in her school. Some of the girls of the wealthiest families in this county walked two miles over here daily -- some even farther. When we moved to the plantation during the war, Sis Tudie stayed here and went to this school.
In 1861, the overseer at our plantation, Mr. Costley, had to go to the army. Father then moved to the plantation and took charge of things himself. He would stay up there all the week and come home Saturday night. Early in ’63 he decided to move the family up there. We stayed there until sometime in ’65. Father was an excellent farmer and manager, so we always had plenty of everything that could be had. However, some things could not be had then. The grown folks living on the plantation during the war passed through a time of stress and distress, but to us children it was almost a constant picnic.”