New Monument Stands in Georgia

NEW MONUMENT MARKS BATTLE OF GRISWOLDVILLE IN GEORGIA

(Macon, Georgia - December 28, 2012) A monument commemorating the men who defended Georgia at the Battle of Griswoldville near Macon now stands completed in the Griswoldville Battlefield Park in Jones County, Georgia.

The battle was the last major engagement during Sherman's "March to the Sea" between Atlanta and Savannah and was fought on November 22, 1864. The Home Guard, Georgia's militia during the War for Southern Independence, was all that stood between Sherman and a clear path to Savannah as Union forces neared Macon in middle Georgia. In the face of concentrated fire from the newly acquired Spencer repeating rifles among Yankee troops, the young boys and old men which made up most of the Home Guard charged the enemy with only muskets a number of times throughout the day in an attempt to drive the enemy from their nearby homes. Despite their heroism on the field of battle, the militia was no match for the heavily armed invaders; and the Confederates ended the day with 50 killed, 500 wounded, and nearly 600 captured of their number. The defeat marked Georgia's last chance to survive the War and to stave off Sherman's scorched earth policy for which he was accused of war crimes against humanity.

The newly erected monument at Griswoldville is an obelisk standing 14 feet tall and bears the names of the Georgia Home Guard units involved in the battle, as well as the seal of Georgia and an emblem of the Confederate States of America. Funding for the monument was raised by the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and totaled nearly $30,000. The local SCV camp, the Gen. Edward Dorr Tray Jr. Camp #18 of Macon, spearheaded the effort and designed the monument which now sits on the grounds in one of Georgia's state parks.

The Griswoldville Monument is the latest project by the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans during the ongoing Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the War and is a project funded in large part by the sale of SCV license plates in Georgia. The specialty plates are available to the general public by request from their local tag offices and are used to fund other similar projects by the Sons of Confederate Veterans throughout Georgia.

For interviews regarding the Battle of Griswoldville or for more information on the Sesquicentennial commemoration of the War, please call Jack Bridwell, Division Commander for the Georgia Sons of Confederate Veterans at 1-866-SCV-in-GA or online at www.GeorgiaSCV.org