By February 1861, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
and Florida had seceded from the Union.
The Southern Rights Guard was the first of 11 companies to leave Houston County.
No battles were fought in Houston County, but times were tough,
nonetheless. The people constantly heard rumors that the "Yankees were
coming," so they prepared by burying all valuables and hiding others that
couldn't be buried. When General Beauregard made an appeal for all
plantation and church bells for cannon, as many that could be obtained were given.
In time things that couldn't be made on the farms and plantations gave out
and substitutions had to be made. For example, coffee was hardest to get
so the women devised a concoction of chipped up sweet potatoes, persimmon
seed, okra seed, meal and rye, thouroughly dried and parched, and ground.
Parched peanuts made cocoa. Dry strawberry and raspberry leaves made tea.
Syrup was used for sugar. Nothing was wasted.
The scarcity of salt was a problem because it was difficult to save meat
without it.
There were few physicians left to look after the sick.
Soldiers returned to find their property gone, their money of no value, and
their land devastatd.
Civil War Events and Sites in Georgia:
* Battle of Chickamauga (now a National Park)
* Dalton - Confederate Winter Camp, 1863-1864
* Graysville - Andrews Raiders captured by Fuller
* Battle of Resaca (now a Confederate Cemetery)
* Rome - Noble Iron Works made cannons & locomotives
* Cartersville - Sherman organized Atlanta Attack
* Battle of New Hope Church, 25-28 May 1864
* Battle of Pickett's Mill, 27 May 1864
* Battle of Dallas, 30-31 May 1864
* Battle of Kennesaw (now a National Battlefield Park)
* Big Shanty - capture of the "General" locomotive
* Battle of Smyrna Station, 4 July 1864
* Battle of Peachtree Creek
* Battle of Atlanta, 21-22 July 1864
* Cavalry Battle of Stone Mountain (now a State Park)
* Battle of Ezra Church, 28 July 1864
* Battle - Jonesboro, 31 August 1864; Evacuation of Atlanta
* Griffin - Camp Stephens
* Battle of Griswoldville, 22 November 1864
* Seige and fall of Savannah, December 1864
* Waynesboro Cavalry Battle, 4 December 1864
* Battle of West Point, 16 April 1865
* Athens - Mills for textiles and Cook Rifles
* Thomaston - Textile mills for uniforms
* Battle - Columbus, April 1865 (Confederate Naval Museum now located there)
* Eatonton - Textile mills (State Museum no located there)
* Crawfordville - Stephen's Liberty Hall (now a museum)
* Last meeting of Davis' Cabinet in Wilkes County
* Macon Arsenal - Produced guns, swords, etc.
* Milledgeville - Georgia's wartime capitol
* Camp Sumter - site of Andersonville Prison (now a Park)
* Augusta Arsenal - Factory for gunpowder and weapons
* Millen, Camp Lawton War Prison
* Guyton - Camp Davis
* Fort Pulaski - site of battles (now a National Park)
* Fort McAllister
* Irwinville - Capture of Jefferson Davis, 10 May 1865
* Bonaire - Federals camped after capture of Davis
