Discover the Evergreen Cemetery in Fitzgerald Georgia - It is the burial site of the oldest Confederate veteran in Georgia, General Sherman’s drummer boy and other Civil War legends.Stay and Play in GA!
General Info
Fitzgerald's roots in the Civil War and its remarkable founding story are told through its streets named for Yank and Reb Generals. The town's history is also revealed in the street names in Evergreen Cemetery, the same name as the cemetery over which the famous Civil War Battle at Gettysburg was fought.
The story of that battle is told in the street names in the historical northwest section of the cemetery, west of the Cemetery Road entrance. Remarkably, the area was laid out in a manner which mimics the terrain and army positions of the battle. Look for Taneytown Road, Cemetery Ridge Road, Emmitsburg Road and Seminary Ridge Road and Little Round Top Lane, named for the hill where Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain led a daring bayonet charge at Gettysburg.
Amenities: Parking and Accessibility for mobility-impaired.
Historical Gravesite Tour
1. Sgt. John C. Buckley, Company G, 4th West Virginia Infantry - Medal of Honor awarded for “gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party” at the May 22, 1863 Battle of Vicksburg.
2. Capt. David Timothy Cummins, Company H, 64th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry - Traveling from Minatare, Nebraska, the Cummins family joined up with the Davis and Twiss caravan (#s 19 and 26) in Ft. Scott, Kansas. Included in the Cummins group were Capt. Cummins and his wife, their son Charlie, their daughter Dottie with husband Tony Linneman and child Pearl, and their son Phil and his wife Mary Mell, who were newlyweds. Union veteran Tom Posey, a bachelor, was also with their group. They were delayed near West Plains, Missouri, six weeks while a daughter
was born to the Linnemans.
3. Jerome Moss, Company K, 16th Wisconsin Infantry - Drummer boy under Sherman, Optician in the Colony “I lied about my age to get in, but would have lied a thousand times to get out.”
4. Confederate Veterans Section - Dedicated by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Ben Hill chapters.
• W. J. Crawford, marched with Robert E. Lee
• J. T. Mann, UCVA
• G. T. J. Williford, UCVA
• Thomas P. Littlefield, UCVA
• John A. Carmichael, Co. H (the Liberty Rangers), 47th Regiment Georgia Infantry, CSA
• M. Bruce, Co. D, 2nd Georgia Regiment, CSA. Organized by Gov. Joe Brown to protect Georgia’s railways, also called the Georgia State Line.
• James A. Brantley
• W. McCord, Co. A (also known as Findley’s Batallion) of the 5th Georgia Reserves, CSA - The United Confederate Veterans Association (UCVA) was established in 1889 as a benevolent, historical, social and literary association for all associations of Confederate veterans.
5. J. M. Mosher, Company A, 64th Illinois Infantry - Discharged October 12, 1862 for disability, an Andersonville Prison survivor. Founder, owner and operator of Fitzgerald Artificial Stone Works which made materials for many of Fitzgerald’s granitoid buildings. Marker for his wife Eliza Percy Mosher states “She hath done what she could.”
6. Pvt. William L. Marston, Company B, 17th Michigan Infantry - A founder of the Blue and Gray Association, an organization of Confederate and Union veterans which held big annual meetings in Fitzgerald for some years. “It has brought about a feeling of confidence in, a proper respect for, and a spirit of true comradeship which no other condition could possibly have included.” Early postmaster, served on the School Board.
Historical Gravesite Tour
7. Rev. Joseph Wilmer Turner, Virginia Artillery - Served with Leake’s Battery, also called Turner Artillery, a Virginia artillery unit in the Army of Northern Virginia which was dissolved before Antietam. Fought with Robert E. Lee at Antietam, Second Battle of Bull Run, Spotsylvania Courthouse.
Missionary to Fitzgerald 1896-1908; founded St. Matthew’s Church and remained its vicar until his death. Performed the first wedding and the first funeral in the Colony. Photo in 1907 City Directory. Served on the Colony school board; schools and businesses closed the two days his body lay in state. The Good Shepherd window in the church on West Pine Street, dedicated in his honor, can be seen today.
8. Julius Henry Davis, Company H, 21st Regiment Indiana Infantry (1st Heavy Artillery) -
The Davis family traveled from Nebraska with Mr. and Mrs. Tom Twiss and their children. Son Charlie was killed by a lightning bolt early in the journey and buried in Hershey Cemetery in Nebraska. Only one of their mules completed the whole journey—living to plow cotton in Georgia.
9. Private Lewis Clute, Company H, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry - On hand for the capture of Jefferson Davis May 10, 1865. One year before his death, the Leader-Enterprise newspaper had him swear an affidavit regarding the appearance of Jefferson Davis at the time of his capture. Mr. Clute stated that “Mr. Davis was plainly seen by him and that the statement he was garbed in female attire was entirely false and without foundation whatsoever.”
10. Henry Chaple, Company D, 85th New York Infantry - Andersonville Prison survivor, along with his brother Alfred. Plymouth, NC April 17-20: 1 officer and 10 enlisted men killed, 8 enlisted men mortally wounded, 2 officers and 22 enlisted men wounded but recovered, 22 officers and 478 enlisted men missing. Most of the men captured at Plymouth were sent to Andersonville.
11. Cpl. Leander Scott, 67th New York Infantry - Served in the Army of the Potomac, wounded three times, first to enlist from his community. Chair and prominent member of the Blue and Gray Association, an organization of Union and Confederate veterans.
12. Erasters L. Scott, Company C, 85th New York Volunteers - Andersonville Prison survivor, kept a diary of his experiences in the Prison.
Historical Gravesite Tour (Continued)
13. David and Mary Drew - Originally from Southport, South Carolina, the Drews moved in 1888 and developed Swan, along with the John Thomas Dix and Marvin and Albert Dix families. Named for the boat on which the Drews moved to Georgia, Swan was a small community with a store, a post office booth, two substantial homes, a large horse and mule barn and a score of shanties. Swan preceded the founding of Fitzgerald. Son-in-law Tom Price, married to Lulu Drew, opened the Empire Store the first year of the Colony.
14. Cora Fox - One of the first school teachers in the Colony. Her mother, Eliza C. Fox – the widow of Union veteran John H. Fox – came to Fitzgerald from Creighton Township, Nebraska in 1895 with her three daughters (Cora, Alta and Mrs. Harlan Shanklin), her mother, Electa Speer, a nephew and Mr. Harlan Shanklin. They were among the first settlers. Eliza Fox founded the Colony House, Fitzgerald’s first hotel, a wooden structure in Shacktown, and later the St. James Hotel on East Central Avenue. Cora made the sign for The Colony House by sewing letters on cloth because there wasn’t a painter yet in the new colony.
15. Fred Bigham - Married to Cora Fox. Lead carpenter for the Lee-Grant Hotel, an elaborate three-story, 150-room hotel with porches around the ground floor and a high tower, the largest wooden building in Georgia at the time, and the original site of the Blue and Gray Museum. Bigham was elected alderman of the 2nd Ward in 1907. His photo is in the 1907 City Directory.
16. Nettie C. Hall, “Mother Enterprise” - Among the first colonists to arrive in 1895. Reporter for the Enterprise beginning with the first edition on December 12, 1895. Later bought the paper. Was working for the Leader when she died. She wrote the introduction of Fitzgerald in the 1907 City Directory. Famed speaker and temperance movement worker in South Dakota. Passionate interest in the development of the railroads. Her articles on the construction of the AB&A railroad shops chronicle a key segment of Fitzgerald’s developing industry.
Widow of two Union veterans – First husband Mr. Weems, second husband Cleveland T. Hall, listed on Civil War pension roll for 1883 in Auroroa County, Dakota Territory receiving $10 a month.
17. W.R. Bowen - Son of only Confederate veteran to serve on Colony Company Board, 2nd Lt. R.V. Bowen who fought with the 49th Regiment, Company E, Wilcox County, States Rights Guards. In the Battle of Cedar Mountain August 9, 1862 with 22 men under his command, only 9 came out unhurt. After the War, R. V. Bowen started a lumber and mercantile business at Bowen’s Mill, with a trade radius of 50 miles in the scarcely populated area. R.V. was a state representative in 1898-99 and 1903-04. W. R. was involved in banking and real estate with his father, involving of the Lee-Grant Hotel and several downtown city blocks, including the Garbutt- Donovan Building and marble-fronted Exchange Bank, both of which are in active use today. W. R. Bowen founded the Colony Bank with Frank Bauder of Cleveland.
18. Hageman Family - Cpl. Adrian Hageman, Company D, 93rd Indiana Infantry Volunteers, wounded in the knee at Vicksburg. Three of his brothers were Yanks and four were Rebs. Adrian and Fannie Protsman Hageman and their daughters Fannie and Adelia arrived December 9, 1895, by train from Missouri to Lulaville and then by hack to Mrs. Fox’s hotel. Their four sons remained in the west. They had trouble getting their chickens to roost in the tall pines for they were accustomed to apple trees. Adrian invested in the pecan industry, founding the Riverview Land and Immigration Company. He died of a heart attack while visiting his sons in the west and despite his request to be buried with his troops, his widow Fannie buried him in the family plot.
Great-grandson John Hageman – whose other greatgrandfather Thomas T. Gibbs served with Co. E of the 49th Regiment Georgia Infantry and is buried in the Confederate cemetery in Richmond, Virginia – today serves on the Fitzgerald City Council.
Historical Gravesite Tour (Continued)
19. Denmark Family - Founding family active in community today Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Twiss and their children Bertha and Walter traveled from Nebraska with the Davis family. Mrs. Twiss was knocked unconscious, by lightning in Sutherland, Nebraska; Charles Davis was killed and buried at that site. Bertha developed a life-long fear of lightning. Bertha married Arthur H. Denmark, “a true southern gentleman from lower Georgia” (Brooks County) who came to the colony in 1902. Bertha Twiss Denmark is a character in “Our Friends The Enemy.” Her daughter, Frances Denmark Hiers produced and directed the production, premiering July 4-6, 1962.
20. Capt. Jack Mayes - British settler, ran Fitzgerald Mills. With 4,000 spindles, the cotton factory, as it was called in a 1900 newspaper article, was considered “a matter which affects and should greatly concern every businessman and property owner who should make it his business to see that everything is done to secure the largest degree of success possible…for this pioneer mill.” It was considered a “monument to a progressive business spirit.” The Cotton Mill Reunion today is a significant annual event, with former employees and their descendants returning to Fitzgerald every spring.
21. Henry Brunner, Company M, 1st West Virginia Cavalry - Last surviving Union veteran in the Colony, died at age 98 October 30, 1940. Born Heinrich Brunner in Germany; moved to Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio in 1854, Newton, Harvey County, Kansas in 1871 and Fitzgerald in 1906. Merchant in the Colony.
22. Sydney and Mary Ellen Finical Clare British venture capitalist who made significant profits when the Colony went into receivership. Sydney and common-law wife Mary Ellen formed the Fitzgerald Trust Company and built Lynwood, an English estate, on the highest spot in the county; when it burned on Christmas Eve in the 1930s, he lived in a small cabin on the property until his death.
23. General William Joshua Bush, Private with the14th Georgia Infantry unit from Wilkinson County, the Ramah Guards. He enlisted July 9, 1861 and discharged October 22, 1861. Men often enlisted for 90 days. Enlisted in the Georgia Militia October 1864, surrendered at Stephen’s Station, Georgia in 1865. Participated in battles of Cross Keys, Milledgeville, Atlanta and Duncan’s Old Field. Last of the 368,000 Georgia Confederate veterans to die – November 11, 1952 at age 107. Achieved his rank of general after the war in veteran’s groups.
Historical Gravesite Tour (Continued)
24. Hebrew Congregation- “Dedicated to the six million Hebrew men, women and children who met death at the cruel hand of the German Nazi government between the years of 1935 and 1945,” a monument marks the center of the Hebrew Congregation within Evergreen Cemetery.
• Samuel and Irene Abram, parents of Morris Abram, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, president of Brandeis University, vice-chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, chair of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, noted internationally as a progressive thinker and true believer in human rights. Born in Fitzgerald in 1918.
• Martin Gottlieb, a Fitzgerald merchant, left the City a substantial bequest at his death to provide Christmas gifts for needy children. A local board administers that gift to this day, considered by the community to be yet another stirring example of Fitzgerald harmony.
• Charles Harris, son of founding members of the Hebrew Congregation, regional and state business and political leader, East Central Technical Institute Charles Harris Learning Center honoree.
• Philip Halperin**, founder of Surprise Store which became Halperin’s Department Store.
• H. R. “Dick” and Annie Kaminsky**. He was president of Georgia B’nai Brith, a Jewish service
organization, led 1963 trade mission for the United States to the Soviet Union and served as official host to the Russian delegation in return.
• Nathan Kohen, served for 26 years as the first and only full-time rabbi of the Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation. Today, the Hebrew Theological Seminary in New York sends guest rabbis monthly, and for high holy days.
• Abe and Helen Whitcover Kruger**. Classically trained in Europe in cantorial music, he served as rabbi, cantor, handyman—every skill needed to establish the congregation. Established Abe Kruger’s Department Store. ** Founding members of Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation, 1946.
25. Gelders – Stewart Family - Editor and publisher of the Leader newspaper, and a leading member of the Jewish community, Isidor Gelders from Germany, and his wife Maude Stewart from Nebraska, one of the colony’s first school teachers, led the movement to provide free textbooks for all the students, a first for America. A bronze marker on Highway 129, the Dixie Highway, near Folkston, Georgia, notes his contribution, along with W. R. Bowen, to establish roads from New York to Florida.
26. Beth Davis - City Historian and founder of the Blue and Gray Museum who kept the remarkable Fitzgerald story alive through her conversations with surviving colonists and all those with memories of the founders. She was the granddaughter of a Confederate soldier; her husband’s father, buried in Evergreen Cemetery (#8), fought for the Union.
Amenities
Parking, Public Restrooms, Accessibility for mobility-impaired
Hours Open
Daily at 8 am - 5 pm
Contact & Address
Phone: 229-426-5033 and toll free 800-386-4642 - Address: Benjamin Hill Dr. E., Fitzgerald Georgia 31750
