Cassville, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Cassville is an unincorporated community
in Bartow County
in the U.S. state
of Georgia
. It was originally the county seat
before the name was changed from Cass County. The seat was moved to Cartersville
after General Sherman destroyed Cassville in his Atlanta Campaign
of 1864.
Cassville, although no longer incorporated, is said to encompass an area beginning at the Cassville Road-Firetower Road intersection and extending a mile in all directions. Cassville lies in between Adairsville, Georgia and Cartersville, Georgia right off Highway 41. It is considered part of metro Atlanta but still is maintaining its small town atmosphere. Population estimates of the area show Cassville has a population near 5000.
The community has the oldest post office in the county. There is a general store, now the only store, that has remained in operation since 1800. Other points of interest include the Cassville History Museum, Cassville Visitors Information and Cassville Confederate Cemetery, located on Cass-White Road.
Outside the general store, men sit and converse.
The town of Cassville, begun in July 1833, as the seat of justice for Cass County. It was soon the center of trade and travel in the region recently comprising the Cherokee Nation
. Both the county and town where named in the honor of General Lewis Cass
Michigan statesman and Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. It was the county seat of Cass County from 1832-1861.
First decision Supreme Court of Georgia was issued here in 1846.
The name was changed to Manassas in 1861 after the success of the Confederacy in the First Battle of Bull Run. But as a direct result, the town was burned by Sherman 1864 and never rebuilt.
About 300 unknown Confederate soldiers died of wounds or disease in the several Confederate hospitals that were located in Cassville. These hospitals operated from late 1861 until May 18, 1864, then ambulances moved patients south out of the path of the invading Federal forces. In May 1899, the Cassville Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
, to honor these unknown soldiers, placed headstones at each of their graves in the local cemetery.
On May 19, 1864, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston
tricked Union General William T. Sherman into dividing his forces at Adairsville
and sending the XXIII Corps under General John M. Schofield across the Gravelly Plateau to Cassville. Johnston placed Lt.General Leonidas Polk
's corps behind Two Run Creek northwest of Cassville to oppose Schofield in front as he began crossing the creek. Johnston then sent Lt. General John B. Hood's corps northward along the Spring Place Road, to ambush Schofield in the left.
Atlanta Campaign
. On May 19, 1864, Johnston, entrenched on the ridge east of the marker, planned to give battle but Sherman threatened his flank and his corps commanders objected to the position. He therefore withdrew to Allatoona Pass. Rather than attack this strong position Sherman moved past it toward New Hope Church.
Confederate Army of Tennessee at Cassville. Johnston’s forces, reaching Cassville May 18, 1864 from Resaca
, 30 miles (48.3 km) north, took positions on ridge west of the town and prepared to withstand the advancing Federals. On May 19th: Pursuant to this intention, Hood's corps moved north of the town to oppose the Federal XX
and XXIII Corps marching south from Adairsville. But Hood's corps, diverted by an attack on its right by McCook's
cavalry [US], changed front and was ordered with the rest of the Army [CS] to withdraw to ridge east and south of the town.
The Confederates held a council of war at the William Neal McKelvey residence May 19. They discussed the advisability of holding the position east and south of Cassville. Present were: Johnston; Polk; Hood; Maj. General S. C. French; and Captain W.J. Morris, Chief Engineer, Polk's aide-de-camp
. After hearing the statements of the council, Johnston ordered the withdrawal of the army at midnight.
May 19, 1864: Butterfield's
(3rd) Division, XXth Corps [US], moving southeast from McDow's, left the road here and marched to the Hawkins Price house, enroute to Kingston
The 1st and 2nd Divisions [US], on roads west, had the same objective - an erratic move by Sherman who assumed that Johnston's Army [CS] had retreated on Kingston. Butterfield's march disclosed that Johnston's Army was at Cassville , not Kingston. The XXIII Corps (Schofield) [US] marched on this road from McDow's, reaching Cassville at dark.
Here the night of May 19, 1864, the Confederate Generals Johnston, Polk and Hood, conferred and decided to abandon Cassville and to move south of the Etowah, although Johnston originally had intended to fight here. A marker was erected 1948 By Patriots Of Bartow County Inscription by Col. Thomas Spencer,
Cassvile Female College was founded in 1853. On May 19, 1864, skirmishers of Polk's Army Corps [CS] withdrew from this ridge east to Cassville when pressed back by Butterfield's (3d) Div., XXth Corps [US], from the Hawkins Price house. Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
, supported by 73rd Ohio Infantry
, 19th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
and 20th Connecticut Regiment [US] occupied the ridge and shelled the town as Johnson's Army [CS] withdrew to a ridge east of it. At night Cassville was seized by the 19th Mich. & 20th Conn. the Female College and town were burned by the union.
Noble Hill Rosenwald School, now known as Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center, built in 1923 as the first standard school for black children in Bartow County School System. The school closed in 1955 when all schools for black children in Bartow County were consolidated to form Bartow Elementary School at a central location. Today the restored building is a cultural heritage museum with emphasis on black life in Bartow from the early 1900's to the present.
On Chapman Hill; a school for boys established Jan. 1854. A large three-story brick bldg. flanked by two-story wings. Burned 1856; rebuilt 1857, destroyed by Federal forces Oct. 12, 1864. This, & the Methodist Female College 3/4 mi. N.E., were the first chartered institutions of higher education in Cherokee Georgia. Their destruction, together with the burning of Cassville, marked the passing of a notable educational center in this section of the state.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Bartow County
Bartow County, Georgia
Bartow County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 100,157. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2009 estimate, the county's explosive growth resulted in a population of 96,217, a 26.5% increase in less than ten years...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. It was originally the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
before the name was changed from Cass County. The seat was moved to Cartersville
Cartersville, Georgia
Cartersville is a town in Bartow County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 19,7314. The city is the county seat of Bartow County.-Geography:Cartersville was named for Colonel Farish Carter....
after General Sherman destroyed Cassville in his Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
of 1864.
Cassville, although no longer incorporated, is said to encompass an area beginning at the Cassville Road-Firetower Road intersection and extending a mile in all directions. Cassville lies in between Adairsville, Georgia and Cartersville, Georgia right off Highway 41. It is considered part of metro Atlanta but still is maintaining its small town atmosphere. Population estimates of the area show Cassville has a population near 5000.
The community has the oldest post office in the county. There is a general store, now the only store, that has remained in operation since 1800. Other points of interest include the Cassville History Museum, Cassville Visitors Information and Cassville Confederate Cemetery, located on Cass-White Road.
Outside the general store, men sit and converse.
History
There are historic markers for many of the following events and places.The town of Cassville, begun in July 1833, as the seat of justice for Cass County. It was soon the center of trade and travel in the region recently comprising the Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who...
. Both the county and town where named in the honor of General Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
Michigan statesman and Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. It was the county seat of Cass County from 1832-1861.
First decision Supreme Court of Georgia was issued here in 1846.
The name was changed to Manassas in 1861 after the success of the Confederacy in the First Battle of Bull Run. But as a direct result, the town was burned by Sherman 1864 and never rebuilt.
About 300 unknown Confederate soldiers died of wounds or disease in the several Confederate hospitals that were located in Cassville. These hospitals operated from late 1861 until May 18, 1864, then ambulances moved patients south out of the path of the invading Federal forces. In May 1899, the Cassville Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
, to honor these unknown soldiers, placed headstones at each of their graves in the local cemetery.
On May 19, 1864, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
tricked Union General William T. Sherman into dividing his forces at Adairsville
Adairsville, Georgia
Adairsville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,542 at the 2000 census. As of 2007 data Adairsville's population was 3,076: 1,414 males and 1,662 females. Adairsville is south of Calhoun, northeast of Rome and north of Atlanta.-Geography:Adairsville is an...
and sending the XXIII Corps under General John M. Schofield across the Gravelly Plateau to Cassville. Johnston placed Lt.General Leonidas Polk
Leonidas Polk
Leonidas Polk was a Confederate general in the American Civil War who was once a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, and a second cousin of President James K. Polk...
's corps behind Two Run Creek northwest of Cassville to oppose Schofield in front as he began crossing the creek. Johnston then sent Lt. General John B. Hood's corps northward along the Spring Place Road, to ambush Schofield in the left.
Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
. On May 19, 1864, Johnston, entrenched on the ridge east of the marker, planned to give battle but Sherman threatened his flank and his corps commanders objected to the position. He therefore withdrew to Allatoona Pass. Rather than attack this strong position Sherman moved past it toward New Hope Church.
Confederate Army of Tennessee at Cassville. Johnston’s forces, reaching Cassville May 18, 1864 from Resaca
Resaca, Georgia
Resaca is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, and Whitfield County, Georgia along the Oostanaula River. The population was 815 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Resaca is located at ....
, 30 miles (48.3 km) north, took positions on ridge west of the town and prepared to withstand the advancing Federals. On May 19th: Pursuant to this intention, Hood's corps moved north of the town to oppose the Federal XX
XX Corps
List of military corps — List of military corps by numberA number of countries have a Twentieth, or XX, Corps:* Italian XX Motorised Corps* XX Corps * XX Corps * XX Corps * XX Corps...
and XXIII Corps marching south from Adairsville. But Hood's corps, diverted by an attack on its right by McCook's
Edward M. McCook
Edward Moody McCook was a lawyer, politician, distinguished Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, American diplomat, and Governor of the Territory of Colorado. He was a member of the famed "Fighting McCook" family of Ohio...
cavalry [US], changed front and was ordered with the rest of the Army [CS] to withdraw to ridge east and south of the town.
The Confederates held a council of war at the William Neal McKelvey residence May 19. They discussed the advisability of holding the position east and south of Cassville. Present were: Johnston; Polk; Hood; Maj. General S. C. French; and Captain W.J. Morris, Chief Engineer, Polk's aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
. After hearing the statements of the council, Johnston ordered the withdrawal of the army at midnight.
May 19, 1864: Butterfield's
Daniel Butterfield
Daniel Adams Butterfield was a New York businessman, a Union General in the American Civil War, and Assistant U.S. Treasurer in New York. He is credited with composing the bugle call Taps and was involved in the Black Friday gold scandal in the Grant administration...
(3rd) Division, XXth Corps [US], moving southeast from McDow's, left the road here and marched to the Hawkins Price house, enroute to Kingston
Kingston, Georgia
Kingston is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 659 at the 2000 census; the 2005 official estimate listed a population of 868.-Geography:Kingston is located at ....
The 1st and 2nd Divisions [US], on roads west, had the same objective - an erratic move by Sherman who assumed that Johnston's Army [CS] had retreated on Kingston. Butterfield's march disclosed that Johnston's Army was at Cassville , not Kingston. The XXIII Corps (Schofield) [US] marched on this road from McDow's, reaching Cassville at dark.
Here the night of May 19, 1864, the Confederate Generals Johnston, Polk and Hood, conferred and decided to abandon Cassville and to move south of the Etowah, although Johnston originally had intended to fight here. A marker was erected 1948 By Patriots Of Bartow County Inscription by Col. Thomas Spencer,
Cassvile Female College was founded in 1853. On May 19, 1864, skirmishers of Polk's Army Corps [CS] withdrew from this ridge east to Cassville when pressed back by Butterfield's (3d) Div., XXth Corps [US], from the Hawkins Price house. Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The battery was organized Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Ohio and mustered in for a three year enlistment on September 9, 1861. The regiment was organized as early as...
, supported by 73rd Ohio Infantry
73rd Ohio Infantry
The 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 73rd Ohio Infantry was organized in Chillicothe, Ohio and mustered in for three years service on December 30, 1861 under the command of Colonel Orland Smith.The regiment was...
, 19th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
19th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 19th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 19th Michigan Infantry was mustered into Federal service at Dowagiac, Michigan on September 5, 1862...
and 20th Connecticut Regiment [US] occupied the ridge and shelled the town as Johnson's Army [CS] withdrew to a ridge east of it. At night Cassville was seized by the 19th Mich. & 20th Conn. the Female College and town were burned by the union.
Noble Hill Rosenwald School, now known as Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center, built in 1923 as the first standard school for black children in Bartow County School System. The school closed in 1955 when all schools for black children in Bartow County were consolidated to form Bartow Elementary School at a central location. Today the restored building is a cultural heritage museum with emphasis on black life in Bartow from the early 1900's to the present.
On Chapman Hill; a school for boys established Jan. 1854. A large three-story brick bldg. flanked by two-story wings. Burned 1856; rebuilt 1857, destroyed by Federal forces Oct. 12, 1864. This, & the Methodist Female College 3/4 mi. N.E., were the first chartered institutions of higher education in Cherokee Georgia. Their destruction, together with the burning of Cassville, marked the passing of a notable educational center in this section of the state.
Notables
- Brigadier General William T. WoffordWilliam T. WoffordWilliam Tatum Wofford was an officer during the Mexican-American War and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
surrendered the last remaining Confederate troops east of the Mississsippi here. He resided here thereafter, involved in politics and newspaper publishing.
External links
- http://www.cassvillehistoricalsociety.com/