The Cassville Heritage Association was organized to honor the memory of the stalwart and enterprising citizens of Cassville, those before the Civil War, and those after.

There are four business meetings per year, some with guest speakers.

Meetings are held in the Heritage Room, in the old Cassville Bank Building. The building is next to the fire station, and across the street from the courthouse square marker.

The Adopt-a-Monument program for restoration of a family or favorite headstone. Individuals may sign a form and receive assistance in locating suitable craftsmen. Cost is borne by the individual.

During the year, one restoration project is sponsored by the Cassville Heritage Association.

Eleanor Thomasson was the originator of the Cassville Heritage Association. The first meeting was held May 23, 1993 in the sanctuary of the Cassville United Methodist Church.

The charter members were: Eleanor and Edwin Thomasson, Herman Bearden, Doris Matthews, Joel Kimsey, and Thomas and Emily Champion.

At this first meeting, Herman Bearden was elected President, and Joel Kimsey was elected Secretary/Treasurer.

After a recruitment campaign, the list of members included:
Eleanor & Edwin Thomasson
Herman Bearden
Doris Matthews
Joel & Annie Kimsey
Thomas & Emily Champion
Reba Allen
Festus Aultman
David Bishop
Eddie & Vickie Boswell
Michael Bryson
Warren Cagle
Oscar Coker
Steve Crowe
Earl & Dean Crapps
Guy & Cynthis Dempsey
Emmett Holmes
Susan & Ray Kennedy
Rose McCall
Mrs. Clyde Tribble
Robert & Angie Wilson

The Presidents of the Association include:
Herman Bearden
Michael Bryson
Dale Black
Lisa Ellis
Eddie Boswell
Debbie Hendrix
Bob Crowe (current President)

History of Cassville

by Charles Wilson, Jr.

Walking through old Cassville today, one would find very few remains of the thriving city which once existed before Sherman's Army burned and destroyed everything for miles around. Although in many ways it still resembles the layout of the former town, Cassville was never rebuilt as an incorporated town and the businesses never returned. Today, only three churches occupy the same ground they once did. The town that sat in the midst of Cherokee Georgia and served as the county seat of Cass County survives no more.

The town survived for only about 32 years, but sprang out of the Cherokee nation to become the largest, most prosperous town in the northern part of Georgia holding the distinction of being the leading educational and cultural center in the Cherokee area. Once a center for trade and travel, both the county and the town were named in honor of General Lewis Cass, a Michigan statesman and Secretary of War in the cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. By the mid-1840's Cassville had lost its preeminence as a trading center due to the location of the state owned Western and Atlantic railroad which is two miles west of Cassville's limits. The town flourished, however, and in 1860 was a community of about 1300 persons. In 1861 the name of the county was changed by action of the Georgia legislature to Bartow County in memory of General Francis S. Bartow, a native Georgian killed at the First Battle of Manassas. The name of the town was changed to Manassas to coincide.¹

Cass County was created by the Georgia legislature in 1832 and Cassville, the county seat, was laid out less than a year later. The town grew up in the middle of the woods where the Cherokees were still roaming and became a busy place. The town was built around the Court Square in a similar fashion to most Southern towns and a brick courthouse and jail were completed by 1837. Just over a decade later, Cassville boasted with pride about being the largest, most prosperous, most culturally affluent town in northern Georgia. After all, Cassville contained four hotels including the fancy Latimer Hotel which was less than a block away from the courthouse. These hotels made Cassville an ideal place for a stage coach stop and many took advantage of the facilities. There was a bookstore, insurance company, several practicing lawyers, two tailor shops, dry good stores, grocery stores, two carriage and wagon shops, a blacksmith, jewelry store, harness shop, livery stable, furniture store, lumber yard, a boot and shoe maker, brick yard, and four practicing doctors.²

Cassville was also the home of the only newspaper for miles around, The Cassville Standard. The first issue of The Standard was published March 15, 1849, and continued up until the town's destruction. The Standard was the last in a line of newspapers published in Cassville. In 1859 the stockholders in The Standard were Joseph Chapmon, Thomas M. Compton, William Latimore, William Headden, M. McMurray, arid Jesse R. Wikle who came from the Dahlonega Watchman and bought an interest in the paper. When Cassville was burned in 1864 The Standard offices were destroyed and the state acclaimed newspaper was lost forever. The only surviving copies are at the Library of the University of Georgia.³ Once the confusion and destruction of the town were over, a newspaper appeared in nearby Cartersville under the name of the Cartersville Standard and Express, but this was only namesake.

The old town of Cassville had brick sidewalks and was laid out in a traditional village style with square blocks spreading out from the courthouse square in the center. On either side of the courthouse was the main business district of town. Six stores, three on each side, were lined about the courthouse. The Levy store, J. D. Carpenter's store, George L. Upshaw's Store, and Chunn and Patton's Dry Goods store were located here. The U. S. Post Office was directly across the street from the courthouse and the Latimer Hotel was just past the post office. M. Murray's store, another hotel, and the printing shop were located on the opposite side of the courthouse square.⁴

The town was also the home of two fine colleges, the Cassville Female College and the Cherokee Baptist College both of which were housed in large brick buildings on beautiful campuses. Girls and boys from allover Cherokee Georgia came to Cassville to go to college. The Female Institute was owned by the Methodist and was located on a hill overlooking the town from the West. The hill was known by Cassvillians as "College Hill." Judge Nathan Land gave the Methodist the ten acres on which the Cassville Female College was built. By 1853, the large three-story brick structure was erected and in full use containing .the finest library in northern Georgia.⁵

The Cherokee Baptist Male College, on Chapman Hill, was located about 3/4 of a mile northeast of the Female Methodist College. It was a school for boys established in January of 1854. It too was a three-story building constructed of brick, but it had two-story wings flanking each side of the main structure. The school was burned in 1856 and was quickly rebuilt within a year and included the same floor plan as before as well as a chapel large enough to seat 800 people. There were seven recitation rooms, a library, two rooms for other purposes, and two large halls for the two Literary Societies to hold their functions. The Cherokee Baptist Male College and the Female Methodist College were the first chartered institutions of higher education in Cherokee, Georgia. There were no dormitories at either school, the citizens of Cassville boarded the youngsters for a small fee. Rev. Thomas Rambout, a native of Dublin, Ireland, was the first President of the Cherokee Baptist Male College and continued his duties until it was destroyed in 1864. The courses offered were in Geography, English Grammar, Latin, Arithmetic, Greek and English Composition, Music, Algebra, Chemistry, Geometry, Botany, and Natural Philosophy. Cassville had been used to fine schools even before the colleges were built. There had been private schools as early as 1845 when Mrs. S. S. Bradley operated a school for girls and R. H. Neely and Mrs. Neely ran a private school for boys. But when the colleges were destroyed along with Cassville, a notable educational center for the northwest section of the state was gone.⁶

There were many fine homes in and around Cassville. It was a pleasant place to live and there was an element of culture and refinement in the town that could not be found in surrounding areas. Many of the most prominent families in the state called Cassville their birthplace.⁷ It was in Cassville that the first decision ever of the State Supreme Court was handed down. The first paved sidewalks in upper Georgia were laid in Cassville as well. It was one of the very first towns in Georgia to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors, and businesses in Cassville prospered as greatly as any others in the state. Cassvillians were especially proud of their brass band which was held together until the young men went away to war. There was also a circus grounds used for special events.⁸ All in all, Cassville was a town in which all the culture of the old South bloomed.⁹

There were four churches in Cassville: Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian. Three of the four are still located on the same grounds they held before the town was burned. The Baptist building is located on the same premises but was razed in 1910 and replaced by the present brick building. The Methodist church is also on the same ground and although altered somewhat is a similar building. The location of the old Episcopalian church is unknown, but the old Presbyterian church building stands to this day and is the present home of a black, Methodist congregation.¹⁰

Late in 1861 Confederate Hospitals were organized in Cassville and by May of 1864 eight large Confederate hospitals were in operation. There were also several regimental hospitals in Cassville. More than 10,000 Confederates were treated in these hospitals. More than 500 Confederates died in them, of which about 300 are buried in the Confederate Cemetery. Also buried in the Cassville cemetery is Bartow's able Brigadier General W. T. Wofford.¹¹ The only other known Confederate soldier buried in Cassville is W. M. Barrow of the 4th Regt. Louisiana Volunteers, who died in 1863 in a Confederate hospital at the age of twenty. The remainder of approximately 300 unknown soldiers sleep underneath marble slabs on a down sloping ridge on the northern side of the cemetery. They are aligned in jagged rows of 27 to 30 and rest underneath a grove of old cedar trees which cast a constant shadow on their graves.¹²

The Cassville battle did not reach major proportions of a major conflict. There were not that many killings in the little fighting that actually took place. The battle was fought Thursday, May 19, 1864 and was of more importance as to what would happen in the future than it was of that day. Hood's Advance and Retreat call the battle, "The Controversial Cassville Battle," or the "Question Mark" of the Atlanta Campaign.¹³ There were skirmishes in and around Cassville the day before and then there was further action which came a few days later.¹⁴

The Federals under William T. Sherman were headed South in early May. They had fought at Resaca, Calhoun, Lay's Ferry, and Adairsville in the days preceding. On May 18th Sherman waited in Adairsville with the Army of the Tennessee under McPherson on his right. However, McPherson had been stopped at Woolley's home just days before and only a fragment of his force remained in nearby Kingston. Sherman had the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Ohio with him at Adairsville. Strangely enough however, Sherman had no idea where the Johnston Army was at the time. He had allowed the Confederates to retreat out of his reach.¹⁵


Click on map for a larger map.
Map copied from a drawing by Joe Mahan which appeared in the Tribune News, Cartersville, Thursday, November 2, 1939.
1. Cass County Court House
2. Cassville Female College
3. Cherokee Baptist College
4. Chunn home
5. John Laudermilk
6. Original site of Baptist Church
7. Dr. Weston Hardy
8. Judge Nathan Land
9. H. H. Holmes
10. H. H. Holmes carriage and wagon shop
11. John F. Milhollin
12. Chester Hawkes
13. Levi Branson
14. Nelson home
15. Jesse R. Wykle
16. Dr. Griffin
17. Mrs. Kenny
18. Tom Word
19. Original site of Methodist Church
20. Silah home
21. Silah furniture shop
22. Unidentified
23. Latimer Hotel
24. Post Office
25. Madison McMurrey
26. Col. Abda Johnson
27. Livery stable
28. Collins home
29. Levy store
30. J. D. Carpenter store
31. George L. Upshaw store
32. Store
33. Chunn & Patton Dry Goods store
34. Store
35. Jail
36. M. Murray store
37. Printing Shop, home of the Cassville Standard
38. Hotel
39. William Headden Carriage Shop
40. Headden home
41. Hotel
42. Methodist Church
43. Miss Lizzie Gaines
44. Col. Warren Akin
45. Brick kiln
46. Hotel
47. Rev. A. G. Johnson
48. Goldsmith home
49. Presbyterian Church
50. J. D. Carpenter
51. A. C. Day, tailor
52. Baptist Chu rch
53. Saxon home
54. Rev. B. Arborgast
55. Rev. Ranbaut
56. Mercer home

Sherman assumed that since the remains of McPherson's troops were in Kingston, that Johnston's Army had retreated to Kingston as well. However, Johnston was in Cassville busy digging in for a defensive stand. Sherman, still in Adairsville, made plans to attack Kingston. Fortunately for the Union General, he had allowed Butterfield's division to move southward around Kingston prior to this decision. Since they were already to the South, Sherman sent word for Butterfield's division to move into position to assist in the taking of Kingston. As Butterfield marched his division, he moved in a route which took him near Cassville. It was Butterfield's march that disclosed that Johnston's Army was actually at Cassville -- not Kingston. Butterfield quickly notified Sherman in Adairsville and the Kingston plans were abandoned.¹⁶

The majority of Sherman's Army came into Cassville from the northeast and arrived during the night of May 18th. It should be remembered that the fragments of the Army of the Tennessee that were in Kingston were cut off from Cassville at this point and never were able to get to Cassville.¹⁷ The discovery of Johnston's Army in Cassville came about as a stroke of luck and there is no way of really telling what the outcome Would have been if Sherman had wasted his time attacking Kingston. One thing is for sure though, Butterfield's discovery saved McPherson's troops in Kingston because the Army in Cassville could have never arrived in Kingston in time to bailout the Tennesseans.

On the 19th, General Johnston issued orders that he would no longer retreat in front of the enemy but would turn and destroy the invaders. It was at Cassville that he meant to turn his troops to fight. Johnston's lines consisted of Hardee on the left, Polk in the center, and Hood on the right. Wheeler and Jackson were on the flanks with their cavalries. Johnston was ready for battle and he issued orders that meant for two corps to completely surround certain sections of the Federals. The Confederates were anxious for a fight too, and they were confident of turning back the Yankees. However, Johnston's plans were never carried out and his orders fell apart. Hood and Polk complained of being exposed to Federal artillery and Hood took it on his own to move off toward the right. Polk followed closely behind Hood and the two had completely abandoned Johnston's orders. Meanwhile, Hardee was maintaining his position on the left up on the ridges just South of Cassville in a line just North of Cass Station. This left an enormous gap which spelled ruin to Johnston's battle strategy.¹⁸

It was late in the day when Johnston called a conference at the McKelvey home near Cass Station. At this conference Johnston met with Polk and Hood and decided to retreat from Cassville. Hardee was also summoned to the meeting, but arrived just as the conference was breaking up.¹⁹ The McKelvey home was a mere log cabin and the family was helpless when these Confederate leaders decided to overtake their home for a meeting. As the McKelvey's waited outside their home, Johnston, Polk, and Hood gathered around a table and studied maps under candlelight. Couriers went running back and forth, artillery was dragged into position, and men began digging in for safety's sake.²⁰

The decision to retreat was made and the worst the War would offer, as far as fighting goes, passed Cassville by for the first and last time. What was in Cassville's near future was even worse however! Johnston quickly began his retreat. He crossed the Etowah and withdrew to Allatoona Pass where he planned to dig in and fight again. Yet rather than attack this strong position, Sherman moved past it toward New Hope Church in Paulding County.²¹ You see, Sherman was not totally unfamiliar with the landscape of this area and he knew that following Johnston to Allatoona Pass could be disastrous. Long before Sherman came to old Cass County at the head of his army, he visited one of its homes near Cartersville. He tells about it in his Memoirs:

"In 1844 when a lieutenant in the Third Army I had been sent from Charleston, South Carolina, to Marietta, Georgia. . . . . after completing the work at Marietta our party was transferred to Bellefonte, Alabama. . . I had ridden the distance on horseback and had noted well the topography of the country, especially that about, Kennesaw, Allatoona and the Etowah river. On that occasion I had stopped some days with a Colonel Lewis Tumlin to see some remarkable Indian mounds on the Etowah river usually called the Hightower. I therefore, in 1864, knew that the Allatoona Pass was very strong and resolved to move instead from Kingston to Marietta via Dallas."²²

So the major fighting was over for Cassville and only its destruction was in its future. A few minor incidents followed on May 22 and on May 24th Wheeler's Confederate cavalry struck Federals in Cassville and destroyed about 250 Federal wagons and took many cattle. On other days, May 27, June 20th, and November 7th skirmishes were fought in Cassville. On October 10th, Federals in pursuit of Hood occupied old Confederate trenches.²³ Cassville was now north of the War and the Confederate leaders at the, Battle of Cassville would rarely be together again. Polk died atop Pine Mt. in Cobb County in June. Hardee, who hated Hood, was transferred after Atlanta fell. Hood, with the backing of Jefferson David, would soon start his disastrous Tennessee Campaign in November.²⁴

There have been several historians who have written about Sherman's famous "March to the Sea." Almost all of these begin with the siege of Atlanta and follow it from that point on. It was here, they claim, that Sherman decided that "War is Hell" and from that point on total destruction and foraging took place. Still there have been others who claim that Sherman's change in thinking about war came at a spot he referred to in his Memoirs as "Hell Hole." Actually this was New Hope Church, near Dallas, Georgia.²⁵ In opposition, I feel that his change in thinking must have begun at Cassville. After all, it was Cassville which suffered the torture of being burned and Cassville was the spot Joseph Johnston had chosen to entrench and fight. New Hope Church was ground of Sherman's choosing. Therefore, the orders to burn Cassville possibly came in celebration of victory over Johnston on his own ground. Cassville was the victim of fire, not New Hope Church.

It was on November 5, 1864 when the city of Cassville was destroyed by fire at the hands of the Fifth Ohio Regiment of the Federal Army under the command of Colonel Heath and Major Thomas. They said they had orders from Sherman "that not a house be left within the limits of the incorporation, except the churches." The town had been in the hands of Yankee forces since May 25th, when General Johnston had retreated without a fight, and left the city to the mercy of the Union Army. Sherman's forces had marched on in pursuit and, as General Sherman gave no order to burn the town at that time, many people believe that possible he never did, but the burning of the town was the work of Yankee stragglers who had some sort of grievance against the people of Cassville.²⁶

One reason behind this theory is that Yankees had a special grievance against the town because it had changed its name from Cassville to Manassas and the name of the county from Cass to Bartow just after the Confederate victory at First Bull Run. The names of the county and county seat had been altered because the state legislature did not believe that a Southern town should bear the name of a Michigan general who held the "wrong" views on the slavery question.²⁷

The Union Army destroyed the city and left behind a mass of smoked walls and charred timber around the limits of the town. During the summer of 1864 the Federals were in complete control of Cassville and her citizens went through hard times. The nearest mill was fifteen miles away and those fortunate enough to have a little wheat or corn had to walk that distance to use the mill. They walked because all their horses had been seized by either Union or Confederate cavalries. Usually a few small boys would get together and sneak over to the mill because if they were caught by Federal troops, their grain would almost always be taken away. One person remembered that his old home was near the cemetery and his mother built a tent against a fence that ran around the cemetery and she and her children spent the night there. His father had died in the army only a short time before and the family watched the city burn just a short distance away from their father's grave. All the people had to pick berries to help toward their daily meals. It would have been tougher on the people of Cassville if it had not been for the kindness of a Federal captain stationed in Kingston who often sent assistance to the people in Cassville.²⁸

Another person remembered that on the morning of November 5th the Union Army marched into town and, after giving a short notice about what was to follow, began their work. Within a short time the whole town was in flames. That night the people found themselves out in the street in a cold rain with not a shelter left over their heads. They could have found shelter in churches but they had to watch over the few personal belongings they had saved from the flames. They knew the Yankees would either steal or destroy them if they had a chance.²⁹

The three churches which still are on the same grounds and three residences were the only structures left standing by Sherman's Army. The home of Dr. Weston Hardy served as a hospital and was not burned for that reason. The Mercer home also, was spared because of sickness. Tradition has it, the home of Mr. A. C. Day was saved when the captain saw a certain Masonic emblem as it dropped from a bible while the family brought out their furniture.³⁰ These three homes and the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches were unharmed.

There is a story that goes along with the burning of Cassville, that Mr. Tom Word who was clerk of the court loaded his buggy with county records and some of the files of the county paper when he heard that the town was to be burned and rode away just before the courthouse building was destroyed. Supposedly he salvaged many of the old books which contained records of Cassville.³¹

With Cassville now gone, the county seat was moved to the nearby rail center at Cartersville. It seemed useless to rebuild Cassville because of its location and total destruction. Cartersville Quickly became the new center of activity in Bartow County and remains so today. All of the businesses, including several of the businessmen of old Cassville made themselves new locations in Cartersville. Cassville was only a memory, except for three churches, three homes, and the die-hards who decided to rebuild. Meanwhile, Cartersville was growing by leaps and bounds.³²

By the 1870's, the state owned Western and Atlantic railroad made Cartersville a major travel center. The "Kennesaw Route" went through Cartersville and made one of only four stops along its route. It was about a four hour train ride from Cartersville to Chattanooga and two hours to Atlanta. Occasionally Pullman Palace Cars came through on their way to final destinations such as Columbus, Savannah, Montgomery, Mobile, New Orleans, Baltimore, and New York. However, the daily route was from Chattanooga to Atlanta and back again.³³

It was this railroad that ended any possibility of rebuilding Cassville. Cassville could only be reached by horse or stagecoach, while Cartersville was a major rail center. It is for this reason that Cassville today is only a small community consisting of the three old churches, a store, a post office, a new fire station, an empty courthouse square, and a Confederate Cemetery.

NOTES

1 Georgia Historical Society marker at the site of old courthouse square.

2 Headden, Delle, "The Cassville Schools," November 24, 1954, p. 1. (This was a 12 page paper found within the scrapbooks which was done with most of the information coming from a book entitled, Bartow County Georgia History.

3 Ibid., pp. 1, 2, and 4.

4 Mahan, Joe, "Cassville Destroyed Seventy-Five YearsAgo:"TheTrlbuneNews, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, November 2, 1939.

5 Headden paper, pp. 2 and 3, and Georgia Historical Society marker'at the site of the Girls Methodist College.

6 Headden paper, pp. 2 and 3, and Georgia Historical Society marker at the site of the Cherokee Boys College.

7 Headden paper, p. 3.

8 Ibid.

9 Mahan, Joe, p. 2.

10 Georgia Historical Society marker at courthouse square and Headden paper, p. 2.

11 From a Memorial Day program held at the Cassville Confederate Cemetery in 1963.

12 From observation at the Cassville Confederate Cemetery which is located just behind the Methodist Church on a hill east of Cassville.

13 Spencer, Thomas, "Memorial Day at Cass," The Weekly Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, May 16, 1963, p. 2.

14 Spencer, Thomas, The Weekly Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, May 27, 1948.

15 Ibid.

16 Georgia Historical Society marker North of Cassville.

17 Spencer, Thomas, May 27, 1948.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Spencer, Thomas, "William N. McKelvey Home Called Most Historic Spot In Bartow," The Tribune, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, June 17, 1948, p. 1.

21 Georgia Historical Society marker at ridge just south of Cassville on Wilson residence.

22 Perkerson, Medora Field, White Columns In Georgia, pp. 201-202.

23 Spencer, Thomas, May 16, 1963, p. 2.

24 Spencer, Thomas, "Looking 'Em Over," The Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., August 4, 1948, p. 5.

25 Roberts, L. E., "Where Sherman Decided War Was Hell," (Taken from a newspaper clipping within the Headden scrapbooks.)

26 Mahan, Joe, p. 2.

27 Ibid.

28 Milhollin, J. L. interview found within the Mahan article. (Mr. Milhollin lived in Cassville until his death and was age 13 at the time of Cassville's burning.)

29 McTier, John C. interview found within the Mahan article. (Mr. McTier, as a boy, fled to Atlanta with his mother and sisters after being warned of the city's burning.)

30 Mahan, Joe, p. 2.

31 Ibid. (I was able to find only records for Cartersville within the courthouse at Cartersville and no records from old Cassville. I have been told that some of the old Cassville records may be at the University of Georgia Library along with scattered editions of the Cassville Standard.)

32 From 1869 issues of the Cartersville Standard and Express.

33 From an advertisement in the Thursday, May 27, 1875 issue of the Cartersville Standard and Express, p. 3.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In addition to the specific listings made below, it should also be mentioned that I made an overall survey of many collections of newspapers from 1869 to 1900 published in Cartersville. Ms. Delle Headden's three scrapbooks were also extremely helpful and contained at least leads into the information I was able to gather. Also, a portion of the information assembled came via historical markers placed strategically throughout old Cassville and Cass Station during the 1950's by the Georgia Historical Society, the U. S. Department of the Interior, and the Patriots of Bartow County.

Headden, Delle. "The Cassville Schools," November 24, 1954.

Long, E. B. The Civil War Day by Day, An Almanac 1861 - 1865, Garden City, New York, Double Day and Company, Inc., 1971.

Mahan, Joe. "Cassville Destroyed Seventy-Five Years Ago," The Weekly Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, November 2, 1939.

Marschalk, W. A. and A. Marschalk, ed. The Standard and Express, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, May 27, 1875.

Perkerson, Medora Field. White Columns In Georgia, New York, Bonanza Books, 1955.

Spencer, Thomas. Article within The Weekly Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, May 27, 1948, p. 2.

Spencer, Thomas. "Memorial Day at Cass," The Weekly Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, May 16, 1963, p. 2.

Spencer, Thomas. "William N. McKelvey Home Called Most Historic Spot In Bartow, " The Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., Thursday, June 17, 1948, p. 1.

Spencer, Thomas. "Looking 'Em Over," The Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga., August 4, 1948, p. 5.

Kennesaw Gazette March 1st 1889 Vol IV No.5

Old Cassville Ga

Editor Kennesaw Gazette

Cassville was once a beautiful and attractive village situated within a little less than three miles of the W. & A. Railroad, north of Cass Station, near the center of Bartow County; but happening to be directly in Sherman's war-path, it was shorn of its glory and laid in ashes by the federal Torch.

Various reasons are assigned for the cruel deed.

Some said it was on account of the name of the place being changed by our legislators from Cassville to Manassas, soon after the battle of Bull Run; others said it was done in revenge for the waving of a black flag at Cass Station by two young ladies whose patriotism was greater than their prudence.

Again it was said that being so near the railroad it was a harbor for the rebel scouts.

The Federals entered Cassville on the night of May 19th 1864, and seemed eager to apply the torch at once. Early the next morning they burned one of the hotels. Next day Col. Akins residence was burned.

On the 24th Wheelers cavalry made a raid on a wagon train near Cassville and captured a number of prisoners, wagons, mules, etc.

Orders were repeatedly issued for the citizens to leave, and the utter destruction of the place was threatened; but the threats were not executed till October 12th, when the male college and several private residences were burned.

The male college was burned by a detachment of Wilders brigade composed of parts of the 98th Illinois, 1st, 3rd & 4th Ohio regiments and on the 5th of November Col. Heath of the 5th Ohio came with about three hundred cavalrymen and completed the destruction which left many poor women and children without shelter from the storms of winter which were fast approaching.

The morning was bright and clear, but in the evening the smoke arose and formed a dark and threatening clouds, which for a while suspended over the doomed spot and then seemed to melt away in the tears of grief.

It seemed as if nature was weeping over the sad fate of old Cassville.

Mrs. B.B. Quillian

  HOME