It often takes the passing of generations

for the wounds of war to heal, if they

ever can.

Ironically, in the “Breadbasket of the

Confederacy,” nine miles from the site where

Jefferson Davis was captured by Union

Calvary and “Forget Hell” bumper stickers

can still be seen, combatants of the Civil War

did so in their own lifetime. This was

possible due to the foresight and tenacity of

Philander H. Fitzgerald of Indianapolis,

Indiana, who had served in the Union Army

as a drummer boy.

Following the war, Fitzgerald was

appointed by the governor of Indiana to

SurprisingPastBY TOM SEEGMUELLER

F I T Z G E R A L D , G A

serve as a pension attorney representing

Union veterans. He was also an astute

businessman and investor which led to

his purchase of the Veteran’s Review, a

newspaper he renamed American Tribune,

raising its circulation to more than 25,000

copies per week.

During the early 1890s a widespread

depression gripped the nation and a long-

term drought was devastating farms in the

Midwest. Fitzgerald used the Tribune to

promote his dream of creating a colony for

Union veterans and their families in the

South where they could spend their

remaining days in a milder climate.

Previous pages: Headstone of Cpl. F.L. Johnson; a collection of memorabilia at Fitzgerald’s Blue and Gray Museum (photos byTodd Stone). Above: The 1906 fire department and the fire engine powered by two horses. Below: Harrison and Brothers DryGoods store on the corner of Grant Street and Central Avenue in 1899.

3800 OLD DAWSON ROAD • ALBANY, GEORGIA • (229) 436-6501 • WWW.DOUBLEGATECC.COM

The Lee Grant Hotel, constructed in Fitzgerald in 1896, provided lodging for the many visitors coming to check out the town.

Capt. P.H. Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald founded The American Tribune Soldiers

Colony Company, selling 50,000 shares of stock in the

Company for $10 a share. Shares of stock were to

be converted into lots in town or 5- 10- 20- or 40-acre

“farmettes.” Fitzgerald’s plan was presented to a

number of Southern governors and Governor William J.

Northen pledged his support leading Fitzgerald to

select the state for his colonization plan. An early

report stated, “The hospitality of the people is all that

could be desired and all colony people of the North

will receive a warm and hearty welcome by the

natives.” The report added, “Not one of us yet has had

the privilege of seeing an alligator.”

During this period Southwest Georgia encompassed

vast first growth pine forests with a scattering of rural

farming communities and turpentine operations. The

village of Swan with a population of 40 was one such

community. Here the Drew brothers operated a lumber

and turpentine business, making use of the thousands

of acres of virgin pine forest they owned in the area.

The money quickly poured in from veterans

seeking immediate relief from bitter winters and

drought stricken farms. By July of 1895 enough stock

had been sold to allow the Colony Company to purchase

50,000 acres of land from the Drew brothers. Eventually

another 50,000 acres would be purchased, creating a

100,000-acre square block for the creation of the colony.

An expeditionary company of 462 men and 72

teams of horses were sent to the site to begin surveying

and clearing the land for eventual settlement. Beth Davis,

a local historian recorded, “As the dream was becoming

a reality, it was clear not all the nation’s bitter wounds

had healed… He wanted a four square city in the

center of the tract. It took a while because they had

to move the town’s center stake three times because

some Southerner would refuse to sell an inch of land

‘those Yankees’.”

Fitzgerald is one of few true planned cities

in the country. The core of the city was laid out in a

1,000 acre square containing four wards subdivided

into four blocks, each containing 16 squares creating

256 identical land lots. Four were set aside for schools,

12 for parks and 36 for commercial use. The remaining

lots were for residential use. Each lot faces a street and

an alley, which terminate in the four drives bordering

the city.

Unexpectedly, while the surveyors were getting a

start on the task at hand, veterans and their families

began arriving at the site of the new colony. By the

fall of 1895, more than 2,500 people had made the trek

to their new home. However, they could not settle

permanently until the survey was complete. “They had

to go somewhere. Can you imagine thousands of people

setting up housekeeping in the heart of a pine forest?

Those who did come were forced to live in tents or

covered wagons, camping out in the pine woods or

building crude shelters.

“The village was dubbed “Shacktown” for all the

temporary shacks being constructed. The Daily Gazette, a

South Georgia newspaper, wrote that Shacktown lined

both sides of the wagon road and was like the midway of

a carnival. Every fourth or fifth house was an eating house.

People were living in all manner of habitation except good

ones,” Davis explains.

A teacher from Nebraska helped ease the housing

shortage when she got permission to build a hotel. The

Colony House was a two-story structure with wooden

At left: Confederate Commanders; above: the NationalGuard marching through town.

Above: Ladies Aid Society at the First Methodist Church inFitzgerald. Below: The Corn and Cotton Palace was highlighted during an 1896 harvest celebration.

shutters instead of windows. Here as many as 36

men shared a single room.

As the survey drew to completion and

Shacktown became Fitzgerald, the assignment of

street names was undertaken. Initially they began

naming the streets for Union generals but soon

realized that this might be an affront to Southern

colonists who made up about one third of the

colony. Alesia Davis, director of tourism, explains,

“They would be fair to the Union and Confederate

side so they named a certain number of streets for

Union generals and a similar number for

Confederate generals. Streets running north are

named after Georgia rivers and streets running

south are named after Georgia trees. They had a

sense of humor—they put the fire department on

Sherman Street of all places!”

One of the largest challenges facing the

rapidly growing colony was the lack of supplies. To

alleviate this challenge, they temporarily suspended

construction on the city and built a railroad line to

service the colony. When it was completed, they

scheduled regular excursion trains, advertising for

people to come look at the Yankees. Many tourists

were interested, and in 1896 the construction of

the Lee Grant Hotel began. Top billing was again

diplomatically given to the man who commanded

the Confederate forces.

The colony grew quickly while other areas were

suffering the effects of the depression. It prospered

largely due to the influx of cash into the local

economy from more than $50,000 a month in Union

veterans’ pensions. In an effort to promote and

celebrate their success, they constructed the Corn

and Cotton Palace and held an exposition there.

Invitations were sent to nearby towns and a

grand parade of veterans was scheduled for the

event. The Confederate veterans were scheduled to

parade in their gray uniforms, and following a short

break the Union veterans would parade in their blue

uniforms. Organizers hoped that all would progress

peacefully, but there was some apprehension as post

war sentiments were still strong.

However, as Beth Davis recounts, “When the

doors opened to the Corn and Cotton Palace, out

came the bands, and they came out playing the

national anthem. They had played as musicians in

At left: Union Commanders; above: Last Confederate and Union veterans inGeorgia, Henry Brunner (left) and William J. Bush (right).

Early residents of the Fitzgerald area, including Lawson Smith(center) who founded Rebecca, Georgia.

84 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA LIVING may/ june 2013

the war, and they knew how to march, and they

knew how to play, and they liked to do both. Out

came the veterans, those who had worn the blue and

those who had worn the gray, and marched as one

behind the Stars and Stripes. They were saying to

Georgia and the nation and the world as a whole

that as far as they were concerned not only was the

war over and done with, but also that this was again

the United States of America. Old wounds were

healed, old barriers broken, as men who had met on

the field of battle met again on the field of everyday

living and taught this nation and the world an

unforgettable lesson on forgiving and forgetting.”

The parade came to be known as the Parade of

Unity, and the veterans that marched that day formed

Battalion One of the Blue and Gray.

In a strange twist of fate, the Corn and Cotton

Palace would not survive the display of Fitzgerald’s

prosperity. In an effort to show the effectiveness

and professionalism of the colony’s volunteer fire

department, the pavilion was intentionally set on fire.

Unfortunately, they did not rise to the occasion in

this instance and the structure burned to the ground.

Lee and his generals

Last Confederate and Union veterans in Georgia, HenryBrunner (left) and William J. Bush (right).