This monument, erected by the State of Georgia to memorialize the 10 May 1865 capture of Jefferson Davis by Wisconsin and Michigan cavalrymen, has been the scene of many Confederate Memorial Day celebrations and gatherings of reenactors and Civil War enthusiasts over the years. The Confederate Museum on site was a project of the WPA, but being a fierce opponent of FDR, Governor Eugene Talmadge made sure that the State of Georgia was given credit for the monument. Ironically, Eleanor Roosevelt made a $5 donation to the general fund. The property was deeded to the state by Judge Reuben Walton Clements, and while ownership has passed between the state and the county at different times, Judge Clements’ wish that “no Yankee ever own this hallowed ground” has been maintained.
R.W Clements is my Great Grand Uncle. His name is Robert Walter Clements. Reuben Walton is the son of his brother William J Clements. Reuben Walton is my Grandfather. On page 152 of the History of Irwin County written by J B Clements (James Bagley) R W’s son, he writes “On numerous occasions my father made the remark that no Yankee should ever own this spot of land as long as he lived. On his death bed he told me he wanted my mother and me, we being his only heirs, to fix it so that it would always remain in the possession of Southern people and never belong, as He expressed it to a Yankee. After consulting with many able lawyers as how to carry out the wishes of this loyal Confederate, my father, in the year 1915, during my term of office as Member of General Assembly of Georgia, I introduced a resolution tendering it to the State of Georgia in conjunction with the Daughters of Confederacy in fee simple four acres of land with the spot upon which Davis’ camp was located about the center….
Thanks for this information, Mildred! Is Robert Walter or Reuben Walton the man who deeded the land to the state? I’ve always been a bit confused by this story…
God bless Judge Clements !
I descend from, among others, a Virginian who fought under Robert E. Lee, as well as a Georgia state senator from Fort Gaines, Georgia, who complained to Governor Brown that the state had drafted his slaves’ labor without paying him (the senator). Needless to say, I am a Unionist. I have a framed portrait of General Sherman, one of my heroes. Secession was treasonous, and Jefferson Davis a traitor. Why not a memorial to the slaves?