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1542 Hernando de Soto, the first European to explore Georgia’s interior, died of fever near the Mississippi River while leading an army of soldiers and adventurers across the Southeast in … read more
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One mile north, on December 9, 1864, during the American Civil War, U.S. Gen. Jeff. C. Davis crossed Ebenezer Creek with his 14th Army Corps as it advanced toward Savannah during Gen. William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. Davis hastily removed the pontoon bridges over the creek, and hundreds of freed slaves following his army drowned trying to swim the swollen waters to escape the pursuing Confederates. Following a public outcry, Sec. of War Edwin Stanton met with Sherman and local black leaders in Savannah on January 12, 1865. Four days later, President Lincoln approved Sherman's Special Field Orders No. 15, confiscating over 400,000 acres of coastal property and redistributing it to former slaves in 40-acre tracts.
March to the Sea: Ebenezer Creek
Erected by Georgia Historical Society
Dedicated May 25, 2010
Region: Lowcountry
County: Effingham
GPS: N32 22.402|W081 10.950
Location: GA Hwy 275 In front of the Historic Ebenezer Cemetery at the New Ebenezer Family Retreat.
March to the Sea: Ebenezer Creek
One mile north, on December 9, 1864, during the American Civil War, U.S. Gen. Jeff. C. Davis crossed Ebenezer Creek with his 14th Army Corps as it advanced toward Savannah during Gen. William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. Davis hastily removed the pontoon bridges over the creek, and hundreds of freed slaves following his army drowned trying to swim the swollen waters to escape the pursuing Confederates. Following a public outcry, Sec. of War Edwin Stanton met with Sherman and local black leaders in Savannah on January 12, 1865. Four days later, President Lincoln approved Sherman's Special Field Orders No. 15, confiscating over 400,000 acres of coastal property and redistributing it to former slaves in 40-acre tracts.
Erected for the Civil War 150 commemoration by the Georgia Historical Society and the Georgia Department of Economic Development
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