Bellevue Plantation

Bellevue Plantation originated in a 1767 royal grant from King George III to Samuel Eastlake and has been owned continuously by the Carswell family since 1835. The year the house was built is unknown, but it is believed to have been erected around the time of the original grant, with its pioneer-style architecture supporting that belief. During Sherman’s March to the Sea in 1864, a rear guard action took place here between Brig. Gen. J. L. Kilpatrick’s 3rd Cavalry Division [US], retreating toward Sherman’s main columns after an unsuccessful raid on Waynesboro, and Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry corps [CS], which had defeated Kilpatrick near Waynesboro. Three holes made by Minie balls fired during this action remain in the house. Soldiers who fell here were buried behind the residence; the Union dead remain there, while the Confederates were later reinterred at Waynesboro. An old rose bush across the road from the house was damaged by horses tethered to it by Union officers while their men stripped the plantation of horses and provisions, when Confederate pursuit struck them.

Georgia · United States