Washington County Courthouse

On Thursday, November 24, 1864, the 14th and 20th Corps of Union Major General William T. Sherman's army began entering Washington County, and by November 26 the 28,000 soldiers of the two corps had arrived in Sandersville on separate roads that converged at the town cemetery. Sherman entered early with the 20th Corps, and the first units to arrive were the 17th New York and 16th Illinois infantry regiments. These Federals and others skirmished for 30 minutes with elements of Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry, whose troopers fired from within the courthouse, from street corners, and behind houses before quickly retreating. For Sandersville's 600 inhabitants, mostly women and children, the fighting was terrifying, though there were few casualties on either side. Afterward, soldiers looted widely, with Captain James Ladd of the 13th Ohio Infantry writing that the men were allowed to do as they pleased and considered the town their plunder. Residents including Ella Mitchell, I. W. Avery, and Mrs. S. B. Jones recalled homes overrun, food and valuables taken, and household goods destroyed, though some Northern officers paid for meals and lodging. Union Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, commanding the 14th Corps, sent food to Mrs. Jones after hearing her baby cry. Sherman used the Brown House as his overnight headquarters, then left Sandersville on November 27 riding south toward Tennille. Before departing he ordered the burning of the Greek Revival Washington County Courthouse in retribution for its use by Wheeler's cavalry the previous day. County Ordinary Haywood Brookins had earlier ordered the courthouse records brought to him and hid them between his bed's mattresses. Reconstruction of the courthouse was completed in 1869 on the same foundation, and it was remodeled in 1900. Later, on Saturday, May 6, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his party passed through Washington County, stopping briefly so Postmaster General John Reagan, also acting Secretary of the Treasury, and Captain M. H. Clark, acting treasurer, could conduct the last official transaction of the Confederate treasury before the group continued south toward Tennille and Ball's Ferry.

Sandersville, Georgia · United States