The Civil War in Georgia, An Illustrated Travelers Guide
Forsyth was the location of many hospitals, where approximately 20,000 wounded and sick Confederate soldiers were treated. In a Confederate cemetery located near the town square lie 299 unknown and one known Confederate soldier. Also buried here is Honora Sweeny, a "gallant Confederate girl" who died while serving as a nurse in one of the Confederate hospitals. Gen. Gilbert J. Wright, who commanded troops in the Eastern Theater, is buried here. The hospitals located in Forsyth were the Hardee, Clayton, Female College (now Tift College) and many other temporary ones. The Georgia Militia came to Forsyth from Griffin on the night of Nov. 16, 1864, in a move to protect the hospitals here from Sherman's army, which was marching east of the rail line in a feigned attack on Macon.
The Monroe County Confederate Memorial on the courthouse lawn is one of the finest in the state, featuring a seven-foot bronze statue of a Confederate soldier hurrying north to battle, on a base of Elbert County granite. In Culloden southwest of Forsyth, there was a two-hour battle between a part of the Union cavalry called Wilson's Raiders and the Confederate Worrill Grays on April 19, 1865. The Grays were greatly outnumbered but fought fiercely to delay the Federal move on Macon at the end of the War. Two Union soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor for their efforts here which resulted in capturing the Gray's flag. A historical marker establishes the location of the battle at the Culloden cemetery.
This state historic site is an original middle Georgia plantation consisting of 200 historic buildings dating between 1847 and 1945. The site has one of the largest and most complete collections of original family artifacts of this time period in Georgia, with a mill complex, carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, machines and tools from this period. The farm was raided during Sherman's "March to the Sea."
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