Fifth Graders and the Civil War Sesquicentennial

My story Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace is

based around the centennial of the Civil War,

which I recall vividly from 1961-1965. The

 sesquicentennial celebration, or 150th anniversary

 is from 2011-2015.  But the 150th remembrance

of the Battles of Peachtree Creek and Atlanta

will be this coming summer, just a few weeks

after school is out.  

That fact has made this year's reading to the fifth

graders of Farm Life School even more special

to me.  Two classes heard the book just before

Thanksgiving.  This week, the remaining three

classes gathered in the library for the final reading

of 2013.  All told, nearly 150 students took part.

I was particularly touched by a student who bought

a book for her father I had taught years ago.  Another

student bought a book yesterday, then today purchased

another for her brother I had taught.

Since new information is continually coming

to light, these students heard revelations that

I was not even aware of a year ago.  I recently

read the definitive historical book on the Battle

of Atlanta and have now ordered a 2011 book

which will tell me all about the Georgia First

Regiment in which my great-great uncle James

Loyd, Jr. enlisted in the early days of the war.

The students were an exemplary audience and

took to heart the various messages of the book.

These include:

• Each of us is a living part of our own family history, which is well worth investigating.
• The Civil War was a critical junction in American history which helps us understand both the past and the present.
• Both written literature and oral literature can be quite exciting and bring the past alive for us.
• Wisdom is a treasure worth more than silver or gold, and our parents and grandparents have much wisdom to share.

                        Below is a brief video of the students singing this song featured

                        in the book: "The Circuit-Riding Preacher."

                       The circuit-ridin’ preacher used to ride across the land

                        With a rifle on his saddle and a Bible in his hand;

                        He told the prairie people all about the Promised Land,

                        As he went riding, singing down the trail.

                        Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

                        Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

                        The circuit-ridin’ preacher traveled through the mire and mud,

                        Told about the fiery furnace and of Noah and the flood;

                        He preached the way to heaven was by water and the blood,

                        As he went riding, singing down the trail.

                        There is power, power, wonderworking power

                        In the blood, of the Lamb;

                        There is power, power, wonderworking power

                        In the precious blood of the Lamb;

                        Now his rifle may be rusty as it hangs upon the wall,

                        And his Bible, old and dusty, may be never read at all;

                        But until the resurrection, when we hear God’s trumpet call,

                        His truth is marching on.

                        Glory, glory hallelujah!  Glory, glory hallelujah!

                        Glory, glory hallelujah!  His truth is marching on.

I expect to be sharing the book with some

other groups in the spring, and look forward

to stirring some enthusiasm for the remembrance

of the Civil War's sesquicentennial.

A Civil War addition to the Loyd Family Tree

One year ago, I was able to confirm that James William Loyd, pioneer citizen of Atlanta, was indeed my ancestor, my great-great-great grandfather.  I had theorized this in my book, Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace, and historical documents finally proved my case.  Through my friend and fellow genealogist Amy Caddell Sadler, I am able to supplement that find with a new treasure now.  She located the obituary of James Loyd's son, James William Loyd, jr. as it appeared in the Augusta Chronicle in 1899.

Birth:	May 22, 1838 Lumpkin County Georgia, USA
Death:	Mar. 27, 1899 Atlanta Fulton County Georgia, USA

JAMES WILLIAM LOYD, JR.  PASSES AWAY

Former City Marshal and Pioneer Citizen of Atlanta,

HAD BEEN ILL LONG TIME

Captain Loyd's Career Has Been Long, Eventful and Interesting -- He Was One of the Members of the Original Gate City Guard.
Atlanta, March 27.--(Special)--Captain James W. Loyd died of paralysis at his home, 59 Courtland avenue, at *:20 o'clock this morning.
His death was not unexpected. He had been sinking since 10 o'clock Saturday morning, lingering in an unconscious state until he passed away.
At his bedside when he died was his brother, Mr. John Loyd, his youngest sister, Mrs. Ella Haynes, his niece, Miss Emeline Haynes, his cousin, Mrs. William Collins, his nephew, Mr. David Haynes, his cousin Mr. John C. Campbell and several other close friends.

Captain Loyd had been a great sufferer, but no man ever bore his sufferings more uncomplainingly or with greater fortitude than he. His health had been failing for more than a year. Over a year ago he had a serious attack, from which he never fully recovered. He was a victim of neuralgia and within a few months after the serious attack above mentioned he became gradually paralyzed. A few weeks ago he was seized with paralysis of the throat, which was followed by paralysis of the optic nerve.
Two weeks ago he lost his eyesight and began to grow weaker daily until the dread summons came.

He is survived by Mrs. Judge William M. Wilson, his eldest sister, Mr. John W. Loyd, his only brother, and Mrs. Ella Haynes, his youngest sister, who together with a number of relatives are left to mourn his passing.

He was generous, big-hearted, and whole-souled. He lived for his friends, and there never was a sacrifice too great which he did not cheerfully make for them.

One of his friends said today: "Generosity was the key note of his life, the crowning feature of his character. He lived squarely up to it. He never turned a deaf ear to the appeal of the lowliest for help--and there are numberless instances in which his unfaltering kindness was shown not only to those with whom he had slight acquaintance, but to strangers in need.

The tenacity with which Captain Loyd held on to life was remarkable. Even when Dr. Abner Calhoun told him that he would never recover his eyesight and Dr. James F. Alexander informed him that he was beyond the power of medical skill, Hope still beamed in his bosom. He did not give up, but calmly and with beautiful patience clung to the hope that he would one day regain his health.

The body of Captain Loyd was removed to the residence of his sister, Mrs. Ella Haynes, 334 Woodward avenue, this morning.  From her home the funeral will take place tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.
The Rev. Clement A. Evans will conduct the funeral services, and the funeral will be at Oakland cemetery.

SKETCH OF HIS LIFE

Capt. James W. Loyd was born in Lumpkin county on the 22nd of May, 1838, and was therefore 61 years of age at the time of his death. His father, James Loyd, removed to Cobb county, and later, in 1844, settled in Marthasville, while Captain Loyd, his eldest child, was a child. Marthasville, the first name of Atlanta, was then a straggling hamlet. The father, Mr. James Loyd, went into business with Mr. James Collins, the firm being Loyd & Collins. They opened the first store on the spot on which Atlanta now stands. It was located on the road which afterward became Loyd street, taking its name from the father of Captain James W. Loyd.
Captain Loyd grew to manhood in Atlanta and has lived here all his life.

He was one of the original members of the famous Gate City Guard, and entered the service of the Confederate states in that company, which formed one of the best companies in the First Georgia regiment.
The old Gate City Guard was made up of the flower of the young manhood of Atlanta, and was among the first commands to answer the call to arms.
That company had no braver, gallanter member than James W. Loyd. He was with it at Laurel Hill, and served through the terrible campaign in the Virginia mountains.

GUIDE TO GEN. JOHNSTON

Toward the close of the war he was transferred to the western army and became a courier and guide to Gen. Joseph F. Johnston when he took command of the army at *****. He served with General Johnston during his famous retreat and until he was relieved of his command on Peachtree Creek by President Davis.

After the war Captain Loyd returned to his home in Atlanta. With hundreds of others he put his shoulder to the wheel and aided in the upbuilding of this city which had been burned by Sherman. He loved Atlanta and was ever ready to lend a helping hand to push her forward. He became a prominent and influential factor in local politics, ever ready to help his friends in their campaigns for office.

In 1883 he succeeded Mr. Cap Joyner as city marshal. He held this position for three terms, and made the best marshal Atlanta ever had. His administration was extremely judicious, and at the same time very liberal, and won to him scores of friends. A more unselfish official and one more devoted to the interests of the people never held office in Atlanta.

Unselfishness, indeed, was a capital feature of Captain Loyd's character. It endeared him to the people. He was a man who literally lived for others. Generous to a fault, he thought not of self, but only of helping the helpless, of giving to the needy. There was not a moment during his life that he would not have made almost any sacrifice to serve a friend, not a moment that he would not have divided his last dollar with the needy.

--He died as he had lived, a brave, true man--

And he will sleep in Oakland sincerely lamented by thousands who knew his great heart and loved him.

Mar 28, 1899, Augusta Chronicle (Augusta,GA)

This map depicts early battles that James Loyd
with the Georgia First Regiment (Ramsey's) would
have fought in the opening months of the war.

******************************

My comments:  I am thrilled to finally learn of a Loyd ancestor who actively served in the Civil War, and apparently with distinction.  From other sources I have learned that James Loyd enlisted on March 18, 1861 and served with Generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee during the first land battles of the war in present day West Virginia.  This was even before the more widely known Battle of Bull Run.  Serving later under General Joseph F. Johnston in the Atlanta campaign, my ancestor had the privilege of being commanded by three of the South's top generals of the entire war.  When I informed my brother of these facts he reminded me that when we were boys I always liked playing the role of "scout" or "spy."  It seems it was a family trait.

Another note of interest.  I was at first confused by James Loyd jr.'s birth in Lumpkin County.  A look at a Georgia map shows that Dahlonega, site of America's first gold rush, is the largest town in the region.  This fits with the following likely scenario:

James Loyd, sr., my great-great-great grandfather was the deed holder of the 202 acre Loyd Homeplace lot.  Apparently his first wife had died sometime after 1830, when they had two children, a boy and a girl.  The boy, Jabez M. Loyd, was born in 1820.  Gold was first discovered in Dahlonega in 1828, but continued to be panned and mined right up until the California gold rush of 1849.  I theorize that James Loyd, who had remarried to Mildred Collins, moved to the gold country about 1837.  Jabez would have been 18 when his half-brother James Loyd, jr. was born in 1838.  Since it is known that James Loyd, sr. opened the Loyd-Collins Store in 1844, it is likely the family had returned to the DeKalb County farm sometime before then.  With the father being 42 years old, and perhaps having some capital from the gold rush, he left his son Jabez to run the farm (at age 24) and relocated to the railroad town of Marthasville (to become Atlanta) just a few miles away, where his new family would grow and prosper.  The Loyd Homeplace would remain in his name until his death in 1862.

Some of this is fact, some of it I surmise.  But while more investigation remains, I am confident that my speculation is reasonable, and certainly has as much merit as my theory just a few years ago that James Loyd was my ancestor.  Wouldn't it be interesting to know that there is more to the "Loyd Treasure" than I had ever imagined?  Time will tell.  In any event, with each group reading of Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace, I seem to have new "riches" to share.  And for that I am thankful.

150 Years After the Battle of Atlanta, SFL Fifth Graders Relive the Story

Fifth graders in Mrs. McFadyen and Mrs. Cioccolanti's classes continued a Farm Life tradition with a two oral reading of Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace by Ken Loyd, the author.  The students listened with unswerving attention to learn of Buddy and Ken's adventures at Mama Loyd's house on an Easter vacation week fifty years ago.

Three other classes are scheduled to hear the book before Christmas holidays. This year's reading is particularly meaningful, because in the summer of 2014, the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the Battle of Peachtree Creek and the Battle of Atlanta will be observed.

Mrs. McFadyen introduced me to the classes as a "real author."  I'm happy to say that any student who wishes can claim that same title, simply by writing!  I was 53 years old before the idea for this book began to form in my mind.  But I had been a writer long before that, with my interest being sparked by elementary teachers who put great emphasis on this skill.  I hope students will not only be inspired to write about something important to them, but perhaps also to investigate their own family history.

An important new bit of information could finally be confirmed for this class.  A bit of unknown Loyd history has been, "Who was Jabez Loyd's father?"  One year ago, a chance visit to the DeKalb Historical Society gave me a glimpse of a county map a scholar had put together showing who owned all the land lots in 1860.  Just as I had theorized, the Loyd Homeplace in 1860 was not in the name of Jabez Loyd, but in the name of his father-- James Loyd.  James Loyd was likely the one who built the house on the hill, then a few years later left it to his son Jabez, and moved to Atlanta (though in 1844 it was still "Marthasville"). There he ran a store for several years, and then the Washington Hall Hotel.  He is mentioned many times in an 1800's book Pioneer Citizens of Atlanta.  One of the original seven streets of Atlanta was named for him:  Loyd Street.  

I am delighted that my father lived long enough to know all these facts, and even to visit the gravesite of James Loyd, overlooking the Chattahoochee River.  This grave is within sight of the railroad bridge that General Sherman's men had to rebuild after Confederate soldiers burned it, seeking to slow his invasion.  Since James Loyd died in 1862, he was peacefully at rest in his grave when a large Union army marched past just two years later.  He would never know that Sherman's army would burn his hotel and much of the rest of Atlanta.

These unmarked graves in the Loyd-Collins Cemetery
overlooking the Chattahoochee may be the graves of
James Loyd and his wife, or possibly his friend James
Collins, who died in the same year-- 1862.

The Western and Atlantic railroad bridge is within
sight of James Loyd's grave overlooking the
Chattahoochee River.

This is the only photograph I have been able
to locate which pictures old Loyd Street in Atlanta.

Loyd Street on this map is misspelled-- "Lloyd."
The map was made by General Sherman's staff,
which wouldn't have realized their mistake.  The
map also shows the three important railroads which
converged on the city, thus making it a crucial
military target.

This photo of the burning of Atlanta looks quite real,
but it is from a scene from the classic Civil War movie
Gone With the Wind.  They tried to get every detail
correct.  Some of the railroad cars are correctly marked
W & A, for Western and Atlantic Railroad.  Others are
marked A & W, which was a shortline railroad operating
near Sanford, North Carolina.

About a third of all the students who attended the

reading of the book purchased a copy for their own.

But all students are invited to explore the bonus

features on this website, and more will be added

all the time.  Go to it, Junior Historians!