As always, thanks for reading. Until next time...
Presley Jones Takes on the Yankees
~From the April 2012 edition of About Covington to Madison Magazine~
Greetings!
Good to be back with everybody. I was so glad that so many of you
enjoyed the last column on Mr. Buster Chadwick. I got a lot of
positive feedback on that one. Thanks so much! As always, I
appreciate you reading and taking the time to comment.
I
had previously mentioned that I was going to be concentrating more on
human-interest stuff and less on historical things, but…what can I
say? Like a moth to the flame—I just can’t help myself! There are
so many things that I’ve mentioned in passing (or not at all) that
I’d like to expound on. With that said, I will still be doing some
more of the human-interest writings in the near future, but I will
also be sticking to my historical roots. This month we’ll cover a
topic I had mentioned briefly in my Covington column from the Summer
of 2009. Hope you enjoy!
In
July of 1864, well in advance of his famous march to the sea, Sherman
had directed Brig. General Kenner Garrard to ride east from Atlanta
and head to Covington with his cavalry division to start tearing up
railroad tracks; destroying bridges, rail cars, depots, and
locomotives; and burning stores and commercial properties. He
actually wrote the following in a letter to Garrard: “…but of
private property only take what is necessary for your own use, except
horses and mules, of which you will take all that are fit for
service, exercising of course, some judgment as to the animals
belonging to the poor and needy.”
On
July 21 Garrard left Atlanta and proceeded to Lithonia, GA where he
started destroying the railroads and moving east at a pretty good
clip. On July 22 Garrard and his raiders entered Covington. After
having no resistance throughout their journey, I’m sure the Yankees
were caught off guard when they came across an old man by the name of
Presley Jones. Jones lived on what is now known as Washington St .
and apparently had a “hatred of everything blue” and had vowed to
kill the first Union troops to come into Covington . When word
started to get out that Federal troops were advancing on Covington,
Mr. Jones grabbed his rifle and hunkered down in front of the
Covington courthouse. When he spotted his first Yankee he fired and
killed the man. He then moved to another location and brought down
another Union soldier a short time later. He was able to wound two
more before he was captured and shot. The Yankees then proceeded to
“beat out his brains with the butts of their rifles. He doubtless
anticipated such a fate and went coolly to certain death with no hope
of fame and with only the satisfaction of getting two for one (Sgt.
Walter Clark, C.S.A.).”
Unfortunately,
the “two for one” deal would not stand. According to multiple
sources, it was widely believed that the Yankees were so infuriated
with what had happened that they decided to find another victim to
placate their revenge. It just so happened that a Confederate
quartermaster by the name of George Daniel was on furlough and back
home in Covington during this time. The Union troops tracked Daniel
down and court-martialed and executed him. According to reports, the
Yankees tried to blindfold him but he refused, saying “no, a
Confederate soldier can face death without being blindfolded.” He
was shot and killed and the count was evened—two dead Yankees; two
dead Covingtonians.
Well,
we all know the rest of the story. A few months later and Sherman
would come through on his way to Savannah and the War Between the
States would draw to a close just a few months after that. The
shootings carried out by Mr. Jones and the subsequent retaliation by
the Yankees would be the only warfare that Covington would see within
her city limits during the Civil War.
Hope
you enjoyed that. Future columns will cover more specific, historical
events in Covington, Madison, and the surrounding areas. In the
non-historical vein, I'll be rolling out a column about another
musical talent from our area. And finally, after a lengthy delay, my
installment series on the Moore's Ford Bridge killings will be up and
running on my blog by the time you read this column. There will be a
link at the top of the main page. Until next time... 
