Chatham-Liberty-Bryan County GaArchives Biographies.....Harden, William 1844 - living in 1913
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 November 1, 2004, 10:09 pm

Author: William Harden
p. 1082-1087

   WILLIAM HARDEN was born in Savannah, November 11, 1844, son of Edward J. and
Sophia H. (Maxwell) Harden.

   As the war came on and young Harden, when less than seventeen years of age,
enlisted for service in the army, his education was not so complete as otherwise
it would have been. Under the circumstances, he received the best educational
training available at that day in private schools in Savannah. His first teacher
was Miss Elizabeth Church; for about two years he was a student under Prof.
Bernard Mallon, then principal of the Massie school, and later superintendent of
the public schools of Atlanta. Also, for a time, Mr. Harden was a student under
W. S. Bogart, principal of Chatham Academy. His student days, however, did not
end with his academy days, for, indeed, he has been a student all his life—a
student of human nature—a student of the motives and deeds of men and the
histories of nations.

   In April, 1861, Mr. Harden enlisted at Savannah in the Savannah Cadets,
composed of very young men, which organization became a part of the state troops
of Georgia, and of which, before it was mustered into the regular Confederate
army, he was made sergeant. It was known as Savannah Cadets, and on account of
the youthfulness of its members was not mustered into the Confederate army until
May, 1862, at which time it was entirely reorganized, becoming Company F of the
Fifty-fourth Regiment, Georgia Volunteers, in which William Harden was a
private. This regiment was commanded by Col. Charlton H. Way. In January, 1863,
Mr. Harden was detached from his company and detailed for service in the Signal
Corps of the Confederate army, and was engaged in this capacity at Savannah till
December 20, 1864, when he was ordered to Charleston and assigned to duty as
military telegrapher at the headquarters of General Hardee. Leaving Charleston
February 18, 1865, he was put in charge of the telegraph service at St. Stephens
Depot for about ten days, after which he was sent to Florence, South Carolina.
On further duty he made the trip from Florence to Timmonsville, that state, and
while attempting to return to headquarters at Florence he was cut off by the
enemy and turned back to Sumter. From there, accompanied by eleven men, he made
his way to Augusta, Notwithstanding this detached service in Signal Corps, Mr.
Harden's name was retained on the rolls of Company F, Fifty-fourth Regiment,
till the close of the war.

   Mr. Harden's duties as military telegrapher, involving the handling and
transmission of secret messages of the greatest importance, were filled with
many interesting incidents, sometimes tinged with romance, and occasionally
fraught with danger. One incident that occurred while he was on duty at General
Hardee's headquarters in Charleston in February, 1865, affords an illuminating
glimpse of the life of the signal corps in time of war. On the afternoon of the
14th of that month, while Mr. Harden was at the telegraph key, there came a call
from the Richmond office, and, the formal answer having been given, the Richmond
operator began to send a message to General Hardee.  The apparently unmeaning
letters forming its beginning showed plainly at once that it was a cipher
message. It was, as usual in such cases, received with much care, in order to be
certain that no mistakes were made in so important a communication. Before
sending it upstairs to General Hardee's staff officers, he and another young
telegrapher who was on duty with him, John Mackay Elliott, decided that they
would decipher it. They began in the usual way, using the key word that was in
their possession as a basis of translation, but soon discovered that the message
was entirely meaningless when written out according to their cipher. The key
word on which the deciphering was based was “Complete Victory." The key word had
been transmitted secretly to Mr. Harden before he left Savannah, from
headquarters at Richmond, and had been used by him ever since in deciphering
messages. On account of danger of discovery by the enemy, however, Mr. Harden
concluded that the Richmond authorities had changed the key word, but that for
some reason he had received no notice of what the new key word, if any, might
be. With young Elliott, therefore, he accordingly set to work to figure out the
new key so that the message might-be deciphered, as neither General Hardee nor
any of the members of his staff knew anything of a change in the key word, and
they themselves could not have read it. After laborious and painstaking effort,
by first deciphering the first word of the message and then each of the
following words, Mr. Harden and his associate finally discovered that the new
key was "Come Retribution," by using which they were overjoyed to find that they
could make a full and intelligent translation of the message. Later this key was
imparted to them in the official way, but if these two young telegraphers had
not been able to discover it on this occasion, it would have been a serious
matter to General Hardee.   The message was from President Jefferson Davis at
Richmond and was addressed to Gen. W. J. Hardee at Charleston, under date of
February 14, 1865, the following being a copy of the same:

   "Your dispatch of the 12th received to-day. The enemy may and probably does
intend to attack Charleston, but it is by no means manifested by present
operations. It is proper under the view presented, to remove whatever is not
needful for defense of the place, and then to postpone evacuation as long as
prudent. If General Beauregard can beat the enemy in the field, the course
herein indicated may preserve the city and harbor for future use, and save us
the pain of seeing it pass into the hands of the enemy. General Beauregard and
yourself are so well informed of the condition of the armies and practicability
of routes, that I must leave you to the free exercise of your judgment. It
however seems to me that the bridge over the Santee can be defended against a
boat expedition up that river, without materially interfering with other
operations, and a movement of the enemy overland from Bull's Bay is hardly to be
anticipated."

   After the close of the war, Mr. Harden engaged in telegraph service first at
Jacksonville, Florida, and later at Savannah, until January, 1866, when he began
the study of law under his father, Judge Edward J. Harden, in Savannah. However,
as he then gave only a portion of his time to study, it was not until July 25,
1873, that he was admitted to the bar. From that date until the summer of 1883,
he practiced law in Savannah. In the meantime he had been licensed to practice
in the state supreme and United States courts in Georgia, and on November 15,
1877, he was appointed United States commissioner, U. S. district court, for the
southern district of Georgia; which place he filled till he discontinued the
practice of law.

   July 5, 1882, Mr. Harden was appointed assistant county treasurer of Chatham
county, which position he has filled ever since.

   In 1902, upon the organization of the Savannah public library, Mr. Harden was
elected librarian, his present position, he having been in charge of the library
continuously since that time.

   Mr. Harden was assistant librarian of the Georgia Historical Society from
1866 to 1869; in the latter year he was made librarian of the society and has
filled this position ever since.

   He is the custodian and treasurer of the Telfair Academy of Arts and
Sciences. He organized on May 22, 1891, the Georgia Society of the Sons of the
Revolution, and is secretary of the society. He is a Democrat in politics, as
such having been elected to and served as a member of the Georgia house of
representatives, his term being from 1900 to 1905.

   He is a member of the American Antiquarian Society, American Historical
Association, National Geographic Society, and American Library Association. Also
he is a corresponding member of various local and state historical societies
throughout the. United States. He has contributed much valuable historical
matter, particularly on Savannah and Georgia to various magazines and journals.
His deep interest in the subject of history, together with the studious research
he has made extending over a long1 number of years, the painstaking accuracy and
devotion to truth in historical records which he has always maintained, his
illuminating literary style and gifts as a writer: all these have combined to
make Mr. Harden a historian of exceptional ability.

   Mr. Harden's religious creed is that set forth by the Presbyterian church,
and since 1877 he has been a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian church of
Savannah.

   December 11, 1879, in Savannah, Mr. Harden married Miss Mary E. Davenport of
this city.

   From, this brief resume of Mr. Harden's own life, we turn back for a glimpse
at the ancestry from which he sprang.

   Judge Edward J. Harden, his father, distinguished both as lawyer and judge,
was born at Republican Hall, Bryan county, Georgia, November 19, 1813, and died
at Indian Springs, Georgia' April 19, 1873. He was reared in Bryan county and
received much of his education under the noted educator, William McWhir, D. D.,
at Sunbury. He studied law in Savannah and in 1837 was licensed to practice in
the superior court, and was judge of the court of oyer and terminer (now the
city court) of Savannah, from November, 1845, to October, 1847, and his home
remained in this city from that time till near his death. Judge Harden was
widely known as one of the ablest lawyers of the Savannah bar. At the beginning
of the war between the states he was appointed by President Davis to the
position of judge of the Confederate state district court for Georgia, and
served in that capacity till the fall of the Confederacy. He was city attorney
of Savannah both before and after the war. At one time he was the junior partner
in the law firm of Jackson & Harden, Col. Joseph W. Jackson being the senior
member, and afterwards senior member of the firm of Harden & Lawton, of which
Alexander R. Lawton, later quartermaster general of the Confederate states army
and minister to Austria during the administration of President Grover Cleveland,
was the junior. When the war between the states began he was senior partner of
Harden & Gnerard, the younger member being John M. Gnerard. After the war he
formed a law partnership with S. Y. Levy, with the firm name of Harden & Levy,
which continued till his death. He was president of the Georgia Historical
Society for two years, 1867 and 1868. He was the author of a notable work, "The
Life of George M. Troup" (the "States Rights" governor of Georgia). This was a
valuable contribution to the historical records of the South, but on account of
its having been published at a period (1859) when the country was in such an
unsettled state, the book did not receive as wide attention as otherwise it
would have done. Too much could hardly be said in tribute to the exalted
character and noble qualities of Judge Harden; he was the type of gentleman that
represents all that was best of the old South. His passing away was a cause of
universal regret, which was fittingly expressed in a memorial pamphlet compiled
and issued by the Georgia Historical Society and containing tributes to his
memory by the newspapers of the city, and various contributors thereto: the
pastor of the First Presbyterian church, the Session of the Church, the Savannah
Bar Association, and the Georgia Historical Society.

   Mr. Harden's grandfather, Thomas Hutson Harden, was born July 22, 1786, in
Prince William's parish, South Carolina. Left an orphan in his early childhood,
he was brought to Georgia about 1792 or 1793 by a faithful old negro woman who
had been one of his father's slaves. He had a cruel guardian, and it was to
escape from him that the negro woman brought the young boy to Georgia and placed
him in the care of his uncle, Edward Harden, in Savannah. Later the youth went
to Bryan county, where he continued to live until his death on May 4, 18.21. He
was married there to Matilda Amanda Baker. When a young man he had studied law
and was admitted to the bar, but never practiced his profession. He was a
planter; was a colonel on General McIntosh's staff in the War of 1812. He died
in the prime of life, at the age of thirty-four years.

   Mr. Harden's great-grandfather was Col. William Harden, who was a colonel of
a regiment under Gen. Francis Marion, South Carolina troops, in the War of the
Revolution. He was born in Prince William's parish, South Carolina, November 8,
1742, and died there November 28, 1785. He made a distinguished record as a
soldier and officer in the Revolution.

   Tracing back another generation, it is found that Mr. Harden's
great-great-grandfather was William Harden of Prince William's parish, South
Carolina. He was born November 22, 1720, and died in Prince William's parish
September 12, 1760. His father, William Harden, was the first of the name that
the family has any record of on the American continent. While it is not of
authentic record, it is the supposition that this William Harden was born in
Kent, England, and that he came to South Carolina from the Island of Barbadoes.

  Mr. Harden's mother, Sophia H. (Maxwell) Harden, died December 12, 1812. She
was born February 29, 1820, at Belfast, Bryan county, Georgia, daughter of Col.
John Jackson Maxwell, who was born at Belfast, Bryan county, Georgia, June 10,
1784, and died at Belair, near Tallahassee, Florida, January 13, 1855. He was
the youngest child of Capt. William and Constant (Butler) Maxwell. Col. J. J.
Maxwell married Mary Ann Baker, the daughter of Col. John Baker of Revolutionary
renown. Col. Maxwell was a promient figure and a man of large affairs in his
day.   He was a planter of large resources; he repeatedly represented Bryan
county in the legislature, and was for many years one of the judges of the
inferior (or county)  court of Bryan county. He was also at one time one of the
presidential electors from Georgia. He was one of the early members of the
famous Midway Congregational church in Liberty county, Georgia. In 1835, he
removed to Savannah and in this city became one of the ruling elders in the
First Presbyterian church. He removed to Belair, a resort near Tallahassee,
Florida, in January, 1847, and this place was his home until his death. Capt.
William Maxwell, father of John J., was born in Amelia township, South Carolina,
in 1739, and died in 1807 in Bryan county, Georgia, where he had come with his
father in 1752. He was a member of the provincial congress of Georgia from 1775
to 1777; was appointed by the provincial congress one of the "trustees for
taking into their custody and management the (British) forfeited estates," May
4, 1778; privateersman commanding his own armed vessel, recovering property
taken by British, and attacking parties of the enemy engaged in collecting
forage and provisions for the Royal troops in Savannah, 1779; arrested, tried
for "treasonable practices" and convicted by British authorities, January, 1780;
fined 300 pounds and kept under parole until the evacuation of Savannah, July
11, 1782. Capt. William Maxwell was the son of James Maxwell, who came from
South Carolina to Georgia in 1752 and settled on lands granted by the crown, on
the Midway river, in what was then St. Philip parish (now Bryan county). He
named his plantation "Belfast" and lived there all his life. He was married
September 7, 1722, to Mary Simons of South Carolina, the daughter of Benjamin
and Mary (DuPre) Simons. The Maxwell family is of Scotch origin, but came to
America from the north of Ireland, where they had been established for two or
three generations. The Maxwells have been a prominent family in the history of
Georgia. Audly Maxwell, a brother of Mr. Harden's great-great-grandfather
Maxwell, was a member of the first general assembly of Georgia, which met at
Savannah, January 15, 1751.

   Col. John Baker, the father of Mrs. John Jackson Maxwell, died in Savannah in
1792. He was a member of the committee appointed by convention at Savannah July
20, 1774, to prepare resolutions expressive of the sentiments and determination
of the people of Georgia in regard to the Boston Port Bill; member of Provincial
Congress of Georgia, 1775-1777; member of Georgia Council of Safety, 1776;
colonel commanding a regiment of Liberty county (G.) militia, 1775-1783; wounded
in skirmish at Bulltown Swamp, November 19, 1778; defeated Captain Goldsmith at
White House, Georgia, June 28, 1779; participated in battle of Augusta, Georgia,
May-June, 1781.


Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913

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