Biography: Cobb County, James Lile Lemon 

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Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Johnny Jones of Marietta, Georgia. 
The "war time" diary of Captain James Lile Lemon is in the possession of Mr. 
Mark Lemon, another of one of Captain Lemon's great-great grandsons. The Lemon 
House is still in the Lemon family and is located on Willis Street in Acworth, 
Georgia.

CAPTAIN JAMES LILE LEMON 
"CITIZEN-SOLDIER OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY"
By Johnny Jones 

There is a photo of Capt. Lemon which was taken while he was a prisoner of war 
at Fort Delaware, Delaware. The following is an excerpt taken from Capt. Lemon's 
diary which outlines the event: "July 6 Ft. Delaware - We were visited to day by 
a photographist from Philadelphia who asked that we sit for our portraits & 
after some debate among us we agreed as there was no harm in it, but my old 
uniform as in rags & stained with blood & etc & unfit for a portrait & I was 
glad that he had among his effects a few Confederate coats one of which I put on 
& then set for him." (Diary of Capt. James L. Lemon, entry for 6 July 1864)

James Lile Lemon was the son of James Lemon and Mary Brown Telford. He was a 
dark-haired, blue-eyed man of light complexion, standing approximately six-feet 
in height. He was of Irish descent and was born in Decatur, DeKalb County, 
Georgia on October 27, 1835. 

The Lemon family were prosperous pioneer settlers of DeKalb County. James Lemon, 
James Lile's father, was a merchant, farmer, state representative of DeKalb 
County in the Georgia legislature, and justice of the inferior court. The 
Lemon's lived near Decatur until 1843 when they relocated to Marietta, then near 
Acworth. 

On October 19, 1856, James Lile Lemon married Eliza Jane Davenport, daughter of 
Thomas and Clara Pierce Davenport; the Davenport's were a prosperous Cobb County 
family. James and Eliza were married near Marietta and eventually made their 
home in Acworth where James prospered as a merchant and farmer. Abruptly, in 
1861, life as the Lemon family knew it took a tragic detour. 

Upon ratification of the Confederate Constitution on March 16, 1861, Georgia 
became a legitimate state in the Confederate States of America, after existing 
for approximately two months as a de facto republic. For the Lemon family, 
secession confirmed that Georgia would bow no more to the will of the Union. 
Obviously, throughout the South, the tyranny of northern aggression had become 
unbearable.

In mystical response, the demons of war began to flex their sinewy muscles, and, 
soon the "battle cry of freedom" sounded throughout the land. Once again, the 
bloody and terrible carnage of war would lend its eerie vibrations to the land 
of the free, and for the second time in less than a century, American soil would 
become stained with the life-blood of its patriots. The second American 
revolution - - - the "War of Secession", began. 

As was the case with many of the sons of the South, the blood surging through 
the body of James Lile Lemon was rich in the ancestral traits of honor, courage, 
and patriotism. These attributes were inspired and cultivated in him from the 
moment of his birth; whereas, his father James Lemon, fought in the War of 1812, 
and his grandfather Robert Lemmon, as well as his great-grandfather, James 
Lemant, fought against the tyranny of the British Empire in the American 
Revolution. 

Afresh, the Lemon name arose once more to the drums of battle, and in the 
footsteps of his lineage, James was compelled to do his duty and wage war 
against the tyrannical aggression of the Union. 

In late April or early June 1861, James enlisted in the Army of the Confederate 
States at Camp McDonald which was situated at a locale then known as Big Shanty 
(Kennesaw) Georgia. Subsequently, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in 
Company A (Acworth Infantry), First Regiment, Fourth Brigade. However, following 
a period of training and upon the regiment's arrival in Virginia, the First 
Regiment was designated the Eighteenth Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, 
C.S.A. The regiment was commanded by Col. William Tatum Wofford of neighboring 
Bartow County (then Cass County), Georgia. 

During the early years of the war, James' regiment was part of General John Bell 
Hood's Texas Brigade. Hood's Texas Brigade was considered the best "shock" 
troops in the Army of the Confederate States. As a part of this famed brigade, 
James fought in such renowned battles as Seven Pines, Seven Days, Second 
Manassas (Bull Run), Sharpsburg (Antietam), Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, and 
Knoxville. 

On August 29, 1862, during the Battle of Second Manassas, James' regiment 
captured the colors of the 24th New York. The following day paralleled the 
previous when the regiment captured the colors of the 10th New York Zouaves on 
the plains of Manassas. On or about September 3, 1862, Colonel Wofford penned a 
letter to the Governor of Georgia, Joseph Brown: 

"I present to the state of Georgia two stands of colors captured by my regiment 
in the battles of the 29 & 30 August. The plain one belonging to the 24th N.Y. 
Regiment was taken by T.H. Northcutt of Capt Oneill's Co from Cobb [County] 
(Here Col. Wofford is speaking of the Acworth Infantry). The other belonging to 
the 10th NY Zouaves by Wm Key of Capt. Ropers Co. from Bartow Co. My regiment 
took a battery of four splendid brass pieces on the 30th." 

Consequently, a historical dilemma exists as to whether T.H. Northcutt actually 
captured the battle flag of the 24th New York regiment. The memoirs of J.J. 
O'Neill, also of Cobb County, claims that he (O'Neill) instead of Northcutt 
captured the colors of the New York regiment. O'Neill's memoirs go on to 
stipulate that Northcutt was recovering from a wound at the time the colors were 
captured. 

In response to their deeds on the battlefield of Manassas, on December 16, 1862, 
the Georgia General Assembly issued a proclamation commending the Eighteenth 
Georgia for their "intrepid valor, cool courage, and heroic daring" displayed on 
the Manassas battlefield. 

On September 17, 1862, during the bloody battle of Sharpsburg, James' regiment 
attacked the "Yanks" in the Cornfield near the old Dunker church with 176 
officers and men. The bloody carnage was such that when the last shot was fired 
the regiment had experienced 101 casualties. Following the battle and up to that 
stage of the war, James' regiment claimed the ambiguous distinction of 
possessing the highest proportion of casualties at a major engagement of any 
military unit. 

Soon after the Battle of Sharpsburg, the Confederate Army began a process of 
reorganization in which James' regiment was transferred into a brigade made up 
entirely of Georgia troops and commanded by a fellow Georgian, General Thomas 
R. R. Cobb. 

On December 13, 1862, James and the Eighteenth Regiment made history during the 
Battle of Fredericksburg with their courageous stand near the foot of Marye's 
Heights at the famous "Stone Wall" and "Sunken Road." General Cobb was killed 
during the battle and command of the brigade went to the regimental commander of 
the Eighteenth Georgia, newly promoted Gen. William Tatum Wofford. 

Soon after the victory at Fredericksburg, James Lile Lemon was promoted from 
first lieutenant to captain, and, thereby company commander of the Acworth 
Infantry (Company A). Following the battle at Fredericksburg, Captain Lemon and 
the Eighteenth Regiment followed Wofford through the battlefields of 
Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. 

At Chancellorsville, James' regiment engaged the "Yanks" near the 
Chancellorsville Heights. Among other things, James had this to say about the 
Battle of Chancellorsville: "The noise was deafening & the loudest I have ever 
heard." "At Gettysburg, the Eighteenth Georgia engaged their foe at such 
renowned locations as the "Peach Orchard," the "Wheatfield," and "Little Round 
Top." On August 22, 1863, while reflecting on the Gettysburg campaign, Captain 
Lemon wrote in his diary: 

"The campaign we have just passed through has been the hardest of the war & the 
battle was the most bloody one I think we have been through & though we fought 
well and whipped the yanks on the 2nd ultimo I fear we got the worst of it on 
the 3rd but our regt. was not bested. The yanks have not seen our backs in 
battle." 

Following the South's defeat at Gettysburg, Capt. Lemon and the Eighteenth 
Regiment followed General James Longstreet to eastern Tennessee for the ill-
fated Knoxville Campaign. During this campaign, Capt. Lemon's military career 
would come to a violent, tragic conclusion. 

On November 29, 1863, near Knoxville, Tennessee, the Eighteenth Georgia was part 
of an assigned force that attacked a near impregnable Union position known as 
Fort Sanders (Loudon). It was here, in the neighboring state of Captain Lemon's 
beloved Georgia, that he further distinguished himself as a brave and daring 
soldier of the Southern Confederacy, as is evidenced by his posthumous Medal 
of Honor citation: 

"Fully recognizing the desperate nature of the early morning attack against the 
enemy's works, Captain Lemon nevertheless led his company with great 
determination across an open field of fire, crisscrossed by wire and blocked by 
abatis. Charging into a hailstorm of musketry and canister, the Confederates 
pushed their attack to the very walls of the fort only to falter in the deep 
ditch surrounding the works. Realizing that the men would be slaughtered if they 
did not carry the parapet, Captain Lemon took his sword and began digging steps 
in the frozen, slippery clay of the fortifications. Despite point blank 
musketry and exploding shells lobbed by the enemy from the works, Captain Lemon 
safely reached the slope of the parapet. Although alone and perilously exposed 
in this dangerous position, he heroically assisted a number of others in getting 
out of the trench. Seeing his brigade commander killed, Captain Lemon 
courageously led the men with him to the top of the parapet and into the fort 
where he fell severely wounded, a prisoner of war." 

In his diary dated December 26, 1863, Capt. Lemon described the events 
surrounding his injury. 

"We then were just below the parapet & at once moved quickly over the top of the 
works & were face to face with them in an instant. The yanks met us with a 
withering volley which I think killed & wounded many of us. I had left my sword 
in the mud & had drawn my pistol & moved up firing as fast as I could when I 
suddenly felt a tremendous blow to my head & lost consciousness." 

When finally the Confederate retreat was ordered, the South had encountered a 
stunning defeat; whereas the attacking Confederates had suffered approximately 
800 casualties in twenty minutes of fighting. The federal casualties amounted to a mere 15. 

Upon gaining consciousness, Capt. James Lile Lemon found himself in a precarious 
situation: He was severely wounded and a prisoner of war. His brigade commander 
(at the time), Lt. Col. Solon Z. Ruff was killed during the battle. After 
spending several weeks in the federal prison hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, 
James was transferred to the Union prisoner of war camp at Camp Chase, Ohio. 
However, Capt. Lemon was soon transferred to another prisoner of war camp at 
Fort Delaware, Delaware. 

At Fort Delaware, Capt. Lemon spent much of the balance of the war; however, in 
August 1864, Capt. Lemon became one of 600 Confederate officers shipped to 
Charleston, South Carolina and held before the walls and under the guns of Fort 
Wagner, also known as "Battery Wagner." According to an article written by Capt. 
Lemon in 1893, he and other members of the Confederate officer corps were fed 
pickles and refuse corn meal, and on a daily basis suffered humiliation and 
degradation. An excerpt from Capt. Lemon's diary dated March 19, 1864, 
elaborates on the treatment of the Confederate officers at the hands of the 
Union soldiers: 

"We have recently returned to this place after a most brutal & cowardly outrage 
against humanity. I cannot now speak of the sufferings & depravations & 
humiliations we were subjected to. Many among us are now dead from starvation, 
disease, shot or beaten to death. . . and the rest of us are about used up from 
the shameful journey forced upon us by the yanks." 

History now remembers these brave 600 Confederate officers as the "Immortal Six-
Hundred." 

Two months after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, Capt. James 
Lile Lemon took the dreaded Oath of Allegiance to the United States government. 
In his diary, dated June 12, 1865, Capt. Lemon reflected on his anguish 
surrounding his decision: "I have done the unspeakable, but I am now paroled & 
to day set out for home. My duty to my country is done, mine to my family 
remains." 

Upon his release from Fort Delaware, he returned home to his family in Acworth 
where he led a prosperous life as a banker, farmer, and merchant. Furthermore, 
he and Eliza went on to have a total of 11 children. 

One of the most ironic aspects of James Lile Lemon's military career was that, 
seemingly, he never fired a hostile shot on his native soil of Georgia. All of 
the battles in which he fought were in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and 
Tennessee. As is truly evident, James Lile Lemon fought not only for Georgia but 
for his country as well. 

In returning to civilian life, James Lile Lemon proved almost as valuable an 
asset to his neighbors as he was to his country, helping guide his fellow 
countrymen through the difficult period of Reconstruction. Later, James Lile 
Lemon was instrumental in the incorporation of the city of Acworth, Georgia and 
in the founding of the Acworth Presbyterian Church. 

On June 12, 1907, exactly 42 years after his release from the Union prisoner of 
war camp at Fort Delaware, James Lile Lemon, . . . one of the "Immortal Six- 
Hundred" . . . succumbed to death. His faithful companion, Eliza, died on April 
18, 1916. They are buried, side-by-side, in the Mars Hill Cemetery in Acworth, 
Cobb County, Georgia. 

Unfortunately, over a century lapsed before Captain James Lile Lemon of the 
Eighteenth Georgia Volunteer Infantry was officially recognized for his 
distinguishing acts during the battle of Fort Sanders, Tennessee. 

Nevertheless, on July 27, 1995, his bravery and sacrifice during the Battle of 
Fort Sanders (Loudon) were forever immortalized, whereas the Sons of Confederate 
Veterans awarded him the Confederate Medal of Honor. The citation and medal, 
along with a photograph of Captain Lemon taken while a prisoner at Fort 
Delaware, a painting of the battle of Fort Sanders, and a proclamation by the 
governor of Georgia are on display at the National Medal of Honor Museum of 
Military History in Chattanooga, Tennessee.