Newton County GaArchives Obituaries.....Simms, General James P. May 30 1887
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Phyllis Thompson http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00011.html#0002524 June 20, 2004, 7:46 pm

The Georgia Enterprise, June 3, 1887
  Speaking of the death of General Simms, the Covington Star says:
  His death was not unexpected by his friends, yet it was a great shock to the 
community. He had been afflicted for some time with a fatal disease, and his
sufferings had been very severe and distressing. For several days he had been
in a state of total unconsciousness; but during Saturday night his mind became
very clouded, and he appeared much refreshed and improved. During Sunday his 
mind remained clear and unclouded, and he recognized and conversed pleasantly
with friends who came to pay him their respects. About six o'clock in the 
evening, however, his mind again became overshadowed, and his sufferings 
increased with great violence until near midnight, when he became easier, and 
his mind returned to conciousness. In his condition he remained until he quietly
and peacefully breathed his last surrounded by his family and a few friends.
  He was a graduate of Emory college, and studied law after the war. He entered
the army as a lieutenant, and was promoted to the rank of major in the 53rd
Ga. regiment. He soon rose to the command of the regiment, and was made its
colonel in 1862. He was breveted brigadier General, and for a long while served
as brigade commander while he held only the commission of colonel. In 1865 he
received his commission as brigadier general in the confederate army. On the 
retreat of our army from Richmond, he was placed in command of a division, 
consisting of two brigades, which he handled with consummate skill and 
precision, and dealt the advancing and overpowering forces of Gen. Grant many
a severe blow before our final capture.
  It was the writer's fortune to be with Gen. Simms during this remarkable 
retreat, and amid the trying scenes that finally ended in the capture of nearly 
8,000 men, on the 6th of April, 1865; never did a hero or patriot conduct 
himself more bravely than did he. He seemed to fully realize the critical 
situation of the army, and the importance of a discharge of the full measure of 
duty on the part of each individual soldier. He lent himself manfully to the 
task of resisting the advancing legions of Grant, and hurling them back in
disorder; but he was as powerless to accomplish that, in a leaf cast upon the 
waters of a mighty flood, in the hope of staying its mad current. The forces of 
Gen. Grant had overtaken us in such overwhelming numbers that they actually had 
us surrounded before we were aware of it. A desperate fight ensued, but we were
soon overpowered, and all made prisoners. How grandly and bravely Gen. Simms 
bore himself through all these desperate and trying scenes, is a matter that 
affords us peculiar pleasure to bear testimony to at this time.
  Since the war Gen. Simms has represented this county in the legislature, and 
has served the people of Covington, as mayor, in both of which positions he 
discharged his duty faithfully, as he did in every other area of life. He was a
true man in every sense and never shirked a responsibility, or abused a trust. 
In personal stature and physique, Gen. Simms was a noble specimen of manhood, 
and bid fair to live to a ripe and happy old age; but disease took a deep hold
upon him, and has cut him down in the prime of his useful and vigorous manhood.
He was a man abounding in generous impulses, with so many noble qualities of 
mind, that he ever commanded the respect and love and esteem of those with whom
he associated, and of those who knew him best.

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