UPSON COUNTY, GA - HISTORY  John B. Gordon Sundial

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Printed in Upson Historical Society Newsletters:
October 1997

THE MONUMENTS OF UPSON

JOHN B.GORDON SUNDIAL ON
THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE

A memorial to General John B. Gordon rests on the northwest side
of the Upson County Courthouse lawn. Originally the shaft provided
the pedestal for a sundial which has long since disappeared,
leaving the base and shaft as a reminder of the Upson-bom
Confederate General.

The UDC formally dedicated the monument on October 6, 1938, after
a special luncheon. Leaders in the unveiling ceremony were Robert
Burke (Uncle Bobby) Reeves and Mr. E. S. Davidson, Upson's last
two living Confederate veterans; Mayor Hugh Thurston; Judge John
J. Humphries, the speaker for the day; and Mrs. Grady Fowler,
president of the Sharman of Upson Chapter of the United Daughters
of the Confederacy.

Such a monument had been a long time in coming. Professor F. F.
Rowe, President, R. E. Lee Institute, had first suggested it at
the unveiling of the Confederate monument on May 2, 1908. Mr.
James R. Davis, Sr. at a Memorial Day Program on April 26, 1913,
repeated the call for such a remenbrance. Finally, it became a
reality.

Born on his preacher daddy's farm in the southern part of the
county, John B. Gordon first saw the light of an Upson sky in
1832.  His father, Zechariah Gordon, with the help of Jacob King
helped to evangelize this county in the 1820's and 30's.   John
Brown Gordon made his profession of faith in the Harmony (now New
Harmony) Baptist Church. Being very small they stood him on a
table to make his statement. That table is still in the possession
of the church. He lived in the county until he was about ten years
of age. At this time, his father migrated to the northern part of
the state.

During the later part of the War Between the States, he rose to
the rank of Lieutenant General and was with Lee to the end at
Appomattox.

After the war, Gordon served in the United States Senate from 1873
to 1880 and as the Governor of Georgia from 1886-1890.

In his days of fame and glory, he made a few trips back to Upson.
The most famous of these came in 1886 when he spoke to the
veterans of the Fifth and Thirteenth Regiments.  Five thousand
people came to the celebration. Seventy-one carcasses of barbecue
were consumed.

After a varied career in the world of business, Gordon died at his
Florida home in 1904. Upsonians have always claimed him as one of
their own.