Life in Henry County must have been extremely hard during the Civil War years.   The county was barely 40 years old, and most people lived simple lives on small farms.  But if it’s true that, as Napoleon said, an army moves on its stomach, this area was in a dangerous position as far as Sherman’s Army was concerned.

William Tecumseh Sherman was a revered and feared military figure.  His grand scheme to take Georgia for the Union began with the Atlanta campaign in 1864.  We’ve all read stories and seen movies about the burning of Atlanta, possibly the most important manufacturing and transportation center for the South.  There businesses, factories, schools, houses, and of course railroad lines all had to be destroyed for the campaign to succeed.  But Sherman didn’t stop there.  By September of 1864 Atlanta was conquered, and he then embarked on the second part of his plan, which was both physical and psychological in nature.  The physical aspect was obvious:  from Atlanta to Savannah to plunder, pillage, and destroy everything.  This area of Georgia, often referred to as the “heartland of the Confederacy,” was vital for providing food and munitions to the Confederate Army.  It was the aim of the Union Army under Sherman to take as much of the supplies as possible, while also destroying the railroad lines, and in so doing to deal a massive blow to the Confederates.  The second part of the plan, the psychological aspect, was to so utterly defeat Georgia that its soldiers and citizens would lose heart, helping bring the Confederacy to its knees. 

Sherman’s Army was divided into two groups.  The right wing’s plan was to move through Jonesboro, Lovejoy, Stockbridge, McDonough, Jackson, Flovilla, Indian Springs, and on toward Savannah, on the way pillaging, appropriating, and burning everything.  But in war, the unexpected can always arise and change the course of events.  And sometimes one person can make a difference.

On November 16, 1864 the 11,000-man strong Union Infantry was on the march through Henry County. They were joined by around 16,000 other troops that were encamped here.  When they arrived in McDonough, however, one of those unexpected events occurred in the person of Dr. Lewis M. Tye.

Dr. Tye’s home still stands.  It is now the Strawn Insurance building near the Square.  Other Civil War-era buildings in the area also stand.  Why was McDonough spared the burning?  We owe that to Dr. Tye.  True to his Hippocratic oath, he ministered to both Union and Confederate soldiers who’d been wounded in the fighting.  Local lore has it that Dr. Tye’s humane treatment of the soldiers of the North resulted in the town’s being spared the fires (but not the looting and destruction).  Some accounts of this incident relate that Dr. Tye boldly told the Union Army that he could not treat their soldiers with smoke in his eyes.  It must have taken a huge amount of courage to stand up for what he believed under such dangerous circumstances. 

In a grassy area on the McDonough Square, there is a small historical marker commemorating the bravery of Dr. Lewis M. Tye and providing more information than has been contained here.  He is just one of the heroes whose actions contributed to who we are today, 150+ years later.  We owe it to ourselves not to forget him.

Happy Bicentennial everyone.

{Information for this column came from the following sources:  Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails Inc.; “True Southerners” by Gene Morris; “Historic Henry County” by Michael Reaves; “To the Sea” by Jim Miles; and our old buddy Google.}