Bartow County
Cartersville, Bartow County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Bartow County. Originally Cass, Bartow County was created by Act of Dec. 3, 1832 from Cherokee County. The name was changed Dec. 6, 1861 to honor Gen. Francis S. Bartow (1816-1861), Confederate political leader and soldier, who fell mortally wounded at the First Battle of Manassas, while leading the 7th and 8th Ga. Vols. of his brigade. His last words were said to be, "They have killed me, boys, but never give up." First officers of this county, commissioned March 9, 1833, were: Benjamin F. Adair, Sheriff; Chester Hawks, Clerk Superior Court; Leathern Rankin, Clerk Inferior Court; Nealy Goodwin, Surveyor; John Pack, Coroner. 008-43 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1956
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
Carved out of Cherokee lands in 1832, this northwest Georgia county was first called Cass before the Civil War swept away its old name. In December 1861, with the Confederacy newly formed, Georgia rechristened it for Francis S. Bartow, a Savannah lawyer and politician who had marched off to Virginia at the head of his brigade. Bartow was killed that July at the First Battle of Manassas, one of the earliest prominent Confederate officers to die in the war, and his reported last words—urging his men never to give up—made him a martyr to the Southern cause.
Why it matters
The county's renaming captures how quickly the Civil War reshaped Southern identity, erasing an old political namesake to honor a fallen Confederate hero. Its origins on former Cherokee land also mark the wave of removal and settlement that opened north Georgia in the 1830s.
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Related people
- · Francis S. Bartow
- · Benjamin F. Adair
- · Chester Hawks
- · Leathern Rankin
- · Nealy Goodwin
- · John Pack
Related events
- · First Battle of Manassas
- · Creation of Cass County (1832)
- · Renaming to Bartow County (1861)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Deep Creek
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Atlanta Campaign: Cassville
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On May 19, 1864, Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston entrenched on the ridge east of this spot near Cassville, intending to give battle to Sherman's advancing armies. When Sherman threatened his flank and his corps commanders objected to the position, Johnston instead withdrew to the strong defenses at Allatoona Pass. Rather than assault it, Sherman again slipped around, moving toward New Hope Church.
An Unknown Hero
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In the autumn of 1864, as Sherman's armies pressed through north Georgia, Confederate troops under General Samuel G. French stormed the Union-held gap at Allatoona Pass on October 5, trying to sever the railroad that fed the Federal advance. The fighting was close and brutal, and among the fallen was a soldier whose name was never recorded. For generations afterward, Southerners made their way to this solitary hillside grave to honor him.
The Andrews Raiders at Kingston
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