Birthplace of a Confederate Hero (William T. Overby)
Coweta County, Coweta County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Birthplace of a Confederate Hero. William Thomas Overby was born on this site in the 1840s. He enlisted May 31, 1861, in Co. A, 7th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry C.S.A. Later served with the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, Mosby's Rangers and participated in many raids that harassed the enemy. On Friday, Sept. 23, 1864, Overby and five other Rangers were captured at Front Royal, Va. Overby was offered his freedom if he would reveal the hiding place of Mosby's Rangers. This he refused to do, so he was hanged without the benefit of a trial. He "lay down his life for his friends". 038-1 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1954
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
William Thomas Overby, born on this site in the 1840s, enlisted in the 7th Georgia Infantry in 1861 and later rode with Mosby's Rangers, the daring Confederate cavalry command that harassed Union forces in Virginia. Captured near Front Royal in September 1864, he was offered his freedom in exchange for revealing the Rangers' hiding place; he refused, and was hanged without trial.
Why it matters
Overby's death became a lasting emblem of wartime loyalty and the brutal reprisals that marked the guerrilla warfare of the Civil War's final year in the Shenandoah Valley.
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Related people
- · William Thomas Overby
- · John S. Mosby
Related events
- · Front Royal executions
Themes & tags
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