'Persevere, don't give up': Georgia preservation group honors team for saving tabby building in Darien that survived fire during Civil War. The Adam Strain has a new life

In July 2023 (Picket photo), nearing completion (Marion Savic), and side view (Ethos Preservation)

The tabby Adam Strain building in coastal Darien, Ga., looked forlorn, lonely and, frankly, about to collapse in 2008 when it was listed among the state’s “Places in Peril.”

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation cited residential development pressure and the demolition of an 18^th century house north of town. Local concern for the Strain, which was built around 1815 and survived the Burning of Darien during the Civil War, had reached “a new high,” the nonprofit said.

Someone needed to step up and purchase “this rare survivor” and come up with a vision for its use as part of Darien’s heritage tourism program, the Trust urged.

That finally occurred in January 2020, when Milan and Marion Savic bought the Strain and began a long and expensive restoration of the distinctive warehouse perched on a riverfront bluff.

Marion Savic holds award with the Adam Strain team. Milan Savic is at far right (Photo GTHP)

The Trust this past weekend recognized the work by the Savics, consultants and preservation companies with its Marguerite Williams Award, presented annually to the project that has had the greatest impact on preservation in the state.

Last November, the Savics opened Tabby House Brewing in the Adam Strain and a restored bank building next door. The couple is developing an upstairs museum about the project and its ties to the local culture.

“It is an important example of a building that many thought was too far gone (left) being saved through perseverance and a commitment to quality craftsmanship,” Ben Sutton, director of preservation and legislative advocacy for the Trust, told the Picket in an email Monday.

The commerce building’s connection to the Federal burning of Darien in 1863 first drew me to its story, but the passion of the Savics and local residents kept me plugged into the daunting project.

“We had an amazing team that came together to do what was near impossible -- save the beautiful Adam Strain,” the Savics said in a Facebook post about the award.

I asked Marion Savic about the five-year effort and what advice she might give to someone taking on such an involved and complex project.

“It takes dedication, perseverance, good quality contractors, engineers, architects, etc. to make it work -- and money,” she replied. “State and federal tax credits definitely help offset some of the cost. Persevere, don’t give up and the outcome will be worth it.”

It weathered a firestorm during the Civil War

The Adam Strain has stood amid palm trees on a bluff of the small, interior port city above St. Simons Island for more than two centuries. Tabby ruins of other businesses lie just below the site and Darien’s famous shrimp fleet is just to the east.

Scene from "Glory" shows troops arriving in Darien in June 1863.

Tabby is a type of cement made from crushed oyster shells, lime and other materials and was popular in Georgia and Florida for several centuries leading up to the Civil War. Stucco was placed on the exterior to protect it from water damage.

The warehouse was used to store cotton prior to shipment in 1861 and 1862 before the Union naval blockade clamped down on Georgia’s coast during the Civil War.

In June 1863, Darien held little strategic value to the Union, but Col. James Montgomery (below), commanding the African-American 2nd South Carolina Volunteers, supposedly believed it was a safe haven for blockade runners.

He had another reason for shelling, looting and burning Darien, leaving only a few buildings standing among the charred ruins. The destruction was depicted in the award-winning 1989 film "Glory."

Steven Smith, site manager for nearby Fort King George Historic Site in 2013 when the Picket first wrote about the town’s burning, said Montgomery “wanted to make a political statement. Here was a town built on the backs of slaves.”

After most townspeople had fled, Montgomery ordered Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the famed 54^th  Massachusetts Infantry to participate. While Shaw didn’t mind the looting to help resupply his troops, he opposed setting the town to torch. He apparently relented under threat of court-martial.

The Strain survived the fire but much of its interior was destroyed. The episode caused a howl of protest across the South and even in newspapers in the North.

'A case study in tabby preservation'

The warehouse was repaired after the Civil War and saw a rebirth for several decades before it was used for storage following World War II. It then sat empty for about 50 or so years.

The Strain, perhaps the oldest surviving in Darien, was beloved by its 2,000 residents, who worried for its future as its appearance worsened. The years rolled on.

Downtown has grown since this view of the Strain (Courtesy of Kit Sutherland)

It came within whiskers of being demolished before the Savics stepped in and bought the property. Two hundred-plus years had done its damage. A wall had a pronounced lean, the back wall facing the river was hanging by a prayer and other areas were in need of structural stability. The building was at risk of being toppled by strong winds.

Now, the building is an additional tourist draw in the city near St. Simons and Jekyll islands.

On Saturday, the Trust presented numerous preservation awards in Brunswick, Ga., during its annual Spring Ramble of historic homes and sites. The organization seeks partners to revitalize properties it has acquired or, as in the case of the strain, raise awareness of other endangered historic resources.

A press release on the award reads in part:

“From 2020 to 2024, the Savics and their team undertook a complex, multi-phase rehabilitation -- restoring historic tabby walls, wood floors, windows, and even a rooftop hoist system -- while installing a concealed steel frame to ensure stability. The adjacent 1880s-era Darien Bank building was also restored and incorporated into the project.

The large upstairs room features a bar, event space and artifacts found during work (Picket photo)

“Today, the buildings house the Tabby House Brewing Company and Museum, reinvigorating Darien’s waterfront and drawing new energy to the historic district. With techniques that now serve as a case study in tabby preservation, this project stands as a powerful example of vision, perseverance and the profound impact historic preservation can have in shaping Georgia’s cultural and architectural legacy.”

The recipients of the Marguerite Williams Award for 2025 are: Marion and Milan Savic, Bennett Preservation Engineering, Ethos Preservation, GEL Engineering, archaeologist NicholasHonerkamp and Myrna Crook, Landmark Preservation, LKS Architects, Method Engineering and Saussy Engineering.

The Strain team recognized Fred Ecker of Landmark Preservation for  his leadership and expertise.

30th edition of the Civil War show in Dalton, Ga., offers boatloads of relics, three lectures and a familiar place for collectors and vendors to network

The Bullet and Shell table at the 2018 weekend event in Dalton, Ga  (Picket photos)

Patrons at this weekend’s 30^th edition of the Chickamauga Civil War Show in Dalton, Ga., can take in lectures on battlefield preservation, religion during the conflict and Reconstruction.

The annual firearms, artifacts and relics show at the Dalton Convention Center, 2211 Tony Ingle Parkway, takes place Saturday and Sunday. During dealer move-in Friday, people can pay $50 for an “early buyer” badge that gives them the first crack at many items. They can use the pass through the weekend.

Show organizer Mike Kent, who has been producing Civil War shows for 34 years, including 20 at Dalton, said nearly 200 vendors will set up items on 450 tables.

“Standout displays of Confederate buckles by Dr. Bill Blackman, Kenny Copelin and Scott Riddle are always one of the top attractions at the show and Father Bob Miller, who is one of our guest speakers, will also have a display on religion during the war,” Kent (left) told the Picket.

Kent said all Civil War shows have evolved over the years. What started out as mainly a show for dug relics from the Civil War has developed into an all era, militaria-type show with relics, artifacts, weapons and memorabilia from the Revolutionary War up through World War ll.

“As Civil War material becomes more difficult and expensive to acquire, collectors are tending toward items from more recent eras such as WW ll, but the Dalton show is still 80% to 90% Civil War related.” Kent also runs the larger Franklin Civil War Show in Tennessee, held in December.

Beyond sales, relic shows are a major place for sellers, museum curators, authors, collectors and others to network.

While there is a fee to enter the Dalton hall, three lectures Saturday in Room 1-A on the first floor of the trade center are free and those interested do not need to enter the show to listen. The schedule:

11 a.m.: Anthony Hodges, head of the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, and Joe Trahan, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association, will discuss battlefield preservation.

Noon: Father Bob Miller, a Catholic priest and historian, speaks on “Religion is what makes soldiers brave: Seven reasons why faith was important during the Civil War.”

1 p.m.: Historian and author Scott Sallee lectures on Reconstruction following the Civil War, and its three phrases.

Civil War photo collector and expert David Wynn Vaughan of Atlanta plans to attend Friday’s VIP session. “I (always) hope to find a nice Confederate image.”

Ronald S. Coddington,  author, historian and publisher of Military Images magazine, has previously set up shop at the Dalton show -- interacting with patrons by scanning tintypes, ambrotype images and cartes de visite for possible print and online galleries for this magazine, getting story ideas and weighing in on a card’s value.

While he is unable to attend this year, Coddington said he enjoys meeting the public.

“The passion and knowledge these caretakers have for artifacts is inspiration. And the opportunity to be physically present to touch the artifacts is not something you can get in the digital world -- at least not yet.”

A prospective buyer checks out firearms in 2010 (Civil War Picket)

Kent says photo collector and dealer Paul Reeder, known for his Confederate images, will be at the show. Military Images has published some of his collection.

Show hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday.  Admission is $12 for adults; children 12 and under are free. Friday’s VIP session ($50) is 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

National Preservation Month: Gettysburg visitors on May 11 have rare opportunity to see inside of 4 historic homes that were in the thick of things

The Brian house is a quarter mile north of the Angle (NPS photo)

Next Saturday is your one chance in 2024 to step inside four noteworthy homes on the Gettysburg battlefield as the park participates in National Preservation Month.

The Abraham Brian, Lydia Leister, Jacob Hummelbaugh and Mary Thompson houses will be open for only four hours – on May 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to Gettysburg National Military Park.

“Doors Open Gettysburg” launched in 2016 and occurred annually through 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic and staffing shortages shut it down after then until this year, park spokesman Jason Martz told the Picket

Park staff will open the “magnificent” structures on that day. The event is free. “The selected buildings range from those newly restored to those in need of repair,” the park said.

Superintendent Kristina Heister said in a news release that the event “highlights the park’s important historic preservation mission and the stories these buildings can tell.”

Here are the pertinent dwellings:

Lydia Leister house is along Taneytown Road (NPS photo)

Lydia Leister house (Meade’s headquarters): Home of the widow Lydia Leister and her children, the two-room structure became the headquarters of the Union Army of the Potomac. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade held his famous “Council of War” here on the evening of July 2, 1863. The artillery bombardment prior to Pickett's Charge on July 3 caused considerable damage to the house. The barn was located in the rear of the center of the Union battle line and used to shelter Union headquarters staff and horses until they moved because of heavy gunfire. It later served as a temporary aid station and field hospital when headquarters was relocated elsewhere. Like the Brian Farm, the biaxial roofing on the residence was recently returned to this historic structure, restoring a character defining feature of one of the most historic buildings on the battlefield. Park in the National Cemetery parking lot or along Hancock Avenue.

A Rebel general died at the Hummelbaugh house in July 1863 (NPS photo)

Jacob Hummelbaugh house: The farm house was for a time occupied by Brig. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton of the Union cavalry as a headquarters during the battle. It was used as a field hospital and rallying point on July 2, 1863. Confederate Brig. Gen. William Barksdale died here the next day and was temporarily buried in the yard. The home will be rehabilitated and stabilized in 2024. Park on Sedgwick or Hancock Avenue. Do not park on Pleasanton Avenue.

Abraham Brian family house: The free black man lived on this 12-acre farm with his wife, Elizabeth, and two children. He purchased the land in 1857, grew wheat, barley and hay, and tended a small apple and peach orchard. Afraid of being captured and sold into slavery, Brian and his family left their home when Confederate troops entered Pennsylvania. Following the battle, they returned to find their home riddled with bullet holes, windows smashed, and furniture thrown about the yard. The crops and orchard were ruined, and their farm fields a graveyard for hastily buried soldiers. Brian repaired his home, replaced his fences, and farmed his land until 1869, when he moved to town and worked at a local hotel. National Park Service preservation experts recently restored the biaxial roof on this historic home. This distinctive roofing style, which had largely vanished by the 20^th century, is also found on the nearby Lydia Leister house. Park on Hancock Avenue and at the National Cemetery parking lot.

Lee's headquarters (Photo: Melissa Winn, American Battlefield Trust)

Mary Thompson house (Lee’s headquarters): Rehabilitated and restored by the American Battlefield Trust, this famous battlefield landmark was used by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee during the battle. The Thompson home, built in about 1833, was co-owned by U.S. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens. Thompson, about 70, lived across the road from one son (also part of the Trust property); seven other children lived elsewhere. Trust employees will be on hand for the day. Park in the designated lot at the Mary Thompson house.

Mary Thompson may be figure at right in post-battle photo (Library of Congress)

The buildings are not wheelchair accessible. No tickets or reservations are necessary for “Doors Open Gettysburg.”

Martz says staffing issues preclude the four homes from being open all year. “In order to open any of these buildings we must have staff on-hand to ensure the resources are protected.”

Also on May 11, the David Wills House will open for the season, according to the park.

David Wills house: The home of Gettysburg attorney David Wills was the center of the immense cleanup process after the Battle of Gettysburg and where President Lincoln put the finishing touches on his Gettysburg Address. The museum features six galleries, including two rooms that have been restored to their 1863 appearance: The home features Wills' office, where he planned for a Soldiers' National Cemetery after the battle; and the bedroom where Lincoln stayed and prepared the Gettysburg Address.

Admission to the David Wills house, 8 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, Pa., is free. Open Friday-Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm.

If you can’t make it to Gettysburg, you can take virtual tours of the Leister, Wills and Brian homes here.

Much-needed R&R: Three Fort Sumter flags are headed for a cool, dark place after years on display. Here's more about the banners

US storm flag, top, garrison flag, lower left, Palmetto Guard (NPS)

Three Fort Sumter flags – among them the U.S. flag that waved during its bombardment -- have been on display for at least 20 years, powerful symbols of a nation torn apart and brought back together.

Gunfire wasn’t their only enemy: saltwater spay, humidity and light took a toll on the flags. Now it’s time to give them some down time. Today and Wednesday, gloved curators will carefully remove the fragile banners from exhibit.

“It is long overdue for them to be rested,” said Brett Spaulding, chief of interpretation for Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park in Charleston, S.C. “Light is an issue for all textiles that are on display. To help preserve them, it’s common practice to rest artifacts.”

The museum on the island will be closed both days; the grounds of the fort and bookstore will remain open and ranger programs will operate normally, officials said.

Storm flag flies above the fort on April 14, 1865 (Library of Congress)

The flags are among the most famous of the Civil War: The 33-star U.S. garrison flag flew over the fort until it sustained wind damage on April 11, 1861, hours before Rebel artillery effectively began the Civil War. Its smaller successor, the storm flag, flew during the 34 hours of the attack.

Both were removed from the island by Union Maj. Robert Anderson after he surrendered. The storm flag immediately became a patriotic symbol for the remainder of the conflict and raised the status of the Star-Spangled Banner to what we know today.

The Palmetto Guard flag was the first Confederate flag to fly over the fort after the departure of the US Army on April 14, 1861. 

(NPS photo)

The storm and Palmetto Guard flags have been at the Fort Sumter museum. The garrison flag is at the Fort Sumter Visitor Center (above) at Liberty Square in downtown Charleston.

All underwent conservation before they went on display. “Despite taking great care to protect the artifacts they are best preserved when stored in a clean, dark, cool, and dry environment for periods of rest,” the park said in a news release. 

Here is more about the three flags:

U.S. 33-star garrison flag (wool bunting, 20 feet by 36 feet)

This was the larger of two U.S. flags to fly over Sumter in April 1861. When the Civil War began, the United States flag had 33 stars: one representing each state in the Union. After Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln had to decide whether to leave all 33 stars on the flag or to remove those of the seceded states. Since Lincoln's mission was to preserve the Union, no stars were removed.

The garrison flag flew as tensions rose before the bombardment. By the evening of April 11, hours from the exchange of artillery, the larger banner suffered extreme wind damage and it was taken down. It has lost the most material of the three historic flags.

McCrone Associates, which partnered with the NPS to authenticate the flags, wrote this about the project:

“A crucial finding was that the fibers were characterized by “glass rod fracture,” indicative of severe photo degradation -- findings verified through micro chemical tests, as well. Thus, museum personnel were strongly advised to keep the rolling up and unrolling of the flags to an absolute minimum. 

"The severe climatic conditions of an ocean island, together with prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, were responsible for irreversible damage to the integrity of the individual fibers, so that every movement of the flags resulted in countless more broken fibers. These facts, together with the constant whipping in the wind, accounted for the missing portions of the garrison flag.”

Remarkably, the blue canton of the tattered flag is largely intact.

U.S. 33-star storm flag (20 feet by 10 feet)

(NPS photo)

While it flew only three days over the fort, this banner was the sturdier banner and was taken by Anderson to New York City a week after the surrender for a rally. He was celebrated as a hero. The storm flag later was the object of fundraising across the country for the Federal war effort.

Anderson said of the flags in 1863, according to the Post and Courier newspaper:

 “I feel that no one can love and ... keep as carefully as I do this sacred relic, and it is my earnest wish that when Fort Sumter shall be again our own, I may be permitted by the government to there once more unfurl it, or should I die before that time, that it may be wrapped around my body when it is borne to its last resting place ...”

On April 14, 1865, five years after the garrison surrender, Anderson (left) returned to Fort Sumter as the storm flag was raised. Charleston had been under Union occupation for two months and the liberated black population had put on parades.

“Lincoln had pushed for the April 14 ceremony and was invited to attend, but with the break-neck speed of events in Virginia following the fall of Richmond, the president opted to stay in Washington instead,” according to Emerging Civil War. 

“The flag ceremony went on without him. That evening, at Ford’s Theater, John Wilkes Booth put a bullet in Lincoln’s head. Had the president gone to Charleston, how different might things have played out.”

In 1905, the garrison and storm flags were donated by Anderson’s family to the War Department.

Palmetto Guard Flag (9 feet by 6 feet)

From the National Park Service: As victorious Confederates entered Fort Sumter, John Styles Bird Jr., a private in the South Carolina militia unit known as the Palmetto Guard, placed his unit's flag on the parapet facing Charleston.

Palmetto Guard flag on display at Fort Sumter Museum (NPS)

The single star signified the independent Republic of South Carolina and the tree harkened back to the Revolutionary War. The fort remained in Confederate hands for the next four years until evacuation in February 1865.

John Styles Ashe, son of John Styles Bird Jr., donated it to the National Park Service. They were transferred to the National Park Service at Fort Sumter in 1954, according to the Post and Courier.

No timetable for them to be put back on display

Spaulding, the interpretive ranger, told the Picket in an email that there are no current plans to replace the flags. “Later this year, we will look to develop temporary displays to occupy the empty space.”

He said it is not currently known whether significant work is needed or will be done on the three flags.

“For right now they are only being stored and preservation will take place at a later undetermined time. At this time, no date has been set for the return of the flags” to exhibit.

A team approach preserves Virginia Civil War redoubt at George Mason University, which is nestled in suburban sprawl. Here's how they did it

Round table members lead tour of redoubt after dedication (Joshua Cruse, GMU)

An earthen fortification that survived urban sprawl has been preserved in a corner of George Mason University in Northern Virginia, a success story brought about by a six-year-old partnership between a Civil War round table and the school.

An Oct. 7 dedication ceremony for the redoubt, built by Confederate forces near Fairfax in 1861, celebrated the effort to protect and interpret the site. The fortification, about 80 feet in diameter, did not see action during the war, but was an important early-warning outpost for both Rebels and Yanks who occupied the site.

Efforts to save the site in the early 1990s and early 2000s went nowhere. Concerned by its condition, the Bull Run Civil War Round Table (BRCWRT) approached history department leaders in late 2015 and early 2016.

Nathan Loda's view of how circular redoubt, Farr's Cross Roads might have appeared (BRCWRT)

The conversation began and students in a Civil War and Reconstruction class at George Mason have since visited the site – which is near a campus parking lot -- with round table members as guides.

In 2019, the campus grounds department removed four large trees that threatened the redoubt’s structural integrity and cleared the site and its surrounding area of vegetative undergrowth and tree saplings.

The redoubt became completely visible for the first time in more than 75 years.

Groundskeepers have since cleared routes for access trails and installed two interpretive markers created by the George Mason-BRCWRT team.

8th Green Machine Regiment Band performs at event (Joshua Cruse, GMU)

“Education and preservation are the core missions of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table -- and central to our purpose -- to learn about and to learn from  America’s Civil War history,” Blake Myers, preservation chair with the BRCWRT, said at the event. “The preservation and interpretation of this site is a great example of those two missions in action.”

The redoubt was constructed by Col. Robert Rodes’ 5^th Alabama Infantry, Ewell's brigade, in June 1861. It was built on high ground along two well-traveled thoroughfares – the current Braddock Road and Route 123 (Ox Road).

It’s difficult to know how many men were deployed at the redoubt at any given time. It was used as an observation post and a command post for the units/soldiers manning picket posts along the trench lines to the east or west (depending on which side was controlling this part of Virginia) of the redoubt.  

The redoubt at Farr’s Cross Roads was among several fortifications built to monitor and discourage Federal troops from marching from Washington and Alexandria, Va., toward Manassas Junction.

Dust kicked up by Federal troops in July 1861 signaled a Federal advance. When Confederate forces withdrew to their main defensive line along the Bull Run on July 17, the site was occupied by Union forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, according to the round table. The Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), the first major land battle of the conflict, occurred just days later.

The hastily constructed fort exchanged hands during the war, but was held mostly by Union troops, including the 16^th New York, 1^st New Jersey and 2^nd Massachusetts infantry. While it once had a parapet up to 6 feet high, most of the ring currently is half that height.

Significant commercial and residential development in suburban Washington has erased most of the earthen structures erected by both sides, so it is somewhat of a minor miracle that the redoubt survives, given it being bounded on all sides by asphalt and buildings.

A BRCWRT article a few years ago detailed the project and partnership with George Mason.

“While construction of the Mason Inn and parking lot and the enlargement of student parking lot K has reduced the overall size of the site and potentially obliterated some of the earthworks, the redoubt still remains and is in remarkably good condition.”

Myers told the Civil War Picket in an email that a 50-foot section of a trench line presumably built by Union troops survives west of campus along Braddock Road.

Remains of the redoubt lie behind this marker on the George Mason campus (BRCWRT)

Among university officials who worked with the BRCWRT to preserve the site was history professor Brian Platt, who brought the redoubt’s attention to the administration. In prepared remarks at the ceremony, he used the term “Fairfaxed” to describe rampant development in the area.

“My first thought, at the time, was how lucky we were that this site was here on the campus, and not on private land, or in a real estate developer’s viewfinder,” Platt said.

“After all, if a preservation project were to happen anywhere in a highly developed suburban landscape – if a site were to avoid getting ‘Fairfaxed’ – surely it would happen at a university -- a place with a scholarly interest in studying and preserving our historic and cultural heritage.”

Fairfax County was home to numerous Civil War fortifications and features, a legacy reinforced by the discovery of a cedar-logged highway near George Mason in 2014. The so-called “corduroy road” is believed to date back to the Civil War.

The round table commissioned a drawing by GMU alumnus Nathan Loda of the area as it may have appeared in 1861.

The dedication took place in Parking Lot K (Joshua Cruse, GMU)

“The sketch depicts our informed view of what the redoubt, the cross roads and the Farr property may have looked like in June 1861,” Myers said. “We have yet to find any period photographs or sketches of the redoubt or the area....what we know about the redoubt has been gleaned from unit histories, the Official Records, soldier letters, etc.”

Myers told the audience on Oct. 7 that it was a day to savor what has been collectively accomplished, but more work likes ahead.

“We continue to work with GMU to pursue additional preservation and interpretation on the site - remnants of a stone building on the site, site overlooking corduroy road discoveries in 2014 & 2015, remnants of the farm road/trench line on the site, enhanced interpretation using virtual and augmented reality technologies,” he wrote the Picket.

Wood chip-trail leading to Civil War redoubt (GMU)

A facelift for Gettysburg's Virginia Memorial as it continues to serve as a place to discuss thorny issues related to the Civil War

Technician uses a torch to heat wax over the patina on Virginia Memorial (NPS)

Gettysburg’s Virginia Memorial, fresh off preservation work that included application of a more vibrant finish on its figures, will continue to be a battlefield focal point for discussion on causes and interpretation of the Civil War.

National Park Service technicians recently applied a new patina that remedied its dull and flat finish.

Jason Martz, spokesman for Gettysburg National Military Park, told the Picket in an email that experts found the bronze beneath the patina to be in great shape. “Removing the old patina took a little longer than anticipated due to all the nooks and crannies.”

The memorial honors the 20,000 Virginians who fought at Gettysburg and their commander, Gen. Robert E. Lee. The general and his horse Traveler look toward the area of Pickett’s Charge, the disastrous failed attack on July 3, 1863. Below them are figures representing artillery, infantry and cavalry.

Crews prepare statue for patina application in late September (NPS)

The 41-foot memorial, dedicated in 1917, was the first Confederate state monument at Gettysburg National Military Park, and it came with controversy. Union veterans objected to its construction and officials had to walk a tightrope regarding its inscription.

The American Battlefield Trust has a detailed article on the monument’s history and how its backers helped perpetuate the Lost Cause narrative rather than reunification. The Lost Cause ideology says states’ rights, not slavery, was the Confederacy’s principal cause. Most historians say evidence shows that was not the case.

“As the largest and most prominent Confederate monument in the park, the Virginia Memorial is an excellent place for park interpreters to discuss issues of memory and commemoration at the Gettysburg, how the Lost Cause has manifested itself on the battlefield, and how Gettysburg has evolved over time from a Union Memorial Park to one that embraced a more reconciliationist narrative,” said Martz.

“Interpretive walks offered through the summer have used the VA Memorial to highlight this, Student Education programming focused on monumentation utilizes the memorial, and primary source material related to its creation has been made publicly available online.”

The park said the work was needed to replace brown ferric patination, applied in the 1980s, that failed in many areas and left the memorial with “little to no depth when viewed.”

Patinas bring a creative effect and highlight striking features of a work.

“It’s used to accentuate pieces, provide contrast, imply age, introduce color to the bronze, and sometimes to add a dose of reality to our detailed statues,” according to the Randolph Rose Collection, which makes bronze pieces. (It was not involved in the Gettysburg project).

The NPS said the new patina “will result in a darker finish that is historically correct and is the primary sealer in use for bronze elements throughout the park’s monument collection.”

Numerous historic artifacts have been found during restoration of Georgia coastal building that survived burning in 1863, as shown in movie 'Glory'

Ceiling rafters and joists will be repaired, left exposed (Photos, Marion Savic)

You’ve got to be willing to play the long game – and the expenses that come with it – when trying to fix up a 200-year-old building that was close to collapsing in a cloud of dust.

Milan and Marion Savic and a team of preservation experts are in second and final phase of the extensive restoration of the Adam Strain building, a tabby structure that survived the controversial burning of Darien, Ga., during the Civil War.

The Strain, damaged in the fire, has stood on the bluffs of the small port city since circa 1813. The Savics hope new businesses – a brewery and event space -- will be open by mid-2023.

Crews stabilized the structure by shoring up the walls and installing tie rods and plates – all aimed at strengthening the picturesque landmark. They more recently have focused on steel support columns as they move toward shaping the interior space.

Interior of annex building next to Strain

“We have found a great deal of historic artifacts while digging for the footers. Everything is at the archaeology lab at Coastal Georgia Historical Society on St. Simons Island,” Marion Savic wrote in a recent email. “They are processing and dating all the finds. We have found items from Native American periods, 18th century and 19th century.”

Among the items found by an archaeological team in 2020 was a Civil War-era bullet -- likely an Enfield round. The team found it on a bluff that overlooks water, Savic told the Picket. The so-called Pritchett bullet was used in the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle. The rifle was used by both sides during the conflict, and the Confederacy imported thousands from England.

It’s too early to surmise how the bullet came to be there, when it was deposited and to whom it belonged. 

The Adam Strain was used to store cotton prior to shipment in 1861 and 1862 before the Union naval blockade clamped down on Georgia’s coast.

By summer 1863, coastal towns knew that where the Union army was going, emancipation of slaves was soon to follow. That fact permeated society in Darien. Most of the town’s 500 white souls had fled before June 11, frightened by the blockade and the deployment of African-American troops on nearby St. Simons Island.

On that day, Darien was largely vacant.

Civil War bullet found during 2020 archaeological dig (Marion Savic)

Darien held little strategic value to the Union, but Col. James Montgomery, commanding the African-American 2nd South Carolina Volunteers, supposedly believed it was a safe haven for blockade runners.

He apparently had another reason for shelling, looting and burning Darien, leaving only a few buildings standing among the charred ruins. The destruction was depicted in the award-winning 1989 film "Glory."

Steven Smith, site manager for nearby Fort King George Historic Site in 2013 when the Picket first wrote about the town’s burning, said Montgomery “wanted to make a political statement. Here was a town built on the backs of slaves.”

Montgomery ordered Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the famed 54^th  Massachusetts Infantry to participate. While Shaw didn’t mind the looting to help resupply his troops, he opposed setting the town to torch. He apparently relented under threat of court-martial.

The Strain survived the fire but much of its interior was destroyed.

The Adam Strain building before stabilization work began in 2020

It was repaired and saw a rebirth for several decades before it was used for storage following World War II and then shuttered. 

The Picket first wrote in 2020 about the efforts to save the building after decades of deterioration. At one point before the Savics’ purchase, it appeared the beloved piece of history might be demolished. Made of oyster shell tabby and stucco, the structure, one of the oldest in Darien, is beloved by its 2,000 residents.

The Savics, who have experience in operating retail businesses in metro Atlanta, turned to an array of contracted historic preservation experts to bring back a building that was at risk of being toppled by strong winds. The work has often had to break for permits, updated engineering plans and supplies. A Facebook page keeps those interested up to date.

“Covid didn’t help with material prices and availability. It slowed it down more than we had anticipated. The building was also in worse shape that we all had thought, though that wasn’t a surprise,” says Marion Savic. “We expected the worst, so not a lot of surprises, but definitely some delays and unusual situations regarding the procurement of materials.”

Steel support pit showed evidence of fire (Marion Savic)

The Adam Strain is one of few tabby structures remaining on the Georgia coast.

Tabby is a type of cement made from crushed oyster shells and was popular in the region for several centuries leading up to the Civil War. Stucco is placed on the exterior to protect it from water damage.

Contractors are installing a steel membrane of columns and beams to support the walls.

“There will be tabby loss when we begin to straighten and tighten up the steel membrane. The worst spot is on the back facing west facade. Landmark Preservation is our contractor and they are tabby experts, so all tabby will be reused if possible and they will make tabby to replace lost areas,” says Savic. “The entire building will be tabby, either original or rebuilt, covered with stucco as it is meant to be.”

The Adam Strain will house a brewery on the first floor and a history center/museum and event space on the second. A one-story adjoining building, which housed a bank and other businesses, will house a kitchen, brewing equipment, bathrooms, office and storage.

The museum will include artifacts and information from the archaeological dig. It  will convey the Strain’s and Darien’s history -- including shrimping, timber and the story of thousands of enslaved people who were the backbone of the economy in McIntosh and neighboring counties. (At left, these bottles were found beneath floorboards)

The Savics, from Marietta, Ga., want the Strain building to meet requirements for the National Register of Historic Places and they are pursuing economic incentives, including federal and state tax credits, available for such preservation. The property is a contributing resource to the West Darien National Register Historic District, which was listed in 2001.

According to Rebecca Fenwick with Ethos Preservation, which is working for the Savics on the project, property owners at the state level can receive a 25% historic tax credit and an eight-year year tax freeze. At the federal level, the property owners can receive a 20% historic tax credit.

“Tax credits can be taken against hard and soft costs, to include work on walls, windows, doors, floors, etc. Soft costs that are eligible include architect's fees, engineer's fees, contractor labor, etc.,” says Fenwick. “Of course, there are some strings attached, as all work proposed must be reviewed and meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.”

“The incentives acknowledge that historic rehabilitation projects often cost more than other projects and that historic buildings help tell our collective story and improve the quality of life of Georgians. Projects are made possible by these incentives that might not otherwise have the necessary funding to proceed,” Fenwick says. 

“I think the most interesting finds have been the discovery of additional masonry openings (windows and doors), with the removal of interior wall cladding," she says.

The preservation of the Strain building, which sits on the southeast corner of Broad and Screven streets, is just one piece – albeit a significant one – in any plans to boost the small downtown district, which has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years.

A new boutique hotel on the river is scheduled to open this fall and there is new housing in the area. Savic’s husband, son and daughter-in-law opened The Canopy Restaurant in the historic Emanuel Brown house in Darien. Marion Savic also cites plans for downtown streetscaping and plans for repaired and expanded docks.

“Everyone is very excited for the completion of the project, and we hope that things will keep moving along,” she says.