'Atlanta in 50 Objects': 6 Civil War-related items make the cut in new exhibit

Plaster figure on exhibit  (Picket photo)

Before there was a famous beverage (Coca-Cola), a Nobel Prize winner (the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.) and a popular Christmas ride (the Pink Pig), there was an Atlanta down on its luck. Some 150 years ago, Atlanta was a small town knocked to its knees by the Civil War and hoping for better days.

Out of the Civil War’s ashes – as depicted by the city’s seal of a winged phoenix – rose a spirit of recovery and can-do that eventually turned the rough-edged town into a major American city. Along the way, certain people, events, businesses and cultural items gained iconic status.

The Atlanta History Center will tell the evolving city’s story in a six-month exhibit, “Atlanta in 50 Objects.” But it wasn’t curators who set out to determine the defining items to display – about 300 suggestions came from area residents.

While much of the “diverse” exhibition opening Jan. 16 resulted from ideas of a more contemporary nature – the growing Atlanta movie industry, immigration and hip-hop music – six objects have ties to the Civil War. They are:

First page of Sherman's order (Courtesy Atlanta History Center)

-- Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s Special Field Order #67, which expelled starving residents after the besieged city fell in early September 1864. Sherman and his soldiers had a great deal to do with the ashes. Before leaving Atlanta on the March to the Sea, his engineers destroyed everything of military value. Sherman forced remaining families to abandon their homes.

-- A 1930s plaster soldier figurine from the diorama in the foreground of the Cyclorama painting, which depicts the July 22, 1864, Battle of Atlanta.

-- A 1936 first edition of Margaret Mitchell’s classic “Gone With the Wind.”

-- A bronze model for "Atlanta from the Ashes," a 1967 sculpture by James Siegler. It was given to the city by Rich's department store. It now resides in downtown's Woodruff Park.

-- A 1936 Georgia Railroad timetable panel will make mention of the strategic importance of railroads to the city during the Civil War.

(Picket photo)

-- A small boat made from shells from the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition, which showed off economic resurgence following the conflict’s devastation and sealed Atlanta’s position as capital of the “New South.”

Part of the exhibit’s intro covers the concept:

“How do you tell the story of Atlanta in 50 objects? We decided the best experts were Atlantans themselves – residents who cheer the Braves and rue I-285 rush-hour traffic, who understand how Civil War losses and Civil Rights victories together helped forge the city’s unique identity.”

Howard Pousner, manager of media relations at the Atlanta History Center, said the public made thematic suggestions (such as “include the Civil War because …”) and then curators had to determine, sometimes in concert with partner institutions and companies, what was the best object to convey those themes.

While there are references to the Civil War and Atlanta’s formative years, others cover the waterfront, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Rev. King and Coca-Cola, to Hank Aaron’s 600^th home run bat and a Chick-fil-A billboard cow. Several people nominated something from the 1996 Summer Games.

“Atlanta in 50 Objects” is a precursor to the April premiere of a permanent exhibition on the history of Atlanta.

(Picket photo)

Moviegoers, of course, are familiar with the screen version of Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind,” which tells the story of a resilient woman who uses her wits and guile to deal with the Civil War’s impact on her Georgia family.

The Cyclorama diorama figure was among those fashioned between 1934 and 1936 as part of a Works Progress Administration project. “Artists Weis Snell, Joseph Llorens, and Wilbur Kurtz fashioned plaster figures for a diorama as foreground for the painting. Set on a flooring of red clay, the shrubbery, cannon, track, and 128 soldiers gave the painting more realism for visitors,” the AHC says.

The painting is being moved from Grant Park to the Atlanta History Center campus in Buckhead. The public will be able to see much of its restoration in a new building.

Library of Congress

The Cotton States and International Exposition (above), held on the grounds of present-day Piedmont Park, drew nearly 1 million attendees and helped the city draw investment. The event also is remembered for the “Atlanta Compromise.” Educator and orator Booker T. Washington did not explicitly challenge segregation. Rather, he advised African-Americans to seek economic security before equality.

As for Sherman, the South’s favorite bogeyman? He issued his order on Sept. 8, 1864. More than 1,600 individuals, who had suffered privation and bombardment, were registered and ordered to leave later that month. The order also authorized the construction of new Federal defensive works around Atlanta.

Major Gen. Sherman

Mayor James Calhoun pleaded for Sherman to withdraw the evacuation order. “You know the woe, the horror, and the suffering cannot be described by words.”

The general’s reply included this line: “War is cruelty and you cannot refine it. …”

“Atlanta in 50 Objects” will be on display from January 16 to July 10 at the Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW. The exhibition is included in a general admission ticket. 

Ship's 'unique stuff' went to conservation

Nearly 30,000 artifacts were recovered from the wreckage of the sunken ironclad Confederate gunship CSS Georgia. More than half of the haul retrieved during the $14 million government project, however, were returned to a watery grave at the bottom of the Savannah River. • Here’s why

Previous Picket coverage:

-- Photos of raised CSS Georgia artifacts
-- Detailing surprises, disappointments
-- Ball busters make ordnance safe

Longstreet memorial service is Jan. 10

James Longstreet

As is their custom, the Sons of Confederate Veterans #1860 (Blue Ridge Rifles) in Dahlonega, Ga., and the Longstreet Society will be remembering the life of Gen. James Longstreet at a Jan. 10 memorial service in Gainesville, Ga.

The ceremony is set for 1 p.m. at Alta Vista Cemetery, where the Confederate general was laid to rest after his Jan. 2, 1904, death at age 82. The public also is welcome to an open house that follows at the Longstreet Society's headquarters, the old Piedmont Hotel, 827 Maple St., Gainesville. Refreshments will be served. Longstreet ran the hotel for several years. 

The society defends and promotes the legacy of one of Lee's Lieutenants. Members believe he was the scapegoat for what went wrong at Gettysburg and the South's loss.

Previous Longstreet coverage:
-- Granddaughter fought to vindicate him 
-- Southern-fried Longstreet, Part 1
-- Part 2: Vilification and vindication

Legendary Civil War locomotive Texas moved

The 1856 Texas locomotive, famous for being the pursuer in the Great Locomotive Chase during the Civil War, is on the move again. The Atlanta History Center is sending the rare locomotive to the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer, N.C., to restore it for static display. The Texas for nearly 90 years was at the Cyclorama in the city’s Grant Park. It and the namesake mural of the Battle of Atlanta are being moved. • Article

Sultana disaster: Sister and brother recall learning of Mississippi River tragedy in family's long U.S. history

(Photos courtesy of Ely family)

David Ely and Sharon Ely Pearson grew up as proud descendants of four brothers who came to the colonies only decades after the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on the shores of Massachusetts.

And while they could trace their family’s long American history to English ancestors who settled in Boston and Connecticut, it was only as young adults that they learned the full story of perhaps the most famous Ely of them all.

Sgt. John Clark Ely, an Ohio schoolteacher, was among about 1,200 passengers – most of them Union soldiers released from prison camps – to die in the April 1865 explosion and fire on the steamboat Sultana above Memphis. It was the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history.

What made Ely notable, according to Sultana author Jerry Potter, is that he maintained a journal that includes entries on the journey up the Mississippi River.

Sgt. John Clark Ely

“To my knowledge, his diary is the only one that is in existence,” Potter recently told the Picket. “While we have many accounts written later, his is the only one that we have that gives a day-to-day account leading up to the disaster. Plus, he is one of the few buried at the (Memphis) national cemetery with a headstone with his name. Finally, he became my hero who through his own words I got to know him.”

Pearson, 60, of Norwalk, Ct.; and David Ely, 57, of Alameda, Calif.; recalled learning the details of their great-great-grandfather’s Civil War experiences.

Their late father, Clifford Seth Ely Jr., and Clifford’s cousin, Norman Ely, had some of the soldier’s belongings – including one of two journals (the other is lost) and a Bible -- and began doing research. Norman had a chess set that was carved by John Clark Ely.

Norman Ely told the Picket in 2012 that the cousins and their wives traveled to a reunion of Sultana descendants. They visited Andersonville, the notorious prison in Georgia where John Clark Ely was held shortly after his December 1864 capture in Tennessee.

Norman Ely's mother told him about the small diary, which captures the soldier's despair, anguish, privations -- and hope. Ely said he became interested in the family's genealogy later in life.

"The fact that he went through this ordeal, the fact that he died there and left four children is very sad," he said. (Norman Ely, of Glenwood Springs, Colo., passed away in March 2013.)

Pages from the diary recovered after Sultana disaster (Ely family)

Sharon Ely Pearson said she is not sure how John Clark Ely got to Ohio. He was born in Franklinville, N.Y. His widow, Julia, returned to Norwalk, where she died in 1873.

Clifford and Norman Ely pursued their interest in the Sultana while retired, and they set about writing their own memories.

Pearson was in her 20s when she heard of the diary. “My Dad didn’t share that kind of stuff.”

Pearson has since pursued an interest in genealogy and has wandered through cemeteries. “I think it’s very cool. It is not just my side. I have done (research) on my husband’s side, too. We are New Englanders.”

(Courtesy of David Ely)

David Ely, retired from the U.S. Coast Guard, has a daily reminder of John Clark Ely’s Civil War service and sacrifice. On a wall of his home is a collage of photos of men in his family. From left:

-- John Clark Ely, Civil War

-- Clark Mead Ely, John’s son

-- Clifford Mead Ely Sr., Clark’s son and a U.S. Army veteran of World War I, European campaign

-- Clifford Seth Ely Jr., David and Sharon’s father, U.S. Navy, 1943-1946, Pacific campaign. He died in October 2013.

David and Sharon did not participate in observances this year marking the 150^th anniversary of the sinking of the Sultana and are not active in the descendants group. They are busy with other matters. But nearly a decade ago, David made mention of John Clark Ely during a Memorial Day observation.

“It was Memorial Day and I brought the frame and four photographs and talked about the sacrifices our service members do. Sometimes, it is not in the heat of battle that they give their lives. But in this case, it can tell a story of men who were released from prison at end of war and on the way home to families, making that journey -- how tragedy strikes.”

Quilt made by Trinette Ely

One of last things he did with his father was to visit the Gettysburg battlefield. Clifford Ely’s late wife, Trinette, made a quilt honoring those on board the Sultana.

“It is inspiring to have that connection. The Elys came over in the 1600s from England but we don’t know much about a lot of the individuals, except for John Clark,” David Ely said. “The diary and story of Sultana is a very strong connection to the Civil War to our family …Now there is an incredible story.”

The surviving journal provides vivid details of the soldier’s transit to and time in Confederate prison camps.

Clifford Ely, who was a businessman in Norwalk, told the Picket in 2012 he was touched by his ancestor's time at Andersonville. "There was a lot of sickness around. Other people stole things from him. It was just a sad thing, day by day. People tried to escape, (but) he never did."

"He had all the great hopes. He couldn't wait to get home," Clifford Ely said. "When he got on the steamboat, he kept writing to her (Julia)."

Sgt. John Clark Ely, Company C, 115^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, boarded the overcrowded Sultana near Vicksburg, Ms. His last diary entry, written two days later, read: “Very fine day, still upward we go.”

Sharon Ely Pearson said her great-great-grandfather should have lived to see his family. Instead, he would perish in the April 27, 1865, disaster.

“It was sad and tragic, but so typical for what happened in the Civil War,” she said.