hr468_Sen_floor_amend_1_AM_34_0254

hr468_Sen_floor_amend_1_AM_34_0254_11.html

08 AM 34 0254

ADOPTED
Senator Mullis of the 53rd offered the following amendment:

Amend the Senate Transportation Committee substitute to HR 468 by inserting between lines 7 and 8 of page 12 the following:
WHEREAS, Christmas Moultrie was born a slave on Mulberry Grove Plantation on Christmas Day, 1863; and

WHEREAS, Christmas Moultrie was the last child born into slavery on Mulberry Grove Plantation; and

WHEREAS, Christmas Moultrie lived most of his life on the Plantation as a renowned Savannah River market hunter; and

WHEREAS, Mulberry Grove Plantation was where President George Washington stayed during his only visits to Georgia in the 1790´s as the guest of Catherine Greene, the widow of the Revolutionary War hero, General Nathaniel Greene; and

WHEREAS, Christmas Moultrie´s grave is located outside Port Wentworth, Georgia, in historic Cherokee Hill Cemetery; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting that the life of Christmas Moultrie be memorialized by dedicating an interchange in his honor.

PART XIX

WHEREAS, portions of U.S. Highways 129, 78, and 278 and State Routes 47, 77, and 22 pass through historically significant regions of this state, especially with regard to Georgians who were leaders in the American Civil War; and

WHEREAS, recognizing and promoting the historical significance of this region could promote economic development through tourism.

PART XX

WHEREAS, during the summer of 1864, six hundred Federal officers, prisoners of war, were placed in a residential area of Charleston, South Carolina, which was being shelled by Federal guns, night and day, since August of 1863; and

WHEREAS, in retaliation for erroneously alleged abuse of these Federal prisoners by Confederate authorities, on August 25, 1864, six hundred Confederate prisoners of war were selected from those confined at Fort Delaware to be used as human targets; and

WHEREAS, the six hundred Confederate prisoners were placed in a pine-wood stockade immediately in front of a military target, Battery Wagner, occupied by Federal artillery; and

WHEREAS, after 45 days of exposure to Confederate fire, there being no casualties, the Federal authorities decided to move the Confederates to Fort Pulaski in Georgia; and

WHEREAS, while at Fort Pulaski, the remnant of the six hundred who had been determined to be physically able to be moved were fed wormy corn meal, pickles, and limited amounts of water. The men were intentionally starved. Clothing and blankets were withheld as well as firewood for warmth. It was one of the coldest winters in Georgia in many years; and

WHEREAS, the Confederates were consistently promised "fair" treatment if they would sign the oath of allegiance to the United States. These men had sworn an oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America, their country, and the war was still being waged. They endured abuse that is hard to imagine; and

WHEREAS, upon completion of the War Between the States and the release of what was left of the six hundred by July 24, 1865, their story was being told by survivors and witnesses. They became known as "The Immortal Six Hundred" for their courage, strength, and fidelity to their country in the face of brutal retaliation for an alleged abuse that did not exist; and

WHEREAS, in 1876, the Southern Historical Society Papers contained the following statement by Captain George W. Nelson of the Hanover Artillery of Virginia in honor of The Immortal Six Hundred:

"The consequence of all this was that the prisoners died like sheep. Whatever the immediate cause of their death, that cause was induced by starvation, and over the dead bodies of nine-tenths of those brave, true men there can be given but one true verdict: 'Death by starvation.'"

PART XXI

By inserting after line 28 of page 13 the following:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body honor the life of Christmas Moultrie by dedicating the entire north and south interchange at I-95 and SR 21 in Port Wentworth, Georgia, as the Christmas Moultrie Interchange.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that U.S. 129 from Gainesville to Jefferson to Athens; U.S. 78 from Athens to Lexington to Washington; SR 47 from Washington to Crawfordville; SR 77 from Lexington to Union Point; U.S. 278 from Union Point to Crawfordville; and SR 22 from Lexington to Philomath to Crawfordville to Sparta to Milledgeville are dedicated as the Civil War Heartland Leaders Trail.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain 28 signs identifying the Civil War Heartland Leaders Trail, dispersed throughout the course of the trail, with not less than two signs in each county through which the trail or a portion thereof passes.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the portion of the road at the intersection of US 80 and County Road 228 (Fort Pulaski Road) for one-half mile in each direction on US 80 be dedicated as The Immortal Six Hundred Memorial Highway.

By deleting line 13 of page 14 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Baldwin counties, to the family of Lt. Carl Kelly, and to the North Port Wentworth Citizens Council.