Once, this road was lined with full-grown oak trees. Vegetation has covered the trees and dirt has hidden the bricks.
This is all that is left of the foundation of the estate.
View of the Savannah River from Mulberry Grove.
Marker commemorating the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney.
Sign erected in memory of George Washington's visit.
Christ Church (facing Johnson Square) where Greene's funeral was held.
Graham Vault
Close-up of Graham Vault |
Mulberry
Grove plantation including the surrounding 2,141 acres was presented to
Nathanael Greene by the state of Georgia. In late October of 1785, Greene moved his
family to the rice plantation on the Savannah River. The estate had fallen into
disrepair since its previous owner, John Graham, Loyalist lieutenant governor of the
state, had fled the country ten years earlier. The state awarded the neighboring
Richmond and Kew plantation to Greene's comrade, Major General Anthony Wayne, who played a
vital role in defeating the British forces in Georgia. A couple of years earlier,
Greene had purchased a half-interest in Cumberland and Little Cumberland Islands off of
the southern coast of Georgia. He hoped to cultivate the oak trees on the property
for ship-builders. After Greene's death, George Washington visited Mulberry Grove in
1791. A couple of years later, Eli Whitney of Connecticut, a guest of Catharine
Greene's, invented his cotton gin at the estate. In 1796, Catharine Greene married
Phineas Miller, who had originally come to Georgia as Greene's secretary. Two years
later, they were forced to sell the plantation because of mounting debt and they moved to
Cumberland Island where they built the estate of Dungeness in 1802. During Sherman's
March to the Sea, Union soldiers burned Mulberry Grove to the ground. A series of
coastal storms in the early twentieth century ensured the detioration of the
property. In the 1970s, the Georgia Port Authority finished the job that the federal
government had begun and destroyed what was left of the estate. Unfortunately,
Dungeness also burned to the ground in 1866. It was rebuilt by Thomas M. Carnegie in
1884, but this house was also destroyed by fire in 1959.
Today, Cumberland Island is a national seashore and is open to visitors. The ruins of Dungeness are still there. At one time, Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, the father of Robert E. Lee and trusted subordinate of Greene, was buried in the family cemetery. His remains now reside on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Virginia. Catharine Greene and Phineas Miller are still buried on Cumberland Island. There are two historical markers that recognize the importance of Mulberry Grove. Both are located on Highway 21 North, just south of the Port Wentworth I-95 exit. A 1938 bronze marker commemorating the invention of the cotton gin is located in the parking lot of the EnMark gas station just off of the interstate exit (UTM 3561365N17 481776E). A couple of miles further down the road, there is a state historic marker on the side of the road. This sign, dedicated in 2000, acknowledges a visit by George Washington (UTM 3560348N 17 482324E). The Mulberry Grove Foundation is dedicated to preserving the history of this important site.
After Nathanael Greene died, he
was interred with civic and military honors in the Graham Vault (UTM 3548826N 17 491553E)
in Colonial Park Cemetery. Colonial Park Cemetery is the second oldest cemetery in
Savannah. There are several patriots buried here including the Habersham family,
Button Gwinnet, and Lachlan McIntosh. Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland of Lauder,
Scotland, a British officer killed in the Siege of Savannah, was already buried in the
vault. In 1793, Greene's son, George Washington Greene, was also placed in the
vault after he drowned in the Savannah River. During the Civil War, Union soldiers
under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman broke open many of the vaults in
search of valuables. They also entertained themselves by altering epitaphs on some
of the graves. As a result, the exact location of the vault was lost.
Eventually, it was rediscovered and the bodies of Nathanael and George Washington Greene
were re-interred under a fifty-foot tall marble obelisk in Johnson Square. The
remains of John Maitland have since been removed and sent back to Scotland. Johnson
Square(UTM 3549307N 17 491412E) is only a couple blocks north of the cemetery. The
obelisk, designed by William Strickland, was completed in 1830. On 21 March 1825,
the cornerstone was laid in a ceremony presided over by the Marquis de Lafayette.
Although Greene's monument is located in Johnson Square, there is also a Nathanael Greene
Square on the northeastern side of the historic district. There is still another
small city park named after Nathanael Greene at the intersection of Bull Street and
Columbus Drive south of the historic district. |
