O'Guynn's grave
Among the men who took on the dangerous job of rolling logs down the area rivers to the various saw mills was Coleman O'Guynn (or Coley O'Gwynn as Rev. Brooks spelled it in last week's article). As mentioned in last week's article, O'Guynn was among the best at his trade and this unique occupation spread out over a short period of just 20 years as the area forests were depleted of their precious supply of virgin long leaf pines.
Coleman was born on March 1, 1845 at Mt. Pleasant, Alabama in Monroe County. Mt. Pleasant approximates today to the Eliska/Eureka Landing area. Monroe County was young in those days and pioneer families settled in the area quickly. The days passed and the young men of the county watched as the area and the nation developed. There were wars and rumors of wars in far off places like Mexico and the West to captivate the ears of young boys and old men alike as couriers passed along County Road 1 in old Monroe. These stories sparked visions of glory on far flung battlefields for the young and remembrances of past struggles to the old.
Therefore when the Southern states left the Union in 1861, and the actions at Fort Sumter inaugurated the War Between the States, O'Guynn soon found himself enlisted in the 2nd Alabama Cavalry Company B. He enlisted at Perdido Station, Alabama as a Private in January of 1862.
This regiment was organized officially at Montgomery on May 1, 1862. It soon proceeded to West Florida where it operated for about ten months and was engaged in several skirmishes. Ordered to North Mississippi, it was placed under command of General Ruggles. During this time the regiment lost 8 men in a skirmish at Mud Creek. It was then placed in Ferguson's brigade, and operated in the Tennessee Valley, taking part in numerous small unit actions. The 2nd fought with Grierson at Okalona, and lost 70 men either killed or wounded. The regiment then harassed Sherman on his march to and from Mississippi. The 2nd joined General Wheeler, and performed hard duty on the flank of the army in the Dalton-Atlanta campaign, and lost many men in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864.
The regiment accompanied Hood to Rome, then fell on Sherman's rear and skirmished almost daily with some loss of life. The regiment fought Sherman in the Carolinas and escorted President Davis to Georgia after the fall of Richmond. At Forsyth, Georgia, the regiment laid down its arms, 450 men strong.
Following the war, Coleman, also called Coley, eventually moved to the Flomaton area where he worked as a log roller. According to the Pine Belt News article of Thursday October 25, 1906, he was appointed as a voting register. He is also listed in an October 1913 edition as being one of the surviving Confederate veterans in our area. He is buried in the Flomaton Cemetery, having died on September 7, 1918.
O'Guynn's story illustrates that every headstone in every cemetery has a story waiting to be told. From a young boy in the woods of Monroe County, to a young man fighting to save Atlanta from her fate at the hands of Sherman's army, to the local settler who rolled logs down the river for pay; there's a lot more to a tombstone than just a name.
Quote for the week, "It takes two people to make you, and one people to die. That's how the world is going to end," William Faulkner, from the book, As I Lay Dying.
Copies of Canoe: History of a Southern Town are available at the Wawbeek Store.
Coming soon in 2018: "Shadows and Dust Volume III-All Things Southern."
