Francis S. Bartow - Historic Marker - Carterville, GA
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 34° 09.933 W 084° 47.833
16S E 703045 N 3782704
At the Battle of Manassas, in Virginia, the General was quoted.
Waymark Code: WMXKKZ
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2018
Views: 0
County of plaque: Bartow County
Location of plaque: Cherokee Ave. & S. Erwin St., courthouse lawn, Cartersville
Plaque erected by: Georgia Historical Commission
Date plaque erected: 1956
Plaque Text:
BARTOW COUNTY
Originally Cass, Bartow County was created by
Act of Dec. 3, 1832 from Cherokee County. The
name was changed Dec. 6 1861 to honor Gen.
Francis S. Bartow (1816-1861), Confederate
political leader and soldier, who fell mortally
wounded at the First Battle of Manassas,
while leading the 7th and 8th Ga. Vols. of
his brigade. His last words were said to be,
"They have killed me, boys, but never give up."
First officers of this county, commissioned
March 9, 1833, were: Benjamin F. Adair, Sheriff;
Chester Hawks, Clerk Superior Court; Leathern
Rankin, Clerk Inferior Court; Nealy Goodwin,
Surveyor; John Pack, Coroner.
From the Historical account it reads a bit different:
"Having campaigned vigorously to create a new nation ruled by slaveholders, Bartow then decided to fight for it. After the Civil War began in April 1861, he rushed home to take the "Oglethorpes" to the front in Virginia. He became embroiled in a confrontation with Governor Brown when he armed his unit with muskets that Brown claimed belonged to Georgia and were intended strictly for state defense, not for troops going into Confederate national service. A heated exchange of letters followed, in which Brown demanded the return of the muskets and Bartow not so politely told him he had no time for such foolishness. At the close of one letter to the governor, Bartow declared, "I go to illustrate, if I can, my native State," a bombastic yet wonderfully turned phrase that would later adorn his tombstone.
"After arriving in Virginia, Bartow was elected colonel of the Eighth Georgia Infantry Regiment. By July 1861 he was in command of a brigade, which he clumsily led into combat at the First Battle of Manassas. On July 21, during a critical moment, he seized the regimental colors and attempted to lead a charge on a Union battery, but he was shot through the heart. He died moments later, supposedly uttering the oft-quoted last words, "They have killed me boys, but never give up the field," which, along with his earlier quip to Governor Brown, are inscribed on his tombstone." ~ Georgia Encyclopedia