Doctortown

On Dec. 1, 1864, the Georgia Militia Fourth Brigade under Brig. Gen. H.K. McKay arrived in Wayne County to prepare a defense of the Savannah and Gulf Railroad bridge over the Altamaha River. The Rebels built earthworks on the north bank of Morgan’s Lake, which is bisected by the railroad and located just north of the river. On the southern side of the river, two 32-pounder rifled guns were mounted at Doctortown (also spelled Doctor Town), to sweep the bridge if attacked. A light gun mounted on an engine supported two companies of Confederates at Morgan’s Lake. On Dec. 16, Gen. W.T. Sherman, stalled outside Savannah, sent Union troops to destroy the railroad from the Ogeechee River all the way to the bridge. A brigade of Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry under Col. Smith Atkins attacked the bridge and destroyed trestlework past Morgan’s Lake, but was unable to capture the bridge or seize the Confederate battery at Doctortown on Dec. 19. The Yankees withdrew to the Ogeechee River. A historical marker (U.S. 301 on the north side of the river) stands near the location of the Confederate victory. Local legend states that the original railroad bridge from the battle still stands in Doctortown, but some experts refute this. After the Civil War, one of the Rebel cannons used in the battle was spiked and loaded with a dangerous charge. It was defused and given to Waycross in 1887. Today, it stands in front of the Ware County Confederate Monument in Phoenix Park in Waycross.