Did you know we have a “town” in Whitfield County named Tilton? Actually, I guess it’s now a ghost town, like they have out west except there aren’t old buildings left or tumbleweeds.
Tilton, just like Dalton, came into being as a railroad town, one of the many spots that popped up along the rails for a wood and water resupply station for the trains. For whatever reason, Dalton is the city that took off, while Tilton was destined to flow and then ebb like the tide.
As the rails made their way from Atlanta to Chattanooga, the lay of the land dictated where those rails would fall and it was the Rocky Face Gap and the narrow cut in Taylor’s Ridge at Ringgold that pointed the way. Because of that, the rails would enter the southwest corner of Whitfield County and there, Tilton would spring up as a bustling little village amongst the fertile river bottom farmland bordering the Conasauga River.
At these way stations, little shanty towns would spring up for the workers building and maintaining the railway. For the permanent workers, houses were built, and since the trains were stopping there anyway, they might as well build a station. This could grow into a place for the farmers to ship their harvests and for the families in the area to travel from. Soon, there would be a town.
By the early 1860s, at the time of the Civil War, Tilton had, apart from the rail crews, carpenters, stores, masons, a mill, a couple of doctors and several blacksmiths. There were teachers for the kids and an inn and restaurant (don’t think Holiday Inn, think more like an overnight boarding house) for people traveling on the train. The majority of the area was farmland, but there was this spot of urbanity with its own post office and a pair of iron rails that connected it to the rest of the world.
A mystery to be solved
I have a good friend in California and he keeps an eye out for collectible ephemera. He’s been to Dalton and I gave him the official “Town Crier” tour. While scouring the internet, he came across an envelope for a letter (just the envelope, no letter in it) mailed from Tilton to Dalton. He got it for me as a present and sent it to me as a surprise.
I knew where Tilton was and so told him it was mailed from the south end of the county. The envelope was a type they sold back then that had the postage already printed on the envelope. The ink on the printed postage circle is red, and inside the circle is a type of embossed profile of George Washington looking to the left. The postage/envelope cost three cents.
Along the top of the envelope is the return address of “Tilton ga Nov 16,” written with an excellent and flowing handwriting. There’s no year on it. The address for delivery is “James M Brotherton Esq Dalton Ga.” Ha! A mystery to be solved.
Two families, two stories
I had to wonder if this snippet of info was enough to be able to piece together part of someone’s story. Turns out it was plenty. And now the story had been picked up again as the envelope returned to where it originated. And, my buddy being quite clever himself, had mailed it so it would be re-delivered in Dalton on Nov. 16, 2022. On the exact day one hundred and sixty some-odd years after it was first mailed. And since it came from Tilton, there’s a good chance it went up to Dalton on the train and was delivered the same day it was mailed. Now it was time to discover who this Brotherton was.
I’m sure there were plenty of early citizens of Dalton and Whitfield whose names never appeared on anything other than a census report once every 10 years, but it turns out the Brotherton family had achievements that got them mentioned along the way. Starting with addressee James Brotherton, we could find the connections to the rest of the family and discover why he would be getting a letter from Tilton.
James had an older brother named William Henegar Brotherton. William was one year older than James. William was born in 1839 in Polk County, Tennessee, and a year later James was born in Bradley County, Tennessee, and then the family continued moving to Whitfield County. Their father was Levi Brotherton and the mother was Winnie Epperson. Levi is noted as being the Civil War era minister of the First Methodist Church in Dalton. The first church building in Dalton was shared by the First Baptist, First Methodist and First Presbyterian congregations. It was located approximately where the Krystal is downtown, next to the Green. Levi and his wife Winnie are buried in West Hill Cemetery here in town.
Before the war, in the late 1850s, older brother William had a store in Tilton for about four years. So it’s during this time we’re guessing that the letter was written from William to James. We don’t have 100% confirmation of this, but based on the envelope information and the pieces of the family story it seems highly likely. The brothers were apparently close as when the war came they both joined the 39th Georgia, aka “The Welles (or Wells) Guards” based out of Dalton. This is where their story intersects with another family that had Tilton connections.
J.J. Martin was a blacksmith and gunsmith. He trained his two sons, Micajah and William, in the arts and crafts of blacksmithing as well. When the war broke out, J.J. found himself working for the Confederacy and the state of Georgia. The governor of Georgia ordered 10,000 “Georgia Pikes.” A Georgia Pike was an approximately six foot long pole with a blade on the end weighing about three pounds. These were easier to make than muskets, and since there weren’t enough muskets in Georgia to go around, the home guards could utilize a pike until they got something that actually fired.
J.J. made at least a dozen for the defense of the state. His “armory” also produced sabres and swords for soldiers. And while he did make some muskets with his gunsmithing skills, marked “Tilton, GA, 1861” for example, these rare muskets may or may not have been aimed at military use as per the governor’s call for arms. These firearms show signs of having been modified from other weapons and sold to individuals. The swords that are identified as being from the “Tilton Armory” are quite rare now (and with a small output, they were rare then!) and valued as such on the market. J.J. joined up for a two-month stint in the Georgia State Guards Infantry, serving until he was named postmaster of Tilton in October ’63.
Meanwhile, J.J. Martin’s two sons, Micajah and William, went off to war. Micahah went with the 2nd Battalion Georgia infantry and ended up being captured on the second day of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. He traveled to a few prisoner of war camps and then was released under oath to not fight any more.
William Martin joined up with the 39th Georgia, the same unit as the two Brothertons. He went with the unit to Vicksburg, where he was wounded, and then ended up being captured again at the tail end of the war at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. Lucky for J.J. Martin, both his sons made it home from the war.
The Brotherton family wasn’t so fortunate. William and James also joined Dalton’s 39th Georgia. James was elected a sergeant and then second lieutenant. William was eventually a captain. They were moved west and ended up in the Vicksburg Campaign in the summer of 1863.
As the opposing armies maneuvered around Vicksburg, a major battle occurred at Champion Hill and around Baker’s Creek. Sources regarding James have him wounded on May 16 at Champion Hill or May 18 at Baker’s Creek, and dying either May 17 or May 19, and some say wounded the 16th and died the 19th. His grave is not known and it is believed he was buried in a grave where they may have used cypress wood for a grave marker that didn’t survive the years.
What is known is that William was unable to come to his brother’s aid but pieced together the following story: James was last seen waving his hat in the air urging his men not to give in when he was wounded. He was carried about 50 yards but as the Union forces were advancing he had to be abandoned. The Union forces moved him to a hospital where he was treated by Union Army Dr. G.W. Deal. Deal made friends with the fading James and had him moved back across the lines to a Confederate camp where he died. He evidently left behind a sweetheart named Maggie.
After the war, William went on to great success in Atlanta as a businessman, police commissioner and city council member and is responsible for Georgia’s “Secret Ballot” law.
Two families with two different stories to tell, connected to Tilton, and now, connected to us by a letter from the past.
Mark Hannah, a Dalton native, works in video and film production.