When he finally took over the plantation from his grandfather's estate, Captain Butler took his wife and family there for the winter of The results were probably not what the plantation owner had in mind. Fannie Kemble became a major advocate for the slaves on the plantation, complaining repeatedly to her husband about the living conditions of the slaves on the farm as well as about their treatment by his manager, Roswell King, Jr.
Her experiences at Butler Island during the winter of led her to develop strong opinions in favor of the abolition of slavery. Tensions increased between the actress and her plantation-owner husband and he threatened to deny her access to their daughters if she wrote and published her views about plantation-life and slavery. They were divorced in and in - after her daughters were grown - Kemble published her Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in At the time of its publication, Great Britain was thought to be considering the possibility of intervening in the War Between the States or Civil War on behalf of the South.
The book is credited by many with ending any possibility of such an alliance. A steam-powered rice mill was built on Butler Island in and operated until the war. Its foot chimney towers over the island today and is its major landmark.
Other ruins can be seen around it. Battle of Bloody Marsh Battle of the St. Captain Pierce Butler lost most of his huge fortune during the s and managed to save his Georgia plantations only by selling off of his slaves in The auction, held near Savannah , was the largest in American history.
Attempts were made after the war to return the plantation to profitability using hired labor, but it never regained its former success. These are national or state protected sites; many, with museums and memorials. Imagine a brewery at Pearl Harbor, or Ground Zero in New York, where two buildings fell and thousands of American perished at the hands of Islamic extremists.
Yes, because these are places of poignant memory, where innocent people perished, tragically. Sacred grounds. Butler Island is an important site of poignant memory and should not be given to developers interested in turning this sacrosanct site into a brewery, where alcoholic beverages and spirits are distilled. This would desecrate the lives and spirits of its formerly enslaved people. Butler Island should continue being a repose for the enslaved who toiled, suffered and died there.
An important part of the project should be an Institute for Racial Integration and Conciliation. Butler Island can benefit tremendously from heritage tourism in multiple areas, including, especially, African and African American history, and site environmental history. If the State of Georgia no longer wants Butler Island, it should ensure that stewardship of Butler Island is by an entity that is culturally, historically, environmentally and emotively sensitive to the local, national and international importance of Butler Island; an entity whose vision is to preserve the site, honor the former enslaved and guard the historic and cultural value of Butler Island and its people.
The grounds are open every day to the public for recreational activities such as fishing, hiking, and picnicking. Accessed May 10, Darien, Georgia: Butler Island Plantation. February 18, January 22, Athens: University of Georgia Press, New York: Knopf, July 10, Accessed May 30, Butler Island Plantation.
This slideshow requires JavaScript. List of Illustrations. Rear view of the Butler Island Plantation home, Map of Butler Island Plantation. Courtesy of Ancestry.
0コメント