Despite the war, the rituals of life continue for some Baptists in Georgia. Among these rituals are weddings, although nuptials are less frequent due to so many young men now serving in the army. In Columbus, Samuel Boykin‘s (editor of Georgia Baptist’s Christian Index newspaper) sister, Harriet Emily, marries Lieutenant William R. Turman. The ceremony is conducted by Rev. J. H. DeVotie. Married on her 25th birthday and on the 25th day of the month, Harriet comes from a long-standing, prominent Georgia Baptist family.
While yet addressed by his military title, groom William Richard Turman had been captured and paroled earlier in the war and had not fought again. Serving as a second lieutenant in Col. James N. Ramsey’s First Georgia Infantry (mustered in Macon), his army service had taken him to Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley. Only months into the war, Turman had been captured July 13, 1861, after the battle at Rich Mountain and Laurel Hill, and paroled three days later near Beverly, Virginia. No longer in the army and now with a bride, Turman is indeed a fortunate young man.
Source: George Winston Martin, I Will Give Them One More Shot, Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2010, p. 274.
Note: Thanks to Arlette Copeland of Mercer University’s Jack Tarver Library Special Collections for this story.
