Birthplace of a Confederate Hero

Birthplace of a Confederate Hero is a Georgia historical marker in Coweta County, dedicated 1954.

At the intersection of GA 34 and Thomas Overby Drive in Sharpsburg.

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William Thomas Overby was born on this site in the 1840s. He enlisted May 31, 1861, in Co. A, 7th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry C.S.A. He later served with the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, Mosby's Rangers, and participated in many raids that harassed the enemy. On Friday, Sept. 23, 1864, Overby and five other Rangers were captured at Front Royal, Va. Overby was offered his freedom if he would reveal the hiding place of Mosby's Rangers. This he refused to do, so he was hanged without the benefit of a trial. He "lay down his life for his friends".

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1856 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1856 · Alabama. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1866 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
Historical map (Historical map archives, georeferenced via Allmaps)

Georgia, 1866, covering the location of Birthplace of a Confederate Hero, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Georgia, 1866, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

Birthplace of a Confederate Hero

Historical maps covering this location

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