The Mayham Tower

The Mayham Tower is a Georgia historical marker in Richmond County, dedicated 1956.

At the intersection of Reynolds Street and 8th Street, on the right on Reynolds Street in Augusta.

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Approximately at this place, May 28-31, 1781, a Mayham tower was erected by the American forces commanded by General Andrew Pickens and Lt. Colonel "Light Horse Harry" Lee, who was besieging Fort Cornwallis, located on the present site of Saint Paul's Church, held by a British garrison under Colonel Thomas Brown. At the top of this tower constructed of logs filled in with earth, an embrasure was cut and a six-pounder gun was lifted into position which from elevation was able to rake the interior of the fort, so that the besieged had to dig holes for their protection, and on June 5, the British garrison of 300 surrendered to Major Rudolph, whom tradition identifies as the later Marshal Ney. Thereafter, Augusta and all of North and Central Georgia remained in American hands until the end of the War.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

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

1778 · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1794 · Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · State of South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, covering the location of The Mayham Tower, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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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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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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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.

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On the National Register nearby

Augusta Cotton Exchange Building30 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.