Gravesite of Lt.(jg) Thomas E. Zellars

Gravesite of Lt.(jg) Thomas E. Zellars is a Georgia historical marker in Coweta County, dedicated 1999.

In Grantville City Cemetery.

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Grantville native Thomas E. Zellars (1898-1924) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1920 and reported for duty aboard the USS Mississippi. As turret commander he rose to the rank of lieutenant. In 1924, an explosion and fire engulfed his turret. Zellars and 47 others were killed but not before he opened a flood valve on a burning powder train - an act that saved the ship and its crew. In 1944, Naval destroyer USS Zellars DD 777 was launched in Zellars' honor. It went on to serve in both WW II and the Korean War receiving five battle stars. The ship was decommissioned in 1971.

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

1866 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1901 · Alabama. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1903 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
Historical map (Historical map archives, georeferenced via Allmaps)

Georgia, 1869, covering the location of Gravesite of Lt.(jg) Thomas E. Zellars, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Georgia, 1869, 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

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

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

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

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

Gravesite of Lt.(jg) Thomas E. Zellars

Historical maps covering this location

More markers nearby