Experience Christmas during the American Revolution!
250 years ago, in December 1775, George Walton was duly elected as the president of the Council of Safety for the new state of Georgia. In 1776, after signing the Declaration of Independence, he spent his Christmas in Philadelphia. When the British approached and the Congress moved to Maryland, George Walton was appointed as a special committee to execute the necessary business of Congress in Philadelphia. This Christmas at Meadow Garden will follow George Walton’s travels for each Christmas during the Revolution, 1775-1783.
Hear live music, stroll through the period rooms, explore the historic cellar, delight in the natural decorations, and learn about the holiday traditions of the 18th century with these very special candlelight tours on December 5 and 6 from 6:00 until 8:00.
Just as George and Dorothy Walton would have shared the holiday with friends and family, we welcome everyone to join us during the season. The historic house will be decorated through December.
Admission
- General: $10.00
- Seniors/ Military/ Teachers: $8.00
- Ages 6-18: $5.00
- 5 and Under: FREE
Tickets may also be purchased at the door.
Thank you so much to the city of Augusta for sponsoring this event.
The Council proceeded to the election of a President by ballot, when George Walton, Esq., was found to be duly elected and took his seat accordingly. From the Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia, Vol. I
After signing the Declaration of Independence, George Walton spent his Christmas in Philadelphia. With British forces closing in, the Continental Congress adjourned from Philadelphia for safety on December 12 and reconvened in Baltimore on December 20. Three delegates remained behind: George Walton, Robert Morris and George Clymer. The men were appointed as a special committee to execute the necessary business of Congress in Philadelphia.
Late in 1777, George Walton would return from Philadelphia to Savannah. Through the next months, he would restart his law practice, be made a Colonel in the Georgia Militia, purchase a house on Heathcote Ward – what is now Telfair Square – and marry Dorothy Camber.
During the Christmas season in 1778, more than 3,000 British soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell approached Savannah by sea. George Walton was a Colonel with the Georgia forces of not much more than 800 men under American Major General Robert Howe. In the battle, Col. Walton is shot in the leg then captured by the British. He is held as a prisoner of war at Sunbury for 10 months.
As Governor Walton navigates the twists and turns of politics in early Georgia, he must have also worried for the fate of his young wife Dorothy. On November 18, 1779, Thomas Morris wrote a letter to George Walton, which he probably would have received weeks later during the Christmas season. Morris tells that Mrs. Walton had been taken by the British to St. Johns in Antigua where she ‘awaited efforts to secure her freedom.’
George Walton is in Philadelphia as a delegate to the Congress. Back at home, much of Georgia was in the hands of the British. Walton and the other Georgia delegates, William Few and Richard Howley, are concerned that a potential peace settlement under uti possidetis might leave much of the south in British control. George Walton was likely at work on Observations Upon the Effects of Certain Late Political Suggestions. Soon, the Georgia Delegates would present the paper arguing that all the states had joined the war together and that none should be left under British control.
Check out Meadow Garden Director, Ransom Schwerzler, as she talks about what Christmas was like for our founders in her interview on the Growing Patriots Podcast from 2019.