Note—At Cornelia, Georgia, on March 25, 1917, a little group of patriotic women met to organize a Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and when asked to select a name for the Chapter, the name of John P. Fort was suggested and unanimously adopted, the ladies being anxious to show, in some measure, their appreciation of his splendid war record and of his loyal and unselfish devotion to this section of the State since the War.
Mrs. R. L. Deck,
Pres. John P. Fort Chapter, U. D. C.
AFTER THE WAR
When I returned from the army I had a severe cough and was in a very run down condition. Brother George feared that I had an incipient case of tuberculosis. So in the fall of 1865 I went down to a plantation in Sumter County to try to recover my health by living out of doors. That winter I lived the life of a hunter, the gun constantly in my hand. During the four years of the war the game had not been hunted at all, consequently it had increased in great abundance. I was very successful in killing game of all kinds—quail, ducks, wild turkey, and deer. To show the abundance of the game, and my success, I remember that in fourteen turkey hunts I brought home a turkey every time but one. There were several large ponds in the place to which the ducks, principally mallards, came in great flocks to roost. One late afternoon I saw two trumpeter swans coming in to a pond. From a distance of one hundred and forty yards I raised my rifle and shot one of them dead. It was a magnificent bird, weighing thirty-nine pounds and measured nine feet from tip to tip of the wings. There were coon hunts at night, and many hours spent with the fishing rod. On many of the trips I was accompanied by a faithful negro named Squash. My health improved, my cough disappeared, and I went back to Macon a well, strong man.
In 1864 my sister Julia, Mrs. E. D. Huguenin of Macon, then a widow, died as a result of a runaway accident. She left five children to my mother's care. She bequeathed to my mother her home and servants in Macon, and made brother George executor of the estate. The family then moved to Macon, where we lived for about twenty years. The family life was a most harmonious one. The household was presided over by my mother, assisted by sister Kate.
In the spring of 1866 brother George died. He had been in poor health for a long time, but, in spite of that, he had made a splendid success of his profession, and had acquired a good deal of property. He was the kindest and best of brothers. After brother George's death I applied for testamentary letters for the administration of the Huguenin estate. The letters were granted de bonis non cum testamentor nexus. The estate consisted principally of three large plantations in Sumter County. At Colonel Huguenin's death there had been about three hundred slaves. I assumed the position of manager of the estate, which occupied most of my time for many years. When I took charge the estate owed about twenty thousand dollars to Mrs. Rosa E. Delony, Athens, Georgia, a daughter of Colonel Huguenin by a former marriage. I succeeded with great effort in paying off this indebtedness, although the extreme low price of cotton and the contraction of the currency made the payment very difficult to make. Some years I was not able to make any at all. At one time attempts were made to sell the plantations at public sale. But I managed to pull through. My commission for administrator averaged about eight hundred a year.
I resumed the study of law under the tutelage of Mr. L. N. Whittle in 1866, and I was duly admitted to the Bar in the following year. On account of the fact that the Sumter County plantations kept me so busy, I was only able to devote a limited amount of time to the practice of law. I was reasonably successful in my profession. I had a good clientage who felt that their affairs were in safe hands. Some of my cases involved interesting questions of law, several being taken to the Supreme Court. I believe my greatest triumph was the case of Mrs. Martha F. Woodson versus Bodeing & Company, in which the opposing counsel was Mr. Benjamin H. Hill, in which I achieved a great victory. I retired from the practice of law in 1885 and turned my entire attention to agriculture.
During my life in Macon I was interested in the welfare of the city. Under the auspices of the Ladies' Memorial Association, I erected the Confederate monument which is standing to-day at the crossing of Cotton Avenue and Mulberry Street.
My niece, Martha Huguenin, married Mr. J. Marshall Johnston of the firm of R. T. Wilson & Co., bankers of New York City. Mr. Johnston and I purchased large plantations in Houston, Lee, and Dougherty counties, twelve thousand acres in all. The title was conveyed to me and Mrs. M. F. Johnston. The affairs of the Huguenin estate being now wound up I could give most of my time to agriculture on the newly acquired plantations. The price of cotton continued very low. I do not think at that time any one made money planting cotton.