The story of Asaph Perry

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HIGH TOWER STORY LINE
Opening The Perrys Antebellum Forsyth A Yeoman's World War

The outbreak of war in 1860 once again worked to transform Forsyth and Cherokee counties. With patriotic vigor, most able-bodied males in both counties volunteered their services to the Confederate army, including Lewis Perry who served in the 43rd Georgia Infantry Regiment Company I. The company, known as Zollicoffer Guards, saw significant action in the Western theater including Vicksburg and Atlanta.

After the war, Lewis Perry settled back into the life of a small farmer, this time in Cumming, the Forsyth county seat - 5 miles to the east of High Tower. At 50, Lewis and his second wife Melissa had two more children, bringing the total to 8 (6 by his first wife Martha). Lewis Perry would live to the age of 85, dying in 1900 in a place transformed by events and technology - a place that his grandson Aspah would call home.

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Writing the story

By maintaining the theme of transformation unveiled in the lexia on Antebellum Forsyth and originally introduced in the Context Story line, we hope to drive an important point. The two generations which preceded Asaph were part of a significant transformation in North Georgia. Versions of this story played out across the United States throughout the 19th Century. We also highlighted the Civil War, but chose not to overemphasize it. Our feeling was that the Perry family's connection to the war was somewhat mitigated by the apparent lack of service by Lewis Perry, Aspah's father. Although Asaph's grandfather served proudly with distinction, we suspect that Aspah, being two generations removed from service in the war, would have been less impacted by the consequences of wartime service than had his father served. We also choose not to emphasize the war because North Georgia was much less impacted, particularly Cherokee and Forsyth counties, than other areas which saw action.