By William “Skip” Deegans
Had it not been for Col. George Mathews Edgar (shown) Lewisburg would most likely not look anything like it does today. During the Civil War, Col. Edgar’s battalion of Confederate soldiers wintered in Lewisburg. Because most of the town’s residents were supportive of the southern cause, the soldiers were treated kindly. Lewisburg’s sympathies became well known to the Federal officers in Charleston who sent out a raiding party to “sack and burn Lewisburg.” A courier roused Edgar at midnight to alert him of the approaching soldiers. Edgar mobilized his battalion and headed west to Handley’s Hill to ambush the enemy. He spread his soldiers out to give the impression of a larger force than he really had. The Federal force ran into his trap, was “cut to pieces,” and surrendered.
Edgar was born in Monroe County in 1837 and graduated fifth in his class at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Following graduation he taught at VMI and in Florida before enlisting in the Confederate Army. From Florida, he was sent to Monroe County to organize a battalion. He was severely wounded during the Battle of Lewisburg in 1862, cared for by relatives in the Withrow home (now the General Lewis Inn), and taken away as a prisoner of war. Following the war, Edgar continued to teach and became president of the Seminary West of the Suwannee River (now Florida State University), president of Arkansas Industrial University (now University of Arkansas), and president of Kentucky’s Franklin Female College.
Edgar returned to Lewisburg in 1907 to give a lecture about Stonewall Jackson. During that visit, the Greenbrier Independent reported that in 1863 the ladies of Lewisburg presented Edgar with a sword for saving their town. Edgar died in Paris, Kentucky, in 1913.
Sources: Greenbrier Independent, VMI, Florida State University, University of Arkansas, The Battle of Lewisburg by Richard L. Armstrong.
