Alexander Harris (1818–1909) was an African-American deacon, trustee, interim pastor of the

First Bryan Baptist Church Historic First Bryan Baptist Church is an African-American church that was organized in Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Sa ...

and one of the most powerful African-American religious and civil leaders in Savannah, Georgia during the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. With

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

public figure

Garrison Frazier Garrison Frazier (1798? - 1873) was an African-American Baptist minister and public figure during the U.S. Civil War. He acted as spokesman for twenty African-American Baptist and Methodist ministers who met on January 12, 1865 with Major Genera ...

and nineteen other African-American ministers and church officials, Harris met with Military Division of the Mississippi Union Army Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton on January 12, 1865, at Sherman's Green-Meldrim House headquarters in Savannah, Georgia. This famous meeting, widely regarded as the "Savannah Colloquy" or the " Forty acres and a mule" meeting, resulted in Sherman issuing, on January 16, 1865,

Special Field Orders, No. 15 Special Field Orders, No. 15 (series 1865) were military orders issued during the American Civil War, on January 16, 1865, by General William Tecumseh Sherman, commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi of the United States Army. They p ...

, also known as the " Forty acres and a mule" order.

Early life

Born July 19, 1818, in Savannah, Georgia, Harris was a Free man his entire life. Although very little is known of his early life, Harris lived in Augusta, Georgia as a young man, working as a blacksmith. In 1844, Harris married Frances F. Harris (March 15, 1818 - February 10, 1899).Biography of Alexander Harris . Term Paper: Georgia Southern University. Maureen O'Brien. Winter 1982. http://libweb.lib.georgiasouthern.edu/armstrong/SavBio/Harris_Alexander.pdf A free woman and a seamstress according to census records, Frances was believed to have had the maiden name of Fullers, since many of her relatives were Fullers. Harris and Frances had three children: Fuleria Frances Harris Montmollin (1849–1870), William Henry Harris (1853–1888), and Nathaniel D. Harris (1856–1879). Harris outlived Frances and their three children. Frances died at the age of 81 of old age and diarrhea.

Service in the Confederate Army, U.S. Civil War Activity

Harris enlisted in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

where he served as a drummer with the Republican Blues drum and bugle corps. The Blues were an independent company of Georgia in the volunteer infantry. He was listed as "colored man, not mustered, but in service.""Roster of the Confederate soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865". Compiled by Lillian Henderson, Director. Published Hapeville, GA. Longina & Porter, 1959. He served from May 1861 to August 1862. At the time of General Sherman's March to the Sea during the

, Harris served as a deacon of the Third African Church, now known as

. Since Savannah, Georgia's city limits began at West Broad Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.), the Confederate defenses rested along Ogeechee Canal. As a consequence,

was the only church sitting in the middle of the battlefield. As citizens fled the city of Savannah out of fear, officers of First Bryan refused to close the church's doors. Harris understood First Bryan Baptist Church's defenseless position and led officers of the church down to the Confederate defense line for the city at the Ogeechee Canal to request that the church be saved from destruction. Harris consulted with Dr. William Pollard, an officer of

, who approached Sherman's army as it came down Bay Road. Dr. Pollard gave one of Sherman's captains a torch that was used for light in the front of

. The captain used the torch so the army could see their way into the city. General Sherman summoned Dr. Pollard and gave him the assignment of contacting all African-Americans in Savannah to request that they gather in Greene Square on January 1, 1865, for the reading of the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

Historic Meeting with Union Army Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman

On January 12, 1865, Harris joined twenty African-American Baptist and Methodist ministers who met with Military Division of the Mississippi Union Army Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in the historic "Savannah Colloquy" or the " Forty acres and a mule" meeting. He attended the meeting with several fellow

pastors including Reverends

and Ulysses Houston. At the time of the " Forty acres and a mule" meeting, Harris was 47 years old, having become a licensed ordained minister at Third African Baptist Church/

a month before.

had more representatives at this meeting than any other church.

Ministry, Prehistory with Savannah State University

In 1873, Harris founded

(previously the First, Second and Third African Churches of Savannah) on West Board and Waldburg Streets, and the Mount Olive Baptist Association in 1872. He also served as the pastor of historic Nicolsonboro Baptist Church for many years. Harris, with James M. Simms, Reverend Emanuel K. Love, J.H .C. Butler, James Ross, John McIntosh, and others helped to bring Georgia State Industrial College to Savannah in 1891. Georgia State Industrial College is known today as Savannah State University

Freemasonry in Georgia

One of the oldest

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in Georgia at the time, Harris was among the first persons to be initiated in Savannah's Eureka Lodge No. 1 on February 4, 1866. Harris served as Junior Deacon of Eureka Lodge No. 11 (presently Eureka No. 1) in 1866, served as Senior Deacon of the Lodge in 1867, and became the Junior Warden in 1868. In 1869–1870, Harris served as Senior Warden, Worshipful Master for Eureka No. 1 in 1871, and Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons of Georgia -Colored (now the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Mason for the Jurisdiction of Georgia) from June 1883 to June 1886.

Death

Harris died in Savannah, Georgia on October 9, 1909, at 91 years old from senility after being sick for six months prior to his death. Rev. George Henry Dwelle, Harris' life-long friend and the father of Dr. Georgia Rooks Dwelle (1884–1977), officiated Harris' funeral.Savannah Morning News, October 11, 1909. Harris was interred at the historic Laurel Grove Cemetery-South in Savannah, Georgia. The Southern Cross of the Confederate States of America is installed at his gravesite.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Alexander African-American Christians Baptist ministers from the United States 1818 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American clergy Clergy from Savannah, Georgia