Christmas Moultrie (December 25, 1857 – April 23, 1956) was an American former slave who became a duck hunter and merchant. He was a central character in John Eugene Cay Jr.'s 1958 non-fiction book ''Ward Allen: Savannah River Market Hunter''. The book was the basis for the 2013 movie ''

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

''.

Early life and career

Moultrie was born on Christmas Day 1857 at

Mulberry Grove Plantation Mulberry Grove Plantation, located north of Port Wentworth, Chatham County, Savannah, was a rice plantation, notable as the location where Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.The American Historical Review (New York, 1897), III, No. 1, 99 Once ...

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, the last child born into slavery on the plantation. His mother died shortly after his birth. His family name came from the Moultrie family in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. In December 1864, his family moved a few miles away to Monteith, Georgia, after

General Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

's forces burned the plantation during his March to the Sea, but Moultrie remained at the plantation, as a free man, in a "raised cabin by the plantation gate near the Augusta highway." He formed a business hunting ducks in Savannah's

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

with

Ward Allen Robert Ward Allen (August 8, 1856 – August 23, 1931) was an American naturalist, duck hunter and merchant. He became the central character in John Eugene Cay Jr.'s 1958 non-fiction book ''Ward Allen: Savannah River Market Hunter''. The book w ...

. They sold the ducks to local restaurants, including that of The DeSoto, or Savannahian families. He also sold vegetables at City Market. Moultrie had one known child, Hardee, born in 1895; he died in 1935, aged 39 or 40. His granddaughter, Martha F. McCullough (born in 1927), became a teacher in Savannah. He had at least three other granddaughters: Mary F. Johnson, Georgia Benton and Della Stell. In 1927, the

Savannah National Wildlife Refuge The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Chatham and Effingham counties in Georgia and Jasper County in South Carolina. Of the total area, is in Georgia and is in South Carolina. The refuge was establis ...

introduced a law limiting the number of ducks that could be killed on one hunting trip, as well as having a hunting season. These restrictions affected Moultrie's and Allen's livelihood. Concerned about the future of Savannah's marshes, due to the increasing number of factories in the city, Allen regularly wrote articles in the local press. He went to the

Georgia State Legislature The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly e ...

with his concerns, but had no success in affecting change. Allen died on August 23, 1931, aged 75. His body was found floating in the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

Death and legacy

Moultrie died on April 23, 1956, in

Port Wentworth, Georgia Port Wentworth is a city in Chatham County, Georgia, United States. The 2020 population was 10,878, more than double the population of 5,359 at the 2010 census. Port Wentworth is part of the Savannah metropolitan area. History The Georgia General ...

. He was 98. He is interred in Port Wentworth's Cherokee Hill Baptist Churchyard. Moultrie's popularity grew with the release of the 2013 film ''Savannah'', which was based on John Eugene Cay Jr.'s 1958 non-fiction book ''Ward Allen: Savannah River Market Hunter''.

Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor ( ; born 10 July 1977) is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy A ...

portrayed Moultrie in the movie adaptation. In 2008, the Moultrie Interchange at

Georgia State Route 21 State Route 21 (SR 21) is an state highway that travels southeast-to-northwest through portions of Chatham, Effingham, Screven, and Jenkins counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The highway connects the Savanna ...

and

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

was named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moultrie, Christmas 1857 births 1956 deaths American businesspeople American naturalists 19th-century American slaves American former slaves People from Savannah, Georgia