Reverend Allen Cleveland's Church

The year is 1824, and a little church had been built in a little town of what was known back then as "Bear Creek Station." Now "Bear Creek Station" known as the city of Hampton Georgia in Henry County. The church then was known as the Lebanon Primitive Baptist Church. The Preacher was Reverend Allen Cleveland. He was a Primitive Baptist minister, dentist, and farmer of Henry County. His brother was Rice Cleveland also a minister. The family had came from Ireland, Reverend Allen Cleveland was buried about two miles off Hampton road and Bridges road in land lot 159 of Henry county where our home is now located; there were no inscribed tombs only unmarked graves.In McDonough , the Right wing burned two churches, slaughtered animals in another. They camped near town on Nov. 16th 1864. The Old Globe Hotel on Jonesboro street, constructed in 1833, remains from this period. To the west Georgia Militia, with 2,800 men under Major Gen. Gustavus W. Smith prepared for anticipated attacks at LoveJoy's Station then Griffin, then Forsyth, and eventually to Macon, keeping pace with the Right wing but not engaging it.The Right was protected by Kilpatrick's Calvary, whose mission was to protect the western flank of the marching column. Federal cleverness feigned at Griffin, Forsyth, and Macon , deceiving the Rebels into thinking these were the targets of Federal Forces. On Nov. 17th the Right wing marched to Jackson , in Butts County , where they did a estimated $1 million worth of damage, destroying everything in the courthouse square except the Masonic Hall and camped for the night.In the meantime, Thomas J. Greer settled at the Allen Cleveland place on present State HighWay 20 southwest of McDonough were the Henry County Moose Club is now located. He entered into the Confederate Service in Company G. 63rd Georgia Regiment, and was wounded north of Atlanta when an enemy canon shell struck a rail fence he was climbing. A rail was driven into his side causing severe injury. He was transported by train to a Confederate hospital in Macon . Mrs. Greer and a servant went to Macon in a wagon to bring him home but he died shortly after she reached him. She brought his body as far as the Grier-Moore family graveyard and buried him there, the same graveyard as his father Jason Greer is buried. After her husbands death , Mrs. Greer continued to make her home with her family in Henry Co. She was a member of The Lebanon Primitive Baptist Church at that time the town was known as Bear Creek Station , now Hampton. This research is dedicated to Reverend Allen Cleveland and family who served and died during this war through Henry County in 1864.