Monument on the grounds of China Grove, the former plantation once owned by Albert Sidney Johnston.
Entrance to China Grove.
“We may be annihilated, but we cannot be conquered.” — Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston upon accepting his command in August, 1861. (Source: Encyclopedia of the Civil War).
The highest ranking officer killed during the Civil War was none other than Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, who was mortally wounded during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862. Johnston, a Kentucky native and West Point graduate, fought in the west and Mexico before resigning his commission to care for his dying wife. When she passed away in 1836 Johnston came west again to serve in the Republic of Texas Army, and in 1837 was appointed adjutant general.
Johnston remarried in 1843 and settled in Brazoria County, Texas, on a large plantation called China Grove. China Grove, primarily a fig and orange operation, would remain Johnston’s home until the Civil War broke out. Once war came Johnson headed to Virginia, where he was appointed CSA general by his old school mate, Jefferson Davis, president of the CSA.
But before Johnson met his fate in Tennessee nearly 150 years ago he reportedly planted a hedge of Cherokee roses at China Grove. According to The Handbook of Texas Online, the roses were the last remaining link to Johnston’s stewardship of the property. All of the buildings and barns from the plantation days had long since disappeared.
If you’re unfamiliar with Cherokee roses they are the state flower of Georgia and legend has it that during the Cherokee Nation’s journey west the roses were an answer to the tribe’s prayer for deliverance. It was fast growing and was found on the trail west. According to legend the plant gave the Cherokees hope on the Trail of Tears.
Cherokee roses are beautiful, hardy and prickly, and as such I thought there was a good chance they’d still be around, although the last sighting I could find in my research was from 1991. There was only one thing to do: Road trip.
China Grove is less than 25 miles south of Pearland, and very easy to find. Unfortunately the sprawling property is fenced and gated and no chance of seeing from the road whether the roses were still around or gone the way of the general. I’d like to think the roses are still there. After 150 years, it seems unlikely. But like the Cherokee, we can always hope.
Cherokee rose.
