Marietta in History
Tranquilla
1849
In 1849, the beautiful Greek Revival house, Tranquilla, was built on Kennesaw Avenue by General Andrew Jackson Hansell. It was home to General Hansell, his wife Caroline Clifford Shepherd Hansell and their six children. During the War Between the States, Northern army officers seized Tranquilla and used it as their headquarters. Mrs. Hansell refused to leave and was confined to one room with her two youngest children and their nurse. Somehow she endured that occupation, but it must have put steel in her soul.
During the chaotic period following the end of the war, bands of violent outlaws roamed the South. One such group charged up to Tranquilla, waving fire brands and threatening to set the house ablaze. They wanted to loot the house while a portion of it was in flames, then leave it to burn to the ground. Mrs. Hansell had apparently had enough. She met them on the front portico, carrying a derringer. "I will shoot the first man who advances a step," she said calmly. No one was willing to bet this small Southern lady didn't mean it. The marauders fled.
Tranquilla still stands on Kennesaw Avenue. It is a private residence, the home of Marietta attorney Greg Griffen and his wife, Beth.
Temple, Sarah Blackwell Gober. The First Hundred Years.
February 1, 2009. The Marietta Daily Journal.