As General David Blackshear led his men down the Old River Road in the War of 1812, one of his men died at a little pond one night. They buried his body there and since the place has been called Soldier's Pond and Soldier's Branch. It is about two miles west of the present site of Blockhouse Baptist Church (which was Fort Clark, built by Gen. David Blackshear). Here is a poem that tells the story:
THE SOLDIER DIED THAT NIGHT
The soldier died that night at a little pond
His sickness wrought from the fruits of war
The soldier who died that night was fond
Of life - just as we are - without its sorrow.
He had a mother and a father perhaps others
Whom he loved and wanted to see again
But he died that night as paleness closed over
His lifeless self but a better home to gain
Because God was with him at Soldiers Pond
To it he gave not his name - just "Soldier"
For he had fought his final weary fight
As he died at Soldiers Pond that night.