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Georgia Militia The Authors Purchase

History of the Georgia Militia 1783-1861
Counties and Commanders, Part 1

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1: THE CHATHAM COUNTY MILITIA, 1783–1861
Death of Robert Castell leads to the settlement of the English colony of Georgia—Savannah designed and laid out as a militia garrison—organization of its general militia companies—volunteer companies—battalions—regiments—1st Brigade—Brigade of Cavalry—attempts at mobilization upon the outbreak of the First Seminole War—the “Timothy Tugmutton Affair”—Obed Wright attacks and destroys a Chehaw village—Militia Act of 1818—Chatham County militia refuses to support the Okefenokee Swamp expedition—designated reaction force plan evolves into the Legion of the Republican Blues—volunteers withdraw to form the 1st Volunteer Battalion of Georgia—home guard—youth corps—Washington Legion—militia duties expand to include those of acting as fire guards, maintaining civil order during holidays, and enforcing quarantines—city support of the volunteers by providing them with quarters—militia musters—celebration days—a newspaper editor insults the Savannah Volunteer Guards and leaves town—Irish Jasper Greens drink a sacred toast at Jasper Spring—silver goblets and leather medals—brilliant uniforms of the volunteers—their beautiful standards—social affairs—summer encampments, tilting, and sham battles—martial music—enforcement of attendance and other regulations—Irish campaign of 1837—election campaign of 1845; battle of the physicians—1846 brings great changes to the state and nation—Georgia Legislature visits Savannah, 1851—militia prepares for war and Minute Men organize and arm themselves—Secession.

“Somebody’s Darling”

Roster of the Chatham Artillery, 1806

Letter Regarding the Draft, 1818

Recommendations for the Fourth of July, 1824

Letter Regarding Musters, 1832

Letter Regarding Volunteers, 1836

Savannah Draftees and Volunteers, 1838

Commissioned and Non-Commissioned Officers, Irish Jasper Greens, 1843

Roster of the German Volunteers, 1846

CHAPTER 2: THE BURKE COUNTY MILITIA, 1783–1861
Militia of St. George’s Parish—Whig and Loyalist commanders—Battle of Spirit Creek—William Jasper—Waynesborough created—Abraham Jackson and Jonas Fauche attempt to bring regularity to the militia system—Burke’s general militia companies—battalions and regiments—Oconee Wars—Embargo Wars—federal Militia Act of 1792 impacts Burke County—2nd Brigade of the 1st Division and its commanders—1st Division—Burke’s volunteers—Troop of Volunteer Horse—Burke Hussars—population loss—Walker Hussars, Burke Hussars, and Grubbs’ Hussars—Volunteer Company of Artillery—Volunteer Infantry Company—Independent Blues in the War of 1812—Bowling’s Detachment—Burke Guards—Burke County courthouse and its records burn, 1856—Burke Sharp Shooters—Secession.

Roster of the Burke Hussars in the Creek War of 1836

Presentation of a Flag to the Burke Sharp Shooters on Tybee Island, 1861

CHAPTER 3: THE JEFFERSON COUNTY MILITIA, 1796–1861
Louisville becomes the state capitol—general militia companies and battalions—9th Regiment—Volunteer Troop of Dragoons—Jefferson Hussars—amalgamation of the Dragoons and Hussars as the Jefferson Troop of Cavalry, 1820—Volunteer Company of Artillery—David Clarke’s command during the War of 1812—Volunteer Light Infantry Company—Louisville Guards—Homespun Foresters in the War of 1812—Jefferson troops in the First Seminole War—Jefferson Riflemen in the Second Seminole War—Secession.

Muster Roll of a Detachment of the Jefferson Volunteer Troop of Dragoons, 1798

Muster Roll of a Detachment of the Jefferson Volunteer Troop of Dragoons, 1798

Muster Roll of the Jefferson Volunteer Artillery, 1810

CHAPTER 4: THE TATTNALL COUNTY MILITIA, 1802–1861
Captain Jesse Embry’s 1799 scout—Zachariah Cox and the formation of Tattnall County—Tattnall’s general militia companies—10th Battalion and 6th Regiment—counterfeiters and smugglers up the Altamaha River—Arthur Lott of Tattnall County murdered as the War of 1812 opens—the Rev. Wilson Connor, Tattnall’s fighting parson, and his Tattnall Mounted Rifles—Savannah, Ogeechee, and Altamaha Canal—Robert Raymond Reid and the murder trial of Joseph Bell—Reidsville founded—the Murrellites—Tattnall Guards organize, 1839—the Hen Cart Road—Secession.

CHAPTER 5: THE BALDWIN COUNTY MILITIA, 1806–1861
Rock Landing—Federaltown—Elijah Clarke constructs Ft. Advance, but is forced to depart—Mount Pelier—Milledgeville laid out as the new state capitol—Scott and Thomas complete the new state house and the Washington County Troop of Horse escorts the state treasury and records in—Captain Ambrose Day and his demise at the Big Indian—Baldwin’s general militia companies—70th and 71st Battalions and 33rd Regiment—1st Brigade of the 3rd Regiment—John Clark pulls a fast one by moving the boundaries of the 3rd Division in order to keep his commission—Volunteer Troop of Horse—Volunteer Artillery Company at Autossee—Milledgeville Guards organize, 1809—Baldwin Independent Blues organize, 1810—Embargo Wars—Baldwin County in the War of 1812—First Seminole War and Duncan McKrimmon’s narrow escape from death—Milledgeville Volunteer Guards organize, 1820—Governor’s Guards organize, 1821—Lafayette Volunteers organize, 1825—Lafayette’s tour—Intendent Peter Jaillet’s tragedy—Florida Expedition of 1826–1827—Baldwin Volunteers organize, 1828—“Ned Bucket” and the “Rottenborough War”—“Governor” Swain shoots the eagle—General Nelson threatens to let state prisoners burn—Georgia Guards organize, 1831—the state of Georgia inadvertently purchases a slave—Judge L.Q.C. Lamar orders the execution of the wrong man, so commits suicide—Baldwin County joins the fight for Texas independence—Augustus H. Kenan’s Baldwin Troop refuses to muster for the Second Seminole War—Captain Hamilton B. Gaither and the Baldwin Hussars enter the Creek War of 1836 to rescue Baldwin County’s reputation—Metropolitan Greys organize, 1838—Independent Farmers’ Company organizes, 1841—Baldwin Blues organize, 1850—Adelina Patti begins her stage career as the prima donna of the world—Nathan C. Barnett shaves the seals—closing years—Brumby mishandles the Milledgeville encampment of 1857—state military convention of 1859—Governor’s Horse Guards organize, 1859—Secession.

Schedule of CPT Tomlinson Fort’s Company, 1812

Roster of CPT William Harvey’s Company, War of 1812

List of draftees for CPT Hamilton Gaither’s Baldwin Hussars, 1836

CHAPTER 6: THE MORGAN COUNTY MILITIA, 1807–1861
Morgan’s general militia companies—battalions and regiments—Volunteer Troop of Dragoons, 29th Regiment—Volunteer Company of Riflemen, 62nd Battalion—Morgan County units in the War of 1812—the Braswell legacy—Captain John F. Mapp’s Company in the First Seminole War—Volunteer Company of Artillery organizes, 1819—Morgan Light Dragoons, 1822—Madison Volunteers, 1826—Old Father Harris and his patent sermon—Morgan Dragoons/Morgan Mounted Blues, 1833/34—James Walker Fannin of Morgan County and the Texas Revolution—Morgan Guards, 1835—Morgan Rangers in the Creek War of 1836—Morgan Rifles, 1843—Madison in 1847—Morgan Cavalry, 1849—Madison Home Guards, 1859—Secession.

Commissions to Subalterns in Mogan County, 1807–1861

Muster Roll of the Morgan Guards, 1836

Roster of the Morgan Horse Company, 1849

CHAPTER 7: THE JASPER COUNTY MILITIA, 1807–1861
Randolph County created in 1807, but its name changed to Jasper County after a political disagreement—Jasper’s twenty-one General Militia Companies—64th, 65th, 77th, 78th, 84th, and 102nd Battalions—30th and 38th Regiments—Tandy W. Key—1st Brigade of the 5th Division—Volunteer Troop of Dragoons, 1809—Volunteer Rifle Company, 65th Battalion, 1809—War of 1812: Volunteer Company of Riflemen, 77th Battalion, 1812; Volunteer Company of Riflemen, 84th Battalion, 1812; Lieutenant Colonel James R. Jenkins’ Regiment—Eli Glover—Lieutenant Colonel David Adams’ Tallapoosa River Expedition against the Red Sticks—9th Squadron and 5th Regiment Cavalry organize—Colonel Ezekiel Wimberly’s Regiment—Major William Wooten’s Battalion—Lieutenant Colonel William Jones’ Battalion—First Seminole War—President William Rabun issues Militia commissions—Captain John Hodnett’s Volunteer Rifle Company, 77th Battalion—Volunteer Company of Artillery, 1818—Kit Kizer’s funeral in Monticello—Volunteer Company of Riflemen, 38th Regiment, 1819—Volunteer Company of Light Dragoons, 30th Regiment—Creek War of 1836—Colonel Robert Vines Hardeman’s Regiment—Major Julius Caesar Alford’s Battalion—Jasper Guards, 1837 and 1859—Glover Guards, 1860—Secession.

Commanders of General Militia Companies

CHAPTER 8: THE MONROE COUNTY MILITIA, 1821–1861
Origins of Monroe County, Johnstonville, and Forsyth—Monroe’s ante-bellum general militia companies—100th, 110th, 126th, 128th, and 249th Battalions—48th and 57th Regiments—brigades and divisions—Monroe Cavalry, 1826—Hamilton Volunteers, 57th Regiment, 1827—John Alexander Cuthbert and the Monroe “Mosquitoes”—Absalom Harris Chappell—Elbridge Guerry Cabaniss (I)—Brownsville Volunteers, 1830—Monroe Volunteer Cavalry, 57th Regiment, 1831—Monroe Rifle Company, 57th Regiment, 1832—John Forsyth and the Nullification Movement—Monroe Blues, 1834—Monroe Volunteers, 1834—Monroe Musketeers in the Second Seminole War—Culloden Cavalry, CPT Stewart’s Company, and CPT Russell’s Company in the Creek War of 1836—Monroe Musketeers revive, 1837—early education in Monroe—Quitman Guards, 1859—Secession—William R. Berner—Amos W. Hammond—Lewis Lawrence Griffin.

Commanders of the Monroe County General Militia Companies

CHAPTER 9: THE BIBB COUNTY MILITIA, 1822–1861
Ft. Hawkins—Treaty of Indians Springs in 1821 and the creation of Bibb County—Bibb’s general militia companies—rivalries in the early Bibb militia—the battlions and the 50th Regiment—1st Brigade of the 8th Division—decline of the general militia—Macon Volunteers organize in 1825 and become defunct in 1830—Farmers Independent Rifle Company, 1828—Troupites and Clarkites—reorganization of the Macon Volunteers, 1831—Macon Hussars and the Bibb Cavalry—early summer camps—City Guard, Independent Blues, and Floyd Rifles—Georgia Life Guards and Bibb County Cavalry Corps—Jackson Artillery, 1859—encampment at Chalybeate Springs, 1860—Independent Volunteer Battalion of Macon—the McIntosh murder—Macon Volunteers in the Second Seminole War—Bibb County and the War for Texas Independence—Joanna Troutman of Knoxville, Georgia, and her Lone Star Flag—massacre at Goliad—Eleazer McCall’s Bibb Volunteers in the Creek War of 1836—Isaac Holmes’ Macon Guards in the Mexican War—Secession—Floyd Rifles unfurl Macon’s first Stars and Bars.

The General Militia Commands of Bibb County

The Volunteer Companies of Bibb County

Roster of the Macon Guards in the Mexican War

CHAPTER 10: THE WARE AND PIERCE COUNTY MILITIA, 1824–1861
Appling and Irwin Counties laid out while the First Seminole War rages—Ware County cut out of Appling County in 1824 with Waresborough (Waresboro) as the seat—early newspapers—early days in Waresboro—Ware’s general militia companies—158th Battalion and 76th Regiment—2nd Brigade of the 6th Division—Ware Volunteers during the Second Seminole War—skirmishing in the Okefenokee Swamp—Generals Floyd and Nelson lead successive expeditions into the depths of the Okefenokee—Pierce County laid out from Appling and Ware, 1857—Blackshear chartered, 1859—Wiregrass Minutemen organize, 1860—Atlantic And Gulf Guards organize, 1860—Secession.

After-Action Report from MAJ Thomas Hilliard, 1836

Muster Roll of the Atlantic and Gulf Guards, 1861

CHAPTER 11: THE CAMPBELL COUNTY MILITIA, 1828–1861
Campbell County organizes at the house of John Fluker Beavers—Duncan Green Campbell—Campbell’s general militia companies—160th, 168th, and 169th Battalions—Zachariah A. Rice—73rd Regiment—2nd Brigade of the 9th Division—9th Division—Campbellton Blues in the Creek War of 1836—Campbell County Cavalry, 73rd Regiment, 1836—Campbellton Guards, 1845—Campbell County Yellow Jackets, 1846—Chattahoochee Huzzars and Beall Avengers, 1846—Secession—Fayette Grey Guards and Palmetto Guards.

CHAPTER 12: THE SUMTER COUNTY MILITIA, 1831–1861
Sumter County created out of Lee County, 1831—early school days in Sumter—public records burned, 1841—“Tippecanoe and Tyler too”—Sumter’s general militia companies—161st Battalion, 187th Battalion, and 86th Regiment—2nd Brigade of the 10th Division—CPT Thomas’ Company Drafted Georgia Militia and the Sumter Cavalry in the Creek War of 1836—Sumter Volunteers in the Mexican War—“Battle of the Boat”—Sumter Blues, 1848—Sumter County Cavalry, 1848—Sumter Light Guards, 1854—South-West Battalion of the State of Georgia—Secession.

Roster of the Sumter Volunteers in the Mexican War

Roster of the Sumter Guards, 1860

CHAPTER 13: THE COBB COUNTY MILITIA, 1833–1861
Cobb’s general militia companies—Joseph George Washington Mills’ first, and almost last, militia drill nearly gets him shot—176th Battalion, 194th Battalion, and 78th Regiment—105th Regiment—1st Brigade of the 11th Division—Cobb Volunteer Rifle Company refuses to muster for the Creek War, 1837—Cherokee Removal—Kennesaw Rangers in the Mexican War—“Battle of the Boat”—General Zachary Taylor refuses to let the Georgia Regiment ever participate in combat—Independent Blues, 1848—Georgia Guards, 1850—Georgia Military Institute—Marietta Guards, 1853—Secession.

Roster of the Kennesaw Rangers, 1846

Roster of the Kennesaw Rangers, 1847

CHAPTER 14: THE FLOYD COUNTY MILITIA, 1833–1861
Floyd’s general militia companies—183rd and 184th Battalions, and the 90th Regiment—2nd Brigade of the 12th Division—Highland Battalion, Georgia Mounted Volunteers—Fosach Fixico’s surrender—Floyd County Volunteers, 1836—Floyd Cavalry, 1836—Floyd Mounted Infantry, 1837—Colonel Samuel Stewart’s Regiment, 1838—Floyd Hussars, 1843—Rome Fencibles, 1846—Floyd County Rangers, 1850—Rome Guards, 1851—Rome Volunteers, 1853—Blue Jackets, 1854—Marcellus Augustus Stovall and “Bill Arp of Chulio”—Floyd Cavalry, 1859—Rome Light Guards, 1860—Mrs. Florence Magruder, pistol and dagger in her belt, mar
ches out of Rome with her husband at the head of the Rome Light Guards—Cherokee Artillery—Secession.

APPENDIX: RELATED TOPICS

The State Arsenal at Savannah

The Coffin Brigade: the Starting Point of Secession

INDEX

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