PREFACE

CHAPTER 1: THE GENERAL MILITIA COMPANIES OF THE 1st REGIMENT
Post-Revolutionary reorganization of the Savannah militia—East and West Companies—reorganization pursuant to the federal Militia Act of 1792—fire of 1796 causes realignment of the districts—Savannah’s general militia companies—table of organization of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division, 1807—companies of the 1st and 2nd Battalions—reorganization of 1807—reorganization of 1811—companies of the 1st and 60th Battalions, 1811 to 1817—companies of the 2nd Battalion, 1811 to 1817—Nathaniel Durkee and his family—captain’s dog at the militia muster, 1836—volunteer companies withdraw in 1852 to form an independent battalion of volunteers, and the beat companies reorganize—General Harrison redesignates the battalions and regiments in the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division, 1861.

Commanders of the 1st Battalion (Savannah)

Commanders of the 2nd Battalion (Chatham County)

Commanders of the 60th Battalion (Savannah)

Commanders of the 1st Regiment (Savannah)

Commanders of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division (Seaboard Counties)

Commanders of the 1st Division (Savannah River and Seaboard Counties)

CHAPTER 2: THE FLANK COMPANIES OF SAVANNAH, 1783–1803
Dr. Patrick Tailfer and his Extra Company, 1739—Flank Companies—Light Infantry Company of Savannah organizes, 1767—Light Infantry Company destroyed at the Battle of Brier Creek, 1779—Samuel Elbert organizes the Grenadier Company, 1772—Grenadier’s Lodge chartered, 1775—capture of the Phillipa and its gunpowder, part of which is sent for use at Bunker (Breed’s) Hill, Boston—James Alexander and his military march, “The Georgia Grenadiers,” later popular with British military musicians—Captain Samuel Stirk’s post-war Light Infantry Company—Light Infantry at Bear Creek, Patton’s Swamp, 1787—Captain Robert Montfort reorganizes the Light Infantry, 1791—Federal Militia Act of 1792 requires a company either of light infantry or of fusiliers in each regiment—Captain Joseph Welscher’s Light Infantry Company (1794), CPT James Moore’s Light Infantry Company (1795), CPT Nicholas Miller’s Chatham Fusiliers (1795), CPT Elisha Elon’s Light Infantry Company (1798), CPT Thomas Robertson’s Light Infantry Company (1798), the Savannah Rangers (1798), and several other such companies in Savannah organize and fail in short order—Light Infantry Company becomes the Chatham Hibernian Fusiliers, commanded by CPT Richard Dennis, 1800—Savannah Volunteer Guards organize, 1802—Republican Blues organize, 1809—Savannah Fencibles organize, 1812, but combine with the Georgia Volunteers to form the Phoenix Riflemen, 1830.

Light Infantry Commissions for Colonial Savannah

CHAPTER 3: THE GEORGIA HUSSARS, 1785–1861
Professional military commands gradually leave Georgia service—colonial militia fills the breech—the Bosomworths and their Indian allies march into Savannah, and the Troop of Horse Militia organizes in that town to meet them, 1749—2nd Troop of Horse organizes in St. John’s Parish, leading the Troop at Savannah to be redesignated the 1st Troop of Horse Militia, 1757—1st Troop disbands, 1771—Joseph Coffell and his “Scopholites” pass through Georgia unchallenged on their way from Carolina to East Florida, 1778—Patriot House of Assembly reacts to the Scopholites by authorizing a Troop of Volunteer Horse to be raised in Savannah—Joseph Habersham refuses its captaincy, but leads mounted volunteers on the Florida Expedition of 1778—Light Dragoon Troop reorganizes in Savannah by 1785—Captain John Berrien moves from Liberty County to claim the command of the Troop at Savannah, 1785—2nd Troop of Horse organizes in Savannah under the command of Captain Samuel Hammond, 1793—1st Troop (Berrien) becomes defunct in 1794, and the 2nd Troop is redesignated as the Chatham Troop of Light Dragoons, commanded by “Chatham Jemmy”—Chatham Troop responds to the First and Second Requisitions for militia during the Embargo Wars—threat of war leads to the creation of the Brigade of Cavalry, G.M., 1808—exception made to the Militia Act so as to allow two troops to co-exist in Savannah—Brigadier General Daniel Stewart—political hacks grab the command slots in the cavalry, causing great dissatisfaction—each cavalry regiment divided into two squadrons—John Macpherson Berrien succeeds to the command of the 1st Regiment Cavalry, 1814—Chatham Hussars organize in 1811 as the second troop in Savannah—Sir George Cockburn captures St. Mary’s, and Berrien’s 1st Regiment Cavalry rushes to the plains of Darien to screen that town and Barrington’s Ferry—upon release from active duty at the end of the War of 1812, both troops of horse at Savannah disband—General Daniel Stewart resigns his commission in 1817 as his brigade dissolves—“Timothy Tugmutton Affair” highlights Savannah’s inability to respond to federal and state requisitions for men to march to Amelia Island, taken by Luis Aury’s pirates, and to the southern frontier as the First Seminole War breaks out at the same time—Captain Obed Wright disregards his orders and destroys a Chehaw village—General Andrew Jackson demands Wright’s punishment, Governor William Rabun rebukes Jackson, and Wright flees to Cuba—troop of horse reorganizes in Savannah in November of 1818 under the command of John Macpherson Berrien and adopts the name Georgia Hussars—definitive Militia Act of 1818 enacted in response to earlier problems—Georgia Hussars joined by other troops along the Georgia coast as the 1st or “A” Squadron, 1821—escort for Lafayette, 1825—Captain George Washington Behn of the Georgia Hussars publishes his Concise History of Instruction for Volunteer Cavalry, 1842—Hussars and sister units exchange social visits, attend tilts, and engage in sham battles—Georgia Legislature incorporates Hussars, 1859—troop moves to Skidaway Island after Secession.

Uniform Regulations, Georgia Cavalry, 1809

Charles Rinaldo Floyd’s Essay on Cavalry Flags, 1840

List of members of the Georgia Hussars claiming jury exemption

CHAPTER 4: THE LIBERTY INDEPENDENT TROOP, 1785–1861
2nd Troop of Horse Militia organizes in St. John’s Parish, 1757—Colonel Noble Jones commissioned to command the squadron—2nd Troop revived as the St. John’s Rangers, 1776—“Battle of the Riceboats”—service in the Second Florida Expedition, 1777—British take the Whig fort and garrison at Sunbury and occupy Liberty County, 1779—Loyalists reorganize the St. John’s Parish militia, and Whig refugees open guerrilla war—Robert Sallette—death of MAJ Francis Moore at Reid’s Bluff, 1782—Captain John Howell, “rebel picaroon,” raids Sunbury and breaks up the king’s birthday celebration—Carr’s Independent Corps—Volunteer Troop of Militia Dragoons reorganizes in Liberty County under CPT John Berrien, 1785—William McIntosh Jr. succeeds to command later that same year after Berrien moves to Savannah—in response to Creek raids, local citizens of Liberty County organize a Company of Horsemen on county subscription and commanded by CPT Elijah Lewis, 1788—Liberty County organizes two troops on county subscription to meet continuing Creek raids, 1788; CPT Michael Rudolph (later CPT John Whitehead) and CPT William McIntosh Jr. (who holds a dual commission)—Captain Simon Fraser organizes the 2nd Troop of Horse Militia for Liberty County to join McIntosh’s militia troop, 1789—1st (McIntosh’s) Troop of Horse Militia disbands, 1790, so Fraser’s troop is redesignated the Troop of Horse, Liberty County Battalion, G.M—once more, Liberty County citizens respond to Creek raids by raising a troop on county subscription, 1793; CPT Joseph Way Jr.—Ft. Saunders, Roger Parker Saunders, and the Liberty County Jockey Club—the Hundred Horse, CPT James Armstrong and CPT John F. Randolph, in federal service, 1794–1796—Captain John Bohun Girardeau raises a troop to replace the Hundred Horse, 1796—Troop of Horse (Girardeau) renamed the Liberty County Blues, in active service to enforce the smallpox quarantine against Chatham and Bryan Counties, 1800—second volunteer horse troop, the Troop of Dragoons, organizes in Liberty County under the command of CPT Thomas Hinsley, 1802—Liberty County Blues adopt the new name Liberty Independent Troop, 1807—numerous companies of volunteers organize in Liberty County as the War of 1812 breaks out—Liberty Independent Troop in active state service to support Massias’ retreat to Barrington’s Ferry—Charlton Hines refuses to muster and flees to Burke County “for his health” when his Liberty Independent Troop mobilizes—during the latter’s canvass for re-election to the Legislature in 1845, CPT Joseph Jones reminds the electorate of Hines’ desertion during the War of 1812—in 1856 the Georgia Legislature manumits Boston for his loyalty during the Darien campaign—Liberty County units in the First Seminole War—Taylor’s Creek Rifle Company, 1835—second Liberty County horse troop, the Liberty Guards, organizes at Taylor’s Creek, 1845—Eagle Riflemen, 1846—Rough & Ready Riflemen, 1856—Secession—Liberty Volunteers and Altamaha Scouts organize as war looms—Committee of Safety organizes in Liberty County—armed with Sharpe’s carbines and English revolvers, the Liberty Independent Troop moves to Hester’s Bluff.

Pay roll of a detachment of the Liberty Blues (LT John Bettis), 1800

Pay roll of a detachment of the Liberty Blues (LT Samuel S. Law), 1800

Roll of a detachment of CPT John Winn’s Volunteer Company, 1814

Roll of the Liberty Independent Troop, 1815

Roster of the Liberty Independent Troop, 1846

Roster of the Liberty Independent Troop, 1851

Roster of the Liberty Independent Troop, 1853

Roster of the Liberty Guards, 1846

Roster of the Liberty Guards, 1851

President Theodore Roosevelt’s Georgia Militia Heritage

CHAPTER 5: THE RICHMOND HUSSARS, 1786–1861
Ft. Augusta constructed, 1736—Captain Edmund Gray’s troop of horse militia organizes at Augusta, 1751—Troop of Horse Militia organizes in Augusta shortly after the end of the Revolution; commanded by CPT James Stallings—Augusta Dragoons, CPT Richard Call, organizes, 1786—Captain Robert Watkins organizes a new troop of horse in Richmond County, 1789—escorts President George Washington, 1791—Captain James Armstrong organizes a second Troop of Volunteer Light Dragoons in Richmond County, 1792—Richmond County Troop of Horse, CPT Reuben Coleman, in federal service during the Oconee Wars for a few days—The Yazoo Freshet, 1796—Captain William Dearmond of the Richmond Troop court-martialed for disobedience of orders and is acquitted, 1798—Augusta Volunteer Troop organizes as a second troop in Richmond County, but Governor James Jackson refuses to commission its officers—Richmond Troop becomes defunct in 1800, but CPT George Walker reorganizes it in 1803—re-ordering the Richmond County militia, 1804—Brigade of Cavalry organizes, 1808–1809—Troop of Horse in Richmond County assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Regiment Cavalry—Richmond County Troop of Horse becomes defunct by 1819—Augusta Volunteer Guards, an infantry company, organizes in 1819 as Richmond County’s only volunteer unit—Richmond Hussars organize 1819 under CPT Michael F. Boisclair—Legislature authorizes the Richmond County militia to organize a legionary corps—Richmond Light Dragoons organize in 1831 under the command of CPT Michael F. Boisclair as the second horse troop in the county—Second Lieutenant Atton H. Pemberton resigns from the Richmond Hussars due to politics—Richmond Blues, an infantry company, organize, 1834—Richmond Hussars, acting as infantry, join the Richmond Blues in Florida during the Second Seminole War—Richmond Blues represent the county in the Mexican War, 1846–1847—Independent Volunteer Battalion of Augusta organizes, 1856—“Captain Merriman” and his “Fantasticals” in Augusta, 1856—Secession—Herman Brandt fires a one hundred gun salute and smashes all the window glass on Broad Street—Georgia troops take possession of the federal arsenal at Augusta—Richmond Hussars split to form two troops in preparation for war.

Regimental and Battalion Commanders of Richmond County

Volunteer Companies Commissioned in Richmond County

Roster of the Richmond Hussars, 1836

Roster of the Oglethorpe Infantry, 1853

Ode to the Oglethorpe Infantry of Augusta, 1853

CHAPTER 6: THE CHATHAM RANGERS, 1798–1813
Organizes in 1798 as a fusilier company attached to the 1st (City) Battalion—Captain James Box Young dies in 1800 and is replaced by James Johnston, who begins an illustrious career—Captain John Samuel de Montmollin succeeds Johnston and offers his company for successive militia levies—Rangers escort Aaron Burr, who sojourns with CPT de Montmollin in Savannah, 1802—Captain Benjamin Ansley offers the Rangers for federal service once more, 1809—James Hunter becomes captain of the Rangers, but the unit disbands after his resignation.

CHAPTER 7: THE CHATHAM HIBERNIAN FUSILIERS, 1800–1804
Organizes in 1800 as a company of fusiliers under the command of Captain Richard Dennis—Thomas U.P. Charlton succeeds CPT Dennis as commander of the Hibernian Fusiliers, 1802—company disbands as newer companies move into prominence.

CHAPTER 8: THE GEORGIA FORESTERS, 1808–1812
American frigate Chesapeake takes to the high seas without mounting her guns, and the British frigate Leopard stops her ten miles off of the Virginia coast, commandeers some of her helpless crew, and later executes them—there being no volunteer company in Savannah’s 60th Battalion, a group of men attempt to organize such a unit in response to the Chesapeake Affair—Governor Jared Irwin refuses to sanction the unit—Major John B. Mars of the 60th Battalion successfully obtains the commissions—company organizes under the command of CPT (Dr.) Sterling Grimes, and accepts no members but native Georgians—duty on the riverfront as French privateers burn in the Savannah harbor, 1811—company disbands, 1812.

CHAPTER 9: THE REPUBLICAN BLUES, 1809–1861
Alfred Cuthbert organizes a second company in the 60th Battalion as the Republican Blues, 1809—“Are We Not Brothers”—service on the waterfront, 1811—Patriots’ Expedition to East Florida, 1812—scandal arises over faked letter of appreciation for their service—duty at Ft. Jackson on Five Fathom Hole, 1812—Blues again in federal service after British land on the Georgia coast, 1815—Savannah militia fails during the First Seminole War—plan for the rotation of a ready reaction force implemented, 1819—Republican Blues form a separate rifle corps within the command—Legislature authorizes the Chatham Legion, 1820—other companies refuse to join with the Blues in the Legion, which becomes the Legion of Republican Blues—Blues give up the Legion formation, and become a unified company under the command of Captain John C. Nicoll, 1823—participation in the “Landing of Oglethorpe Centennial Anniversary,” 1833—social exchanges with sister corps—Republican Blues Building And Loan Association organizes, 1851—construction of the Republican Blues Range—Blues sponsor the organization of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, 1855—resolution of disputes between volunteer commands—“Battle of the Physicians,” 1845—formally chartered by the Legislature, 1851—excursion to New York, 1860—Secession flag flies from the Blues’ armory, 1860—Young Republican Blues organize—shooting war in Georgia begins as Blues defend Wassaw Island, 1861.

Commissioned Officers of the Republican Blues, 1809–1861

Payroll of Republican Blues on the Patriots’ Expedition, 1812

Officers and Non-commissioned Officers, 4 July 1845

CHAPTER 10: THE CORPS DE RESERVE, 1812–1815
Company of exempts forms in Savannah in response to the outbreak of the War of 1812—Captain (Dr.) George Jones—some members withdraw to form the Savannah Heavy Artillery—news of the Treaty of Ghent causes dissolution of the company.

CHAPTER 11: THE SAVANNAH HEAVY ARTILLERY, 1812–1817
Organizes in response to the outbreak of the War of 1812 and the need for coastal defense by heavy ordnance—John Kell—Captain William Bellinger Bulloch—federal service, 1812—unit disbands, 1817—Thomas Usher Pulaski Charlton.

List of War of 1812 survivors of the Savannah Heavy Artillery, 1832

CHAPTER 12: THE McINTOSH LIGHT DRAGOONS, 1815–1861
McIntosh’s general militia companies—6th Battalion of the 2nd Regiment—McIntosh Battalion volunteers for federal militia requisition, 1812—Republican Blues organize, 1814—joke on MAJ Jacob Wood—Captain James Pelot’s Company of Light Infantry, 1817—Darien Volunteer Guards, 1818—Darien Volunteer Rifle Company, 1833—McIntosh Rangers, 1842—1st Regiment Georgia Cavalry, 1808—Captain James Pelot’s McIntosh County Troop during the War of 1812—Darien Hussars organize in 1823—reception for Lafayette, 1825—Corps of Vigilance incorporated, 1831, but abolished the following year—Darien Hussars in the Second Seminole War—McIntosh Light Dragoons organize, 1850—James Houstoun’s great crash; his subsequent murder and what follows—Captain Fish’s Palmetto Flag floats over Darien as McIntosh County celebrates Secession.

Roster of the McIntosh Light Dragoons, 1851

Roster of the McIntosh Light Dragoons, 1853

CHAPTER 13: THE PHOENIX RIFLEMEN, 1830–1861
Savannah Fencibles organize under the command of CPT (Dr.) John Cumming, 1812—Georgia Volunteers organize under the command of CPT John Lathrop, 1822—Savannah supports Greek independence—Captain Jonathan Olmstead and his Savannah Fencibles merge with CPT Samuel Howard Fay’s company, the Georgia Volunteers, to form a rifle company, the Phoenix Riflemen, 1830—“Toujours Pret”—service during the Second Seminole War—General Charles R. Floyd designs the company’s gold medal—inability of unit officers to obtain promotions.

Commissioned officers of the Phoenix Riflemen

List of War of 1812 survivors of the Savannah Fencibles, 1832

CHAPTER 14: THE MACON VOLUNTEERS, 1825–1861
News of the assassination of General William McIntosh leads to organization, 1825—“Excelsior”—mobilization in 1825 to meet anticipated Creek uprising—Macon Volunteers pledge to “stand by their arms” in 1827 as Governor Troup mobilizes the Georgia Militia in order to enforce the Treaty of Indian Springs—company becomes defunct, 1830—first post-Revolutionary War summer military encampment, 1831—Macon Volunteers reorganize in 1831 after the Nat Turner massacre—Charlie Benja becomes the company musician—company participates in first summer military encampment of multiple volunteer companies, 1832—first statewide summer encampment, Savannah, 1840—service in the Second Seminole War—Macon Volunteers decline service in the Mexican War; formation of the Macon Guards, which company becomes a component of the 1st (COL Henry R. Jackson) Regiment Georgia Volunteers, which serves in Mexico—Isaac G. Seymour—Independent Volunteer Battalion of Macon, 1860—Secession—Macon Volunteers split into two companies for war—Charlie Benja rejoins his company in Virginia.

Roster of Original Members

List of Captains, 1825–1861

CHAPTER 15: THE FLOYD INFANTRY, 1836
Organizes in Savannah in 1836 for service in the Second Seminole War—Captain Benjamin B. Sturges writes to the War Department requesting active federal service in Florida—formally commissioned by the governor—after no response from the War Department the company resolves to go to Texas and join its fight for independence—War Department finally declines service of the company, which consequently disbands.

CHAPTER 16: THE CRAWFORD VOLUNTEERS AT BOYKIN’S FERRY, 1836
Crawford County created in 1822—lots in Knoxville, county seat, sold in 1824—county courthouse and most of its public records destroyed by fire, 1830—Hiram Warner—Samuel Hall—William M. Brown attacks Hiram Warner with a dirk, 1833—Crawford’s general militia companies—Thomas Jefferson Simmons—113th and 124th Battalions—52nd Regiment—1st Brigade of the 8th Division—Knoxville Independent Blues organize, 1826—Crawford Cavalry organizes, 1832—the Crawford Volunteers and the Crawford Cavalry in the Battle of Boykin’s Ferry during the Creek War of 1836—Captain William A. Carr’s version of the fight—public dinner results in toasts to Captain Carr—George Russell Hunter—William M. Brown responds in the growing controversy—Crawford County men split into opposing political camps over the issue—Brown organizes the Crawford Cavalry and is commissioned its captain—the Crawford County electorate elects Carr to the legislature—the county electorate next elects Brown to the legislature—Crawford Guards organize out of the Crawford Cavalry, 1837—Captain Absalom Carter Cleveland shot to death at Poindexter—the Hickory Grove Conspiracy, 1860—Secession—Crawford Volunteers and Crawford Grays organize for war.

CHAPTER 17: THE FORT GAINES GUARDS, 1836, 1860
Treaty of Ft. Jackson, 1814—Ft. Gaines constructed, 1816—Early County created, 1818—118th and 204th Battalions—88th Regiment—town of Fort Gaines incorporated, 1830—Fort Gaines Guards organized, 1836—Creek War of 1836—Brigadier General John Dill—Brigadier General Moses H. Alexander—General and Volunteer Militia of Early County collapses—Clay County created, 1854—Clay’s General Militia companies—Fort Gaines Guards revive, 1860—Captain James E. Brown—Secession—Colonel Richard Augustus Turnipseed—Captain William Alexander Tennille.

Historical Marker for the Fort Gaines Guards

Resolution by citizens of Clay County in response to the election of Lincoln and Hamlin, 1860

CHAPTER 18: THE SAVANNAH TRENTON RIFLEMEN, 1846
Upon receiving news of the outbreak of the Mexican War, the 1st Regiment in Savannah prepares for combat; local volunteer companies offer their services in the war—group of young men, principally Germans of Currietown, raise a mounted rifle corps for the fight—while CPT Jacob C. Fathers and his Savannah Trenton Riflemen await their commissions, the Irish Jasper Greens draw the lucky straw among the existing volunteer corps of Savannah—commissions for CPT Fathers and his subalterns issued the same day the Greens are chosen—reduced to a company without a mission, the Savannah Trenton Riflemen disband.

CHAPTER 19: THE DeKALB RIFLEMEN, 1850–1861
German-Americans organize in 1850—Christian and Jewish medals—presentation of a company standard, 1853—company enters the War Between the States wearing Prussian helmets—company splits in two for war.

The Elliott-Daniell Duel, 1857

CHAPTER 20: THE SAVANNAH GRAYS, 1851–1853
Independent Volunteer Battalion of Savannah created with seven companies, 1852—however, the law requires eight companies to redesignate the command as the Independent Volunteer Regiment of Georgia—Chatham Fusiliers organize in 1851 under the command of CPT William Edward Long Jr—company reorganizes in 1852 as the Savannah Rifle Company—company changes its name to the Savannah Grays, 1853—not admitted into the Independent Volunteer Battalion of Savannah and is disbanded.

CHAPTER 21: THE OGLETHORPE LIGHT INFANTRY, 1855–1861
Seven volunteer companies from Savannah form the Independent Volunteer Battalion of Georgia, but authorized to expand to a full regiment upon the addition of an eighth company—the battalion does not accept the Savannah Grays as the eighth company—Oglethorpe Light Infantry forms in September of 1855 as the eighth company, and the Independent Volunteer Battalion of Savannah becomes the Independent Volunteer Regiment of Savannah—selects the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans as its company anniversary date—description of uniform—detachment occupies Ft. Pulaski—second company of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry organizes for the war—Bartow dies at First Manassas as he and the Oglethorpe Light Infantry “illustrate Georgia.”

CHAPTER 22: THE ALBANY GUARDS, 1857–1861
The Cuyler Desert—outbreak of the First Seminole War, 1817—Baker County cut out of Early County, 1825—63rd Regiment—10th Division—Albany founded as a business venture at the head of the Flint River, 1836—Albany incorporated in 1838 as a market town—Dougherty County cut out of Baker County in 1853 and named for Charles Dougherty—Horace King constructs a toll bridge across the Flint River, 1857—Si Johnson serves in every war from the War of 1812 to the War Between the States—Albany eclipses Palmyra—213th Battalion created, 1841, and becomes Dougherty County’s battalion—hearing the news of the U.S. declaration of war against Mexico in 1846, Dr. Henry H. Meals leads efforts to organize a company of volunteers in Albany, but the initial enthusiasm wanes—citizens celebrate the news of the victory at Vera Cruz with a torch-light parade, and another call goes out for the formation of a company at Albany—2nd Brigade of the 13th Division—Albany Guards organize, 1857—David Alexander Vason—encampments at the Blue Spring—ghosts in the spring—Youel G. Rust—South-West Battalion of the State of Georgia created, 1860—Thronateeska Artillery and Dougherty Hussars, 1860—Georgia Legion, 1861—Gilbert J. Wright—Richard H. Clark—Secession.

Roster of the Albany Guards, 1859

Roster of the Albany Guards, 1860

CHAPTER 23: THE GATE CITY GUARD OF ATLANTA, 1859–1861
Fulton County organized, 1853—Atlanta Irish Volunteers, 1853—Gate City Guard, 1859—Atlanta Grays, 1859—City Light Guards, 1860—Fulton Dragoons, 1860—William L. Ezzard—Josephine Ella Hanleiter presents flag to the Gate City Guard—Cornelius Redding Hanleiter.

Original Muster Roll of the Gate City Guard, 1859

The Gate City Guard Charter, 1859

CHAPTER 24: THE CITY LIGHT GUARDS OF SAVANNAH, 1860–1861
Organizes in Robertsville in 1860 as a fantastical corps—their bizarre parade—Joseph Parker White—“Mister, Here’s Your Mule”—fantasticals become a debating society—reorganization as a military company—Samuel Yates Levy, duelist and poet—new uniforms, weapons, and colors—duty on Tybee Island—saving the heavy guns—war begins.

CHAPTER 25: THE FILIBUSTERS, LÓPEZ, WALKER, AND THE KNIGHTS OF
THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE, 1849–1860
The United States experiences expansionist fever—filibusters defy the Neutrality Act of 1818—Spanish authorities kidnap Juan Francisco Rey—Conspiracy of the Cuban Rose Mines, 1848—Narciso López escapes from Cuba and joins the Cuban revolutionaries in New York in 1849—López offers Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee command of the Cuban invasion forces—U.S. Navy breaks up the first López expedition, U.S. marshals arrest López —López and Ambrósio José Gonzáles organize second expedition, and regiments of volunteers form in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Louisiana—Josiah Tattnall attempts to stop the filibuster—López captures Cardenas, but the Spanish quickly defeat the invasion force—Lone Star flag of Cuban liberation—López and his filibusters flee to Key West—U.S. District Attorney Henry Rootes Jackson boards López’ ship and arrests him and his crew—López organizes his third expedition—López and Gonzáles visit Savannah to recruit more volunteers, and are raised in a lodge of Freemasons—López’ expedition lands near Bahia Honda and fights its way inland—news of the landing electrifies Savannah, Cuban flags fly over the city buildings, and the Chatham Artillery fires a 100-gun salute—Charles Philip Cooper—Allison Nelson resigns as mayor of Atlanta to join López—Lionel Lyde Goodwin, Jack S. Thrasher, and Thomas McNeil of Georgia— Ambrósio José Gonzáles and the Order of the Lone Star, form a quasi-Masonic society for the next invasion of Cuba—Divisions form in Georgia—Spanish capture López in the hills of Cuba and execute him with a garrote—William Walker’s expedition to Sonora fails—the Liberal political faction in Leon, Nicaragua, invites Walker’s filibuster against Grenada—Walker becomes “the Grey-Eyed Man of Destiny”—capture of Grenada, 1855—officials of the Accessory Transit Company draw Walker into a snare—Walker becomes president of Nicaragua—Costa Rica attacks, and Walker surrenders at Rivas to the U.S. Navy and returns to the United States—Walker leads a new filibuster to Nicaragua, 1856, and Charles Friedrich Henningsen joins him—Walker’s filibuster fails—Walker tries again in 1857, but the U.S. Navy arrests him and returns him to the United States—Henningsen recruits in Savannah, 1859—Walker tries again in 1860, is arrested by the British Navy and is surrendered to the Hondurans, who execute him at Trujillo—George W.L. Bickley organizes the Knights of the Golden Circle, 1859–1860—Bickley misses the assault, is expelled from the K.G.C., and reinstates himself—two regiments organize in Georgia for the next filibuster to Mexico—Kansas and Lincoln’s election bring the movement to a close—“The Daughter of Mendoza.”

CHAPTER 26: ANTE-BELLUM SISTER COMPANIES: THE BEAUFORT VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY, BEAUFORT DISTRICT TROOP, AND BEAUFORT VOLUNTEER GUARDS
“Tuscarora Jack” constructs Ft. King George on the Altamaha River, 1721—citizens of Beaufort assist in the settlement of Savannah, 1733—proposal to organize a volunteer company of artillery at Port Royal, 1758—Georgia troops join South Carolinians in the Snow Campaign, 1775—South Carolina troops join Georgians at the “Battle of the Rice Boats”—South Carolina troops join Georgians on the First Florida Expedition, 1776—South Carolina Continentals garrisoning Ft. McIntosh on the Satilla surrender to the British, 1777—South Carolina troops replace Georgians at Savannah, 1777, and again accompany Georgians on a Florida Expedition, 1778—combined forces of South Carolina and Georgia suffer defeats at Savannah, Sunbury, Brier Creek, and Charleston—St. Helena Volunteers organize, 1775—Beaufort Volunteer Artillery organizes as an independent company, 1775—Colonel Stephen Bull protests—Beaufort Volunteer Artillery arrives in Savannah at the critical moment, 1776—independent artillery companies at Beaufort and Georgetown placed on Continental establishment and regimented in the 4th Regiment South Carolina Continentals, 1776—Captain John Labouladrie DeTreville’s Continental artillery company at the Battle of Port Royal, 1779—Captain William Harden, first commander of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, captured in 1780, takes the oath of loyalty to the Crown, but returns to the Patriot ranks as a colonel—Tunis Tebout takes part in Clement Lemprière’s raid off the bar of St. Augustine, capturing a large quantity of gunpowder, 1775—John Joyner, John Barnwell Jr., and the Beaufort militia join with Joseph Habersham, Oliver Bowen, and their Georgia Grenadiers to capture the Philippa at Tybee Roads, a quantity of its powder being sent to Boston—artillery salute at Beaufort results in the destruction of the courthouse, 1786—Beaufort Arsenal constructed, 1796—Governor Joseph Alston orders court-martial of militiamen who refuse to muster in the face of a British naval threat, 1813—Judge Elihu Hall Bay rules that the South Carolina Militia Act of 1794 does not authorize the governor to enforce martial law against militiamen serving within the state—Governor Alston reacts to the reduction of the Militia Law to a “rope of sand” by countermanding all of his previous orders, thus disbanding the active militia in the face of the enemy off the coast—Beaufort Volunteer Artillery defends its harbor against British attack—Legislature amends the state Militia Law—Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Nash of Abbeville District commands the South Carolina regiment in Brigadier General Joseph Graham’s Brigade along the Georgia frontier against the Red Sticks, 1814—Captain Burke and his Beaufort Volunteer Artillery greet President James Monroe with an artillery salute, 1819—Captain Meyer Jacobs of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, 1820—Beaufort Volunteer Artillery greets Lafayette, 1825—Captain George Parsons Elliott (I)—Beaufort Volunteer Artillery battles a great Sea Serpent in a new Carolina sport—William H. Trescott advocates Secession at the annual Fourth of July celebration of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, 1850—Beaufort Volunteer Artillery rebuilds the Beaufort Arsenal at its own expense, 1852—Captain John G. Barnwell presides over the company banquets with a drum at his side—exchange of social visits with Savannah units—Captain Stephen Elliott Jr.—excitement grows as the company greets Captain Elliott upon his return from the Assembly, 1860—Silver Grays organize, 1860—Lone Star flag flies from the Beaufort Artillery Arsenal—crew of the clipper A.B. Thompson joins the company—federal forces capture Port Royal and occupy Beaufort—Captain Andrew Postell organizes the Pocotaligo Hunters, 1775—service during the Revolution—Captain James Elliott McPherson reorganizes the local cavalry as the Beaufort District Troop, 1794—Captain Henry McNish and his Beaufort District Troop at White Bluff in Georgia during the War of 1812—Captain William E. Martin and his troop entertain the Georgia Hussars, 1844—the troop carries Lafayette’s banner to Savannah, 1846—the troop hosts the Effingham Hussars, 1857—Captain John Henry Screven takes his troop into combat—detachment of the Beaufort Light Infantry at Savannah, 1776—company reorganizes as the Beaufort Volunteer Guards, 1824—Captain Middleton Stuart—Captain John Gibbes Barnwell (II)—Beaufort Volunteer Guards and Beaufort Volunteer Artillery merge, 1844—social customs and visits in a vanishing civilization.

Roster of the Beaufort District Troop During the War of 1812

Roster of the Beaufort District Troop, 1846

Roster of the Washington Light Infantry of Charleston, 1849

Roster of the Washington Artillery of Charleston, 1849

Roster of the Charleston Light Dragoons, 1857

Blessing of the Standard, Charleston, 1829

EPILOGUE
Relationship between the military and the political systems, and the interplay of each within the other—Mad Anthony Wayne politics at the German Company’s musterfield—armed with a sword, Georgia sheriffs procession their judges to court and symbolize their militant devotion to justice—General Twiggs leads a detachment of armed militiamen to Augusta to compel the rejection of the Yazoo Bill if not depose a corrupt governor, 1795—General Jackson threatens to court-martial General Gunn, General Glascock, and Lieutenant Colonel Watkins during the Yazoo debates—the Test Oath Act; Jackson requires state officers to swear loyalty to the state and federal Constitutions—the new state seal of Georgia, featuring an armed and uniformed tyler guarding the three pillars of government under the Constitutional arch—military veterans as political leaders of the state—Lieutenant Colonel John Mitchell Dooly court-martialed for being drunk on duty, but the court lets him off the hook—partisan politics; State Rights candidates (“Nullifiers”) oppose Unionists (“Submissionists”) for commissions and promotions in the Georgia Militia—danger of civilian political intervention in state militia affairs leading to the election, appointment, or promotion of incompetent officers—necessity of elections in the Georgia Militia to be held and certified by civil magistrates, and ultimate authority of the governor, the civilian commander-in-chief, assures ultimate civilian control over the military—election of general officers in the militia vested in the legislature until 1843, when such elections were turned over to the militiamen within the concerned commands—strength of a militia system based on universal military training; weakness of a system composed principally of mercenaries—value of encouraging leading citizens to become military commanders—physicians as combat arms commanders in the Georgia Militia—ministers of the Gospel—responsibility of the chief of state ever to be aware of and attentive to the current military situation for the safety and well-being of the citizenry—ante-bellum Georgia governors and their military experience—problem of what makes a good military follower and ultimately a successful leader, especially in a peacetime environment—General Bob Toombs—danger of reliance on sheer statistics in the military—problem of changing meanings of words and changing of cultures; necessity to enter the spirit of the time and place—Isaiah’s warning.

INDEX