Georgia : land of our delight

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GEORGIA:
Land of OUf Delight
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While Georgia was the youngest of the original 13 states. her rich and varied history goes back thousands of years.
For untold centuries. the sprawling land of red hills and sandy plains was inhabited by a colorful tapestry of Indian nations who left their mute testimony in the mounds of Ocmulgee and Etowah. their painstakin~ inscriptions on mountain rocks and a litany of legends passed down through the a~es,
The Creeks and Appalachicolas. Cherokee and Yamassee had deep rooted cultures when the first Spanish explorers pushed northward from Florida in the 16th century. Hard on the heels of these helmeted adventurers came pious Spanish friars who established a chain of dusty missions along the coast. which they called Guale.
But the Spanish lacked the settlers and traders to bolster their fra~ile missions and scattered forts. and when the industrious English moved into the Carolinas to challenge Madrid's New world claims. the Spanish retreated to Florida.
Georgia was a "debatable land" then. a vast. uncharted. bloody wed~e between the En~lish settlement of Charles Town and the mossdraped Spanish citadel at St. Au~ustine. The land cried out for colonists. cultivation and peace. The man who brought all three was James Edward Oglethorpe.

HISTORY
The youngest son of a minor aristocrat. Oglethorpe had led a committee of Parliament studyin~ the pli~ht of English debtors in 1729. HOrrified by what he saw and anxious to help these unfortunates to a new life. O~lethorpe assembled a ~roup of ministers. politicians and businessmen and applied for a royal charter to set up a new American colony. The charter was granted in 1732. The colony would he named for King George II.
On February 12. 1733. oglethorpe led J 14 weary people up the steep slope of Yamacraw Bluff to found the town of Savannah. Georgia had be~un.
It was not a debtor colony which started stretching up the river and sowh along the coast. Although there were a few debtors. most of the new settlers were respectable and financially solvent. Philanthrophy played a minor part. Georgia was to be a military buffer zone a~ainst the Spanish and a storehouse of raw materials for her mother country,
As Oglethorpe rushed about layin~ out towns and villa~es. forts and roads. his colony took on an international flavor as immi~rants flooded in. There were fierce. hardy Highland Scots at Darien. industrious German Lutherans at Ebenezer. and Moravians. Jews and Irish intermingled with the English settlers.
Besides learning to build and scratch a liVing from the land. the colonists also had to learn to fight. and their military mettle was tested severely during the War of Jenkins' Ear from 1739 to 1742, Oglethorpe conducted an illfated invasion of Spanish Florida. which fell apart before St. Augustine. but held off the angry Spanish in the Battle of Bloody Marsh on St. Simons Island near Ft. Frederica.

HISTORY

Yet, while the Georgians successfully defended themselves against the Spanish, the colony was crumbling from within. The Utopian schemes of the 21 Trustees in London could not work on the grim colonial frontier. The settlers were infuriated over a ban on rum and slaves and resented the feudal land ownership policies. in June 1752, unable to handle their problems abroad, the Trustees surrendered their charter to the King and Georgia became a Royal Colony

Over the next two decades, Georgia slowly grew and prospered under three royal governors who exercised almost dictatorial powers over the colony. John Reynolds (1754-1757) was a displaced naval officer who left in disgrace when his government collapsed in corruption. Henry Ellis (1757-1760) was an amateur scientist who enjoyed politics but abhorred Savannah's hot summers. James Wright (1760-1776) was the last and the brightest of the governors. An able

Button Gwinnell

Grear Seal (reverse)
1861-72

were black slaves brought in for the backbreaking labor of rice and indigo cultivation. Trade was mainly with England and the West Indian colonies. Savannah was an importexport center, while Augusta was a crossroads for the Indian trade.
Transportation in these early days was grueling and dangerous. A crude network of rutted roads connected the main towns but most goods and passengers traveled by pole boats, rafts or canoes. With few doctors. life was hazardous at best and clisease, poverty and Indian raids took a heavy toll. In the larger towns. life, though not luxurious, was at least safer.
By the 1770S. Georgia was able to hold her head up among her sister colonies, just in time to watch the storm clouds of revolution sweeping over the horizon. The Stamp Act of 1765 had been the burr under the colonial saddle. a warning of what England could and would do if she were strapped for tax revenue. When the hated act was repealed. the colonists had only a short breather before new taxes rolled down from Parliament-duties on sugar and cloth. lead and tea, and a dozen other necessities.

Trustee's Seal (reverse) 1732

administrator and politician, he brought thecolonyoutoftheeconomicdoldrums but onto the road to revolution. He would hold the office, broken only by a brief wartime flight, longer than any man before or since.
Georgia was an agricultural colony in those days, with rice and indigo plantations sprawling along her broad lazy rivers and down the marshy coast line. Ships leaving her ports of Savannah and Sunbury also groaned under the heavy loads of corn, tobacco. lumber, naval stores and Silk. By the time of the Revolution, nearly half of her population

HISTORY ..,.

been ,set up in 1776 with Archibald Bulloch as President and. by 1777, a constitution was approved, Georgia's parishes, a British creation, were abolished and counties were drawn. Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall and George Walton proclaimed Georgia's intentions when they signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. In May 1777, the first legislature met and elected John Adam Treutlen as governor.
In the meantime. Georgia Patriots. spurred on by the victory at Kettle Creek and aid from France. laid siege to Savannah in October 1779. Polish Count Pulaski and French troops under Count d'Estaing joined the Patriots,

only to be defeated. Casualties were high and Pulaski was dead. The British moved northward, taking Augusta in June 1780 and leaVing the town garrisoned by Tory Colonel Thomas Brown. a man bitter with the memory of Patriot tar and feathers. In September, Elijah Clarke and 300 Patriots attempted to retake Augusta in a bloody. four day battle. The victorious Colonel Brown vented his anger by hanging 13 Patriot prisoners. Augusta's liberation came in June 1781, when General "Lighthorse Harry" Lee led his men to victory in a battle known as the second Siege of Augusta. War had come late and victories were few, but, in the end, on July I I. 1782, Savannah surrendered

JAMES EDWARD OGLETHORPE (16961785)
(!>hOUHl on cOl'cr)

James Edward Oglethorpe was the founder of Georgia. the 13th British Colony in America. Born in London of a wealthy and fitled Jacobite family. he received his education at Eaton and Corpus Christi College (Oxford University). Oglethorpe was elected to Parliament and served a lotal of 32 years. most of which transpired after his return from Georgia. ShOWing an early concern for the plight of the poor and oppressed people bf England. Oglethorpe's interest in Americ'a was aroused while chairing a Parliamentary committee on the condition of the English jails. He. along with the Earl of Egmont and others. was instrumental in securing a charter for the colony in June of t732. The popularity of the project resulted in imperial, commercial and religious motivations overcoming the early dehtorprovince idea.
After obtaining a grant from Parliament (10 which he added a considerable sum). oglethorpe and some one hundred colonists set sail, These colonists, for the most parI. were

members of the lower middle class (such as laborers and shopkeepers). with a sprinkling from the classes both above and below.
In February 1733. the party landed on the banks of the savannah River near the village of Yamacraw. a selliement of the Creek nation. Oglethorpe'S dealings with the Indians were consistently fair. After concluding a treaty with Chief Tomochichi, oglethorpe laid plans for the lown of Savannah. His layout is regarded as a superb example of urban planning.
During the War of Jenkins' Ear. oglethorpe led the defense of Georgia againsl an invasion by the Spanish. Victory was achieved in July 1742. thereby ending Spain's lasI serious allempt to recapture her old mission province.
oglelhorpe returned to England in 1743. married. and joined the Hanoverian party. He served in the English army as a MajorGeneral. Toward the end of his long life. he sellled down to a life of good books and good company. including visits with John Adams. the first American ambassador to Britain.

Trustee's Seal 1732
to the Patriots and the war in Georgia was over. The Georgia General Assembly convened again in Savannah and in 1783 elected Lyman Hall as governor.
Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the federal constitution in 1788. with all delegates, led by Abraham Baldwin and William Few. voting in favor. Few, along with James Gunn. was elected to the United States Senate. The DemocraticRepublican Party. reflecting the principles of states' rights and Jeffersonian Democracy. became the party of the majority of Georgians.

HISTORY

After two revisions. the Georgia Constitution of 1777 was discarded in 1798 and a new document emerged that lasted until 1861. The location of the state capital was equally lested as it moved to Augusta in 1786. to Louisville in 1795. and finally to Milledgeville in 1807. where it remained until after the Civil War.
AS Georgia recovered from the war. cotton production increased. aided by the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 by Eli Whitney of Georgia. and cotton soon became "King Cotton:' replacing rice as the major crop. But Georgia also produced corn. tobacco. sugar cane and naval stores. Agriculture was the soul of Georgia'S economy and planters grew increasingly dependent on slave labor. AS new settlers came. the

Indians moved westward. and Augusta welcomed industry to replace the Indian trade. Savannah remained the port city. while the old coastal. colonial towns of Sunbury and Ebenezer ceased to exist. For two decades the steamboat was king of commerce on Georgia's rivers but by 1840 it had been replaced by railroads. The last stake in the Western and Atlantic Railroad became a new city. Terminus. which was destined to become Georgia's capital city. Atlanta. Georgia's new industries brought prosperity to some. but for workers. conditions were unpleasant and salaries rarely generous. In 1842 Doctor Crawford W. Long opened an entirely new area in medical technology when he discovered ether could be used as a surgical anesthesia.
Georgia's frontier grew smaller in the early 19th century. Permanent

qUickly as it had grown. Investigations exposed corruption as high as the United States Senate. and the Federal Government. in an 1802 treaty. took control of these lands. establishing Georgia'S borders as they are today.
Gold fever and westward expansion forced the Indians out of their lands in western Georgia. The Creek removal. known as the "Trail of Tears." began in 1825 with the Treaty of Indian Springs. Signed only by Creek Chief William Mcintosh. the treaty was declared invalid and MCintosh was murdered by Creeks who opposed the treaty. But a treaty of 1827 was upheld and the Creeks. having ceded their Georgia lands, pushed westward. As the Creeks were beginning their trek. the Cherokees were establishing a capital

Flag of France 1500-1700

FlrSI Official Siale Flag 1799-1879

Slars and Siripes 1777-1794

boundaries resulted from the Yazoo Land Fraud. Georgia claimed land as far west as the Mississippi River and. in 1795. this land was granted to land companies. The next year a new legislature rescinded the contracts and the Yazoo bubble collapsed as

HISTORY

1862. One year later. 1800 Federals surrendered at Rome. But the tide was turning. Federals took Tybee Island in December 1861 and Ft. Pulaski fell to the orth four months later. The Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 gave the Rebels a taste of victory. but it soon grew bitter. The final blow came early in t864. General William T. Sherman marched down from Tennessee. fighting the Rebels on a bloody path to Atlanta that included Resaca. Kennesaw Mountain. New Hope Church and Pickett's Mill. The Confederate troops. led by General J. B. Hood. were outnumbered and their strategy proved ineffective. Sherman's forces took Atlanta on September 2. burned the city on November 15. and began the March to the Sea. taking Savannah late in December. On May 10. 1865. Jefferson Davis. President of the Confederacy. was captured near Irwinville. Georgia. and the war in Georgia was ended.
The war left Georgia debtridden and devastated. her fields and forests battlescarred. slaves gone and factories gutted. The railroad networks were in shreds. Confederate currency was worthless and investments in Confederate bonds and slaves were a total loss.

Reconstruction began in July 1865. and while a new constitution established several social reforms. the government incurred the wrath of congress and military rule was extended to Georgia in 1867. The 14th Amendment was ratified by Georgia on July 21. 1868. and Georgia's Congressmen were immediately seated. Then. in September. the State Legislature expelled its 27 Negro members. After only one month of restitution. Georgia Congressmen were unseated and military rule was again extended. The results were Republican legislature and the ratification of the 15th Amendment. On July 15. 1870. Georgia was readmitted to the Union. The Democrats took over and gained a majority in the Legislature in 1870. A new constitution was ratified in 1878.
Mid-19th Century Georgia provided a setting for literary works by Georgia authors. Joel Chandler Harris wrote his "Uncle Remus" tales. while Sidney Lanier wrote prose and poetry describing a Georgia that was disappearing as he wrote.
For the first time in Georgia's history. barons of industry and big business took the reins of political leadership from the farmers in 1872. Known as the "Bourborn Triumvirate." Joseph E. Brown. Alfred H. Colquitt and John B. Gordon ruled the Democrats until 1890. aided by newspaper editor Henry W. Grady. The populist wave hit in the 1880s ancl. led by Tom Watson. rallied the rural Democrats against the "Triumvirate." The people's party elected Tom Watson to Congress. Then. faced with Watson's defeat as a presidential and vicepresidential candidate and unable to gain a majority in the state legislature. the populists merged with the Democrats after 1890. The rural conservatives gained control and Tom Watson was elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat in 1920.

With emancipation. sharecropping replaced slave labor. breaking up large plantations into small farms in the process. Low cotton prices led to cliversifiecl agriculture and the birth of new industries. This was the heyday of naval stores. inspired by the improved "Herty cup" for collecting resin for turpentine developed by Charles Herty of Georgia. The Georgia pine forests had harely been tapped but soon the Georgia pine was regarded as a valuable resource for lumber. pulp and naval stores inclustries that were bringing economic recovery to Georgia. By the 1880s. the railroads were again at full strength and the signs of war devastation were slowly disappearing.
Stainless Banner with Red Band 1865

HISTORY
~

Since 1870. there have been no successful challen~esto the Democrats' political control. T-he Neill act of t917 created the County Unit System. givin~ rural counties the power to determine the winners of the primary election. AS a result. victory in the Democratic primary was tantamount to election. The County Unit System did not provide adequate representation for growin~ urban areas. and was struck down by the Federal Courts in \962
Linder Governor Ellis Arnall. a new constitution was written in \945. the votin~ a~e was lowered to 18. and the poll tax was abolished.
In the 20th century. Georgia agriculture became "bi~ business." brin~in~ sharecropping to an end around 1940. Cotton no longer rules the market. Today's products are soybeans. corn. peanuts. tobacco and poultry. The lumber and textile industries have continued to grow and new industries such as mobile homes. aircraft. automobiles have moved in. The C5 Transport Plane was conceived and constructed at Georgia's Lockheed Marietta Plant. Tourism. especially along Geor~ia's lon~ coast and on the Sea Islands, is a fastgrowing industry.

Many 20th century Georgians have made outstanding contributions to United States cultural history. Martha Berry founded the Berry Schools to educate the rural mountain children. In 1912 at Savannah, Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girls Scouts of America. Georgia authors are known worldwide and include: Erskine Caldwell, Tohacco Road and God's Little Acre; Carson McCullers, The Heart is a LoneJu Hunter; Margaret Mitchell, Gone With The Wind; and Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, Georgia Scenes. Industriaiists Asa

Candler and Robert Woodruff built the CocaCola empire from a formula originated by John S. Pemberton, and Georgian Rebecca Felton was the first woman to serve in the United States Senate.
Many 20th century Georgians made such significant contributions in their lifetime that the mere mention of their names, Walter F. George, Richard B. Russell. Carl Vinson, Cason Calloway, Martin Luther King, Jr" can spark hours of conversation.
Georgia's heritage is a blend ofcultures vastly different but equally valuable. These cultures are rich with the history of their European, African and native Indian ancestry and all have made notable contributions to the social. political and economic history of this state. Georgia, the youngest and weakest of the 13 colonies. has overcome the disadvantages experienced as a colony because of the fortitude of the people of these cultures in the 200 years since 1776. Today, her people of her land, from mountains to the sea isles to the southern pinelands. offer the promise of progress and the best of tradition.

1879 Flag 1879-1905

Flag 1956-Present

April

1764 Sugar Act passed

1765

March

Stamp Act passed.

November 5 Stamp master hanged in

effigy by citizens of Savannah.

November 6 Earliest mention of a Sons of

Liberty meeting.

December 5 Slamps brought to Georgia on

the H.M.S. Speedwell.

1766

February 2 Governor James Wright senl

stamps away on the

H.M.S. Speedwell.

February 22 Parliament repealed stamp

Act.

July t6

Word of repeal of Stamp Act

reached Georgia. The General

Assembly convened and

passed a Resolution of

Thanks.

January OCtober

1767 Geor~ia Assembly refused to provide barracks for British forces who were to be housed
under the Quartering Act. Townshend Act passed.

1768

April 5

Benjamin Franklin appointed

as agent to represent Georgia

along with pennsylvania in

Britain.

December 24 Governor Wright dissolved the

Geor~ia Assembiy when they

presented circulars opposing

the Townshend duties.

1769

January

Georgia Assembly exempted

four southern parishes from

faxes because they had no

representation as they were

not officially a part of the

Georgia colony.

September 6 A leller in the Georgia Gazette

announced that "H we are no

longer to be allowed the rights

of Britons we must be

Americans."

September 16 Some Savannah merchants

agreed not to import British

goods taxed under the

Townshend Act.

April May

1770 The Townshend Acts were repealed except for the duty on tea. South Carolina voted to cut orr trade with Georgia for nOl abiding by nonimportation agreements.

A CHRONOLOGY OF THE REVOLUTION IN GEORGIA

April 24 July 10

1771 Governor James ''''right refused to let Noble Wimberly Jones serve as speaker of the Commons House, and when the House objecled he dissolved the General Assembly. Wright went on leave 10 England. James Habersham became Acting Governor of the colony of Georgia.

April 21

1772 ACting Governor James Habersham disapproved Noble Wimberly Jones as speaker on two occasions. He was elected a third time but declined to serve. Acting Governor Habersham learned of this and dissolved the General Assembly.

February June I

1773 Governor Wright, now Sir James Wright, returned to Georgia and resumed his duties as Governor. Treaty of Augusta signed with the Cherokees and the Creeks. Governor Sir James Wright acquired for Georgia the ceded lands which is that area that became the original Wilkes County in 1777.

1774

June B

Intolerable AclS passed.

July 27

Patriots met al Tondee's

Tavern in Savannah to

consider the critical situation

caused by the Intolerable Acts.

August 10

Geor~ians met and resolved

10 obtain redress of

grievances but did not send

delegates to the First

Continental Con~ress.

September';:; First Conlinenlal Con~ress

mel in Philadelphia.

December 6 51. John's parish lT1eetin~ at

Midway agreed to Continental

Association actions.

1775

January 12 A resolution in support of the

Continenla) Association was

adopled al 51. Andrews parish.

January 18

The Provincial Con~ress of

Geor~ia mel in Savannah 10

elect delegates to the second

Continental Congress.

February 15 Savannah residents larred

and fealhered a British

revenue a~cnl.

May 10

Second Cominenlal Congress

mel.

l':ews of Lexin~lon and

Concord reached Geor~ia.

May II

Colonial powder magazine in

Savannah seized. Legend has

il that some of this pow(1er

was laler usec( at Hattie of

Bunker Hill.

May 13

Lyrnan Hall se~llefl at

Continental congress. He die!

not vole since he only

rcpresentcd one parish.

SainI John's.

May 17

Second Continental Congress

stoppe<! trade with Georgia

except Saint John'S parish

hecause of inaction in

agreeing with nonilnportalion

measures.

June 2

Patriots spiked 21 cannons

being prepared to fire a salute

at the King's birthday.

June 5

Liberty pole erected in

Savannah near Tondee's

Tavern.

June 22

Council of Safety organized at

Tondee's Tavern in Savannah,

William Ewen elected

president.

July 4-17

Second Provincial Congress

met.

July 6

Provincial Congress declared

Georgia on an equal footing

with the Continental

Associalion.

July 7

John Houston. Archibald

Bulloch. Dr. John J. Zubly.

Noble Wimberly Jones and

Lyman Hall were elected to

the Continental Congress

from Georgia.

July 10

Provincial Congress

announced that "a civil war in

America had begun."

Georgia and Soulh Carolina

palriofs seized Brilish powder

ship.

July 24

John Hopkins objected

verbally to Iiberly pole

meetings and was tarred and

feathered in Savannah.

AugUSt 2

Augusta Sons of Liberty

tarred and feathered

Thomas Brown,

August

Revolutionists seized militia

organizations, custom house

and took conllol of Port of

Savannah and the courts'

or justice.

August 28

James Habersham died.

September 16 Governor Wright states royal

government no longer in

aUlhority in Georgia.

September 17 Brilish vessel seized with 250

barrels of powder.

November 4 A ballalion of Continental

Iroops were authorized by

Conlinental congress.

Lachlan Mctntosh. Colonel

Samuel Elbert. Lt. Colonel

Joseph Habersham were to

be the officers.

November 25 Geor~ia has 18 inches of snow,

1776

January 2

Two British warships and a

trOOP transport anchored off

Tybee Island.

January 6

New Liberty pole erected in

Johnson Square in Savannah.

January 18 Council of Safety ordered

Governor Wright arrested

Provincial Congress and

Council of Safety were made

permanent.

February 2 Geor!'1e Walton and Button

Gwinnetl elected to

Conlinental Con!'1ress to

replace Dr. John J. Zubly and

Noble wimberly Jones.

February II Governor James Wri!'1ht broke

his parole and fled to British

ships anchored off Tybee

Island. Captain John Baker

attacked fort on St. Mary's

River but was repulsed.

March 2-3

Battle of the Rice Boats when

Ihe British tried 10 replenish

supplies. Royal!'1overnment

fled and left patriots in control.

March 8

Third Provincial Con~ress

moved to Augusta.

April IS

The Rules and Re!'1ulations of

1776 were adopted by the

Provincial Con~ress. (This was

the first temporary State

constitution.)

May I

Archibald Bulloch took office

as President and

CommanderinChief of the

new government in Georgia.

June 12

Provincial Congress stated

Ihatjustice should be run in the

name of the province instead

of in the name of the KinR

July 4

Declaration of Independence

adopled. Si!'1ners from

Georgia were Lyman Hall,

Button Gwinnett and Geor!'1e

July 22

""alton. Captain Thomas Dooley killed

by British allied Indians on the

OConee River.

AU!'1ust 10

Declaration of tndependence

read on Johnson Square in

Savannah by President

Archibald Bulloch.

OCtober S

First Constitutional

Convention of Georgia met in

savannah.

December George Walton became

president of Council of Safety

replacing \.yilliam Ewen.

1777 January 22 Archibald Bulloch became
presidenl of Council of safety replacin!'1 George Walton. February 5 First Constitution of Georgia promul!'1ated. Parishes renamed counties with most of them named for supporters of the colonies in Parliament.

February 17 February 22 March April
May 8 May 16 May 20 June OCtober 10

Florida Rangers and British regulars attack Fort Mcintosh on the SatilJa River. Archibald Bulloch died. Button Gwinneu made President and CommanderinChief of Georgia. Georgia's navy consisted of five !'1alleys. eight row !'1alleys and two sloops. Oliver Bowen was Commodore. Scopholltes (backwoodsmenl wandered across Georgia from South Carolina to Florida plundering and destroying as they went. John Adam Treutlen elecled Governor under new constitution. Button Gwinnett's Florida invasion failed. Gwinnett-Mclntosh duel fought. Button Gwinnett died three days laler. Treaty of DeWitts Corner ended Cherokee War a!'1ainst Whigs. Land Act resumed grants awarded under the headri!'1ht system of land allocation.
General Lachlan MCI';tosh lefl Georgia and Colonel Samuel Elbert assumed command of the Georgia Brigade and was promoted to the rank of General.

1778

January 10 John HoustOun elected

Governor of Geor!'1ia by the

General Assembly.

February 26 Articles of Confederation

adopled by General

Assembly of Geor!'1ia.

March I

Many Loyalist Georgians

declared gUilty of treason and

and their property was

ordered confiscated.

April 19

General Elbert made a

successful raid on British

shipping at Fort Frederica.

capturing three British vessels.

May 8

Noble Wimberly Jones

appointed Speaker of the

House.

July 24

Edward Telfair and Edward

Langworthy sign Articles of

Confederation.

AU!'1ust

British influenced Creek

Indians to kill twenly patriots

in Wilkes County.

September General Benjamin Lincoln

appointed Commander of the

Southern Department

(American) succeeding

General Robert Howe.

OCtober-

British regulars. Indians and

November SCopholiles invade Georgia

from Florida.

November 20 British burned Midway Church.

November 24 Skirmish at Bulltown Swamp.

November 25 General James SCreven died of wounds suffered in fighting at Midway Church. Lt. Colonel Mark Prevosl burned the Midway Meeting House.
December I Lt. Colonel L. V. Fuser demanded surrender of Fort Morris at Sunbury. Colonel John Mcintosh answered. "Come and lake it."
December 23 British forces arrived off Tybee Island.
December 29 British capture savannah with aid of Quamino Dolly who led them around General Robert Howe'S defenses.

1779

January 2

Ebenezer captured by British

Lieutenant Colonel Archibald

Campbell.

January 4

British officers invite

Geor!'1ians to take loyalty oath

to King.

January 7

The harrassed assembly

chose a provisional

committee with William

Glascock as president.

January 9

Fort Morris commanded by

Major Joseph Lane was

captured by British Colonel

Augustine Prevost.

January II

British offered a reward for

any patriotS brought in and

turned over to the military.

January 25 Skirmish at Burke County Jail.

January 31

British Lieutenant Colonel

Archibald Campbell caplured

Augusta.

February 11 Skirmish at Carr'S Fort.

February 14 Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell

moved out of Au~usta to

Hudson's Ferry. Colonel Elijah

Clarke (patriot) defeals Tories

at Battle of Kettle Creek in

Wilkes County.

March I

British move to Freeman-

Miller Bridge.

March 1-3

The British under Lt. col.

James Mark Prevost trap and

defeat 2.300 Americans under

General John Ash at the

confluence of Briar Creek and

the savannah River.

March 4

British civil government

restored in Geor~ia.

March 15

British set up a board to

punish patriots and confiscate

their property.

June 28

Skirmish at Hickory Hill

Plantalion on the O!'1eechee

River.

July 14

Sir James Wright returned to

Georgia as Royal Governor.

July 24

State Assembly meets in

AU!'1uSla and appoints

Supreme Executive Council.

September 3 General Benjamin Lincoln

with American TrOOpS and

Count d'Estaing arrive to

besie!'1e savannah with 22

vessels and 4.()(X) men.

A- CHRONOLOGY OF THE REVOLUTION IN GEORGIA

september 23 Entrenchin!'! operallons

begun around savannah.

OCiober4

Bombardment of savannah

begins by Americans and

French.

OCtober 9

Ametlcans and French

anemplto storm savannah

but were turned away by

Slrong BtIllsh forces.

OCtober 18 French and Americans

abandon works around

savannah.

1780

January 4

Richard Howley appointed

Governor.

January 23 washington In Wilkes COunty

was proVIded for as a flnal

raHylng point for pattlots In

case of dire emergencies.

February 3 Heard's Fon in Wilkes County

declared the temporary

capllal of GeorgIa.

May 8

captain John BUbo kJUed In

skirmish at Cherokee Hili near

savannah.

May 12

General Sir Henry ClInton

captured CharlesiOn and

American tmops under

General LIncoln

May

Smallpox epldemiC In

savannah.

June

Btltlsh reoccupied Augusta

July I

Royal assembly passed a law

dlsqualifyln!'! 151 pattlots by

name and others by

descriptiOn.

August

Colonel John DooIy was

murdered by a band 01 Tories.

5eptember Elijah Oarke unsuccessfully

14-18

attacked the BtIlish In

Augusta. Lt. Col. Thomas

Brown. a Tory. has 13

wounded pttsoners hanged al

the Mackay House In Augusta.

OCtober

1.1. Col. Thomas Brown sent

raiding partiesout that burned

over 100 patttot plantallons

and senlements.

March April 10 April 14 May 21
May 28-31 Junes August 18

1781 ArtICles of Confederalion adopted. COiOnel Isaac Shelby (patriot) raided up-country Georgia and klUed 40 Loyalists. H.M.S. Btltanla captured and later burned at the mouth of the ogeechee. PatriOlS led by General Andrew PIckens. Colonel ElIJah Clarke. Ueutenant COlonel Richard Henry and "ught Horse Harry" Lee laid siege to Augusta. Mayham lower erected In
AuRI.sta to shell Fort cornwallis. Fort cornwallis and Augusta fell to anackln~ Americans. Nathan Brownson elected Governor by reestablished slate government

t782

January 2

Patrlol government met in

Augusta and elected John

Marlin governor.

General Anthony Wayne lOOk

command of IrOOPsIn Georgla.

February 13 Skirmish at Cuthbertssawmill.

February-

General Andrew Pickens and

March

Colonel Elijah Clarke defeal

Cherokees at Long Swamp

creek.

April I

Sir GUy carleton replaced

Clinton as British COmmander

of Georgta.

May 4

General Assembly set up

means of conflscallng Tory

property.

June 24

Creek Indians. under

Gultsterslgo. anacked General

wayne seven miles from

savannah but were repulsed.

July II

Btltlsh surrender savannah.

General Wayne aUowed

LI. Col. James Jackson to take

possession.

July 12-25 Btltlsh and some Tories

saUed from savannah.

July 13

General Assembly

reconvened In savannah.

Au!'!ust

COurts reestablished under

control of patriOlS.

1783

January

Lyman Hall elected Governor.

January 30 First Independent newspaper.

(".au".. o/t/1(> Stotf' 01 Gt'OIglo

pltnted In GeorgIa.

February- Tory'S land seIZed and sold

March

at public aucllon.

February 22 Governor Hall prohibited Ihe

exportation of foodstuffs so as

to have enough to feed the

COntinental Troops.

Apltl 18

Governor Hall proclaimed

that reports of a peace had

reached him and the General

Assembly should meet.

May t

Restraints on tlade removed

by lhe Stale.

June

General Anlhony Wayne and

Conlinental troops leave

GeorgIa.

5eptember3 United Stales and Great

Btllaln sign Treaty of palts.

January

1784 John Houstoun became Governor. GeoIJiIla passed a tattff law that Includeddutleson foreign goods and matetlal fromother stales.

1785

January

samuel Elbert becomes

Governor. GeorgIa passed a

naturalizatiOn law.

January 27 University of GeolJilla

chartered in Athens. GeoIJiIla

organiZed Bourbon COunty on

the MissiSSippi River.

January June 19

1786 Edward Telfair becomes Governor. Augusta made the lemporary capllal of GeolJilla. General Nathaniel Greene died at Mulberry Grove. Marauding slaves loosed by lhe Revolution were anacked In their savannah River bonom stronghold and defeated.

January

1787 George Mathews elected Governor. Tugaloo River set up as Ihe upper boundary between GeorgIa and SOuth Carolina. William Few and Abraham Baldwin signed the t 'nlted StateS conslltullon.

January January 2

1788 oeorge Handley becomes
Governor.
GeoIJiIla becomes the fourth
Slate to rallty the new I'nlled
States consIItullon.

January May

1789 oeorge Walton becomes Governor. GeoIJiIla's government begins operatiOnS in accordance with the Federal COnstitution State COnsitutiOnal Convenllon met In AuRusla to form a constitution for lhe State of Georgia.

OCtober 18

1790 Dr. Lyman Hall. signer ot Ihe
Declarallon of Independence. died.

May 16

1791 George washington he!'!an tour of Stale of Georgta.

1799 December 15 General Elijah Clarke died.

February 2

1804 GeorI'!e Walton. siROer of the
Declaration of Independence. died.

March 19

1825 General Lafayelle landed in
savannah for a lOUr of Geor~la.

1 2 3 4

GEORGIA: STATE PARKS AND HISTORIC SITES

STATE PARKS
I. Amicalola Falls 2. Black Rock Mountain 3. Bobby Brown 4. C10udland 5. Crooked River 6. Elijah Clark 7. Fort Mountain 8. FortYargo 9. Franklin D. Roosevelt 10. General Coffee II. Georgia Veterans Memorial 12. Hamburg 13. Harel LaborCreek 14. High Falls 15. Indian Springs 16 John Tanner 17. Kolomoki Mounds 18. Laura S. Walker 19. Little OCmulgee 20. Magnolia Spring 21. Missletoe 22. Moccasin Creek 23 Red TOP Mountain 24. Reed Bingham 25. Richmond Hill 26. Seminole 27. Stephen C. Foster 28. Tugaloo 29. Victoria Brya n t 30. vogel 31. Nancy Hart Park 32. Unicoi 33. watson's Mill 34. Gordonia Altamaha 35. Skidaway Island
DAY USE PARKS
36. Chattooga Lakes 37. panola Mountain 38. Providence Canyon 39. Santa Maria


C2 01 E3 A2 GIO F4 B2 03 B6 E8 C7 E5 04 C5 C5 A4 B8 F9 E7 G5 F4 D2 B3 09 H8 BIO FlO E2 E3 C2 E3 C2 E3 F7 H8

A2 C4 B7 GIO

HISTORIC SITES I. A. H.Stephens Museum


E4

2. ChiefVann House

B2

3. Dahlonega Gold Museum

C2

4. Etowah Mounds

B3

5. Fort at Sunbury(Fl. Morris)

H8

6. Fort King George

H8

7. Fort McAllister

H7

8. Lapham Patterson House

cia

9. Midway Museum

G8

10. New Echota

B2

II. Traveler's Rest

02

12. Ebenezer

H6

13. Fort Frederica National Monument H9

14. Chickamauga anel Chattanooga

National Military Park

A2

15. Kennesaw Mountain National

Battlefield Park

B3

16. Stone Mountain Memorial State Park C4

17. The Little While House

B5

18. Ocmulgee National Monument

06

19. Agrirama

D8

20. Cumberlanel Islanei National

Seashore

H9

21. Andersonville National cemetery C7

22. State Capitol

B4

23. Governor's Mansion

B4

24. Jekyllisianel

G9

25. Jarrell Plantation

C5

26. Fort Pulaski National Monumenl

H7

WELCOME CENTERS
I. Atlanta 2 Augusta 3. Columbus 4. Kingsland 5. Lavonia 6. Ringgold 7. Savannah 8. Sylvania 9. valdosta

B4
F4 A6 GIO 02 A2 H7 G6 010

f?AST GOVERNORS AND CAPITALS

I .~ ~\IJ II IT
~E i ",-~ -~-,_-: ~J:':-~ :-d~ ~ ..

Savannah

Milledgeville

NAME

TERM

James Edward oglethorpe. Residenl Trustee ............................ Feb. 12. 1733-1743

William Stephens. President ................................................. July II. 1743-1751

Henry Parker. President

Apr. 8. 1751-1752

Patrick Graham. President

OCt. 31. 1752-1754

(He lurned the government over to Royal Gov. Reynolds and became

a member of the Council-Colonial Records.)

John Reynolds

OCt. 31. 1754-1757

Henry Ellis ................................................................. Feb. 16. 1757-1760

James Wright ................................................................ OCt. 31.1760-1776

Archibald Bulloch. Pres. of Council or safety

Jan. 22. 1776- 1777

Bullon Gwinnett. Pres. of Council of Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. Mar. 4. 1777- 1777

John Adam Treutlen ........................................................ May 8. 1777-1778

John Houstoun ............................................................. Jan. 10. 1778-1779

John Wereat. Pres. of Ex. Council

Aug.6. 1779-1780

George Walton................................................................. Nov. 1779- 1780

Richard Howley

Jan. 4. 1780-Feb. 18. 1780. elected 10 congress

Stephen Heard. Pres. of Ex. Council ......................................... Feb. 18. 1780-1781

Nathan Brownson

Aug. 18. 1781-1782

John Martin

Jan. 3. 1782-1783

Lyman Hall ............................................................. Jan. 8. 1783-1784

John Houstoun ......................................................... Jan. 9. 1784-1785

Samuel Elbert

Jan. 6. 1785-1786

Edward Telfair ............................................................... Jan. 9. 1786-1787

GeorgeMathews

Jan. 9. 1787-1788

James Jackson ............................................. Declined 10 serve as Governor

GeorgeHandley

Jan. 26.1788-1789

George walton ............................................................... Jan. 7. 1789-1789

Edward Telfair .......................................................... NOv. 9. 1789-1793

George Mathews ........................................................ Nov. 7. 1793-1796

Jared Irwin ................................................................. Jan. 15. 1796-1798

James Jackson

Jan. 12. 1798-1801

David Emanuel. Pres. of Senate

Mar. 3. 1801-1801

Josiah Tattnal!.Jr.............................................................. Nov. 7. 1801-1802

John Milledge ............................................................ Nov. 4. 1802-1806

Jared Irwin. Pres. of Senate .............................................. Sept. 23. 1806-1809

David Brydie Mitchell

Nov. 10. 1809-1813

Peter Early

Nov. 5. 1813-1815

DavidBrydieMilchell

Nov. 10. 1815-1817

William Rabun. Pres. of Senate

Mar. 4. 1817-1819

MallhewTalbot.Pres.ofSenale

OCI. 24.1819-1819

John Clark .................................................................. Nov. 5. 1819-1823

George Michael Troup ...................................................... Nov. 5. 1823- 1827

John Forsylh ............................................ , ............... NOv. 7. 1827-1829

George Rockingham Gilmer

Nov. 4. 1829-1831

Wilson Lumpkin ............................................................ Nov. 9. 1831-1835

William Schley .......................................................... Nov. 4. 1835-1837

George Rockingham Gilmer ............................................ Nov. 8. 1837- 1839

NAME

TERM

Charles James McDonald

Nov. 6, 1839- 1843

GeorgewalkerCrawford

Nov. 8.1843-1847

George washington Towns

Nov. 3. 1847-1851

Howell Cobb

Nov. 5. 1851-1853

Herschel vespasian Johnson

Nov. 9. 1853-1857

Joseph Emerson Brown

Nov. 6. 1857-1865

JamesJohnson, Provisional

June 17, 1865-1865

Charles Jones Jenkins

Dec. 14, 1865-1868

Gen. Thomas Howard Ruger

Jan. 13. 1868-1868

Rufus Brown Bullock, Provisional.........

.. July 4. 1868-1868

Rufus Brown Bullock. Reconstruction

July 21. 1868-1871

Benjamin Conley, Reconstruction, Pres. of Senate

OCI. 30. 1871-1872

James Milton Smith

Jan. 12. 1872 -1877

Alfred Holt Colquill

Jan. 12. 1877-1882

Alexander Hamilton Stephens

Nov. 4. 1882-Mar. 4, 1883

James Stoddard Boynton. Pres. of Senate

Mar. 5. 1883-1883

Henry Dickerson MCDaniel

May 10. 1883- 1886

John Brown Gordon

Nov. 9. 1886-1890

William Jonathan Norlhen

Nov. 8. 1890-1894

William Yates Atkinson

,OCI. 27. 1894-1898

Allen Daniel Candler

OCI. 29. 1898-1902

Joseph Meriwether Terrell

OCI. 25, 1902-1907

Hoke Smith

June 29. 1907-1909

Joseph Mackey Brown

June 26. 1909-1911

Hoke Smith......

July I. 1911-1911

John Marshall Slaton. Pres, of Senale

Nov. 16. 1911-1912

Joseph Mackey Brown

Jan, 26, 1912-1913

John Marshall Slaton

June 28, 1913-1915

Nathaniel Edwin Harris

June 26. 1915-1917

Hugh Manson Dorsey

June 30. 1917-1921

Thomas William Hardwick

June 25. 1921-1923

Clifford walker

June 30. 1923-1927

Lamartine Griffin Hardman. M.D

June 25. 1927-1931

Richard Brevard Russell.Jr

June 27. 1931-1933

Eugene Talmadge

Jan. 10. 1933-1937

Eurith Dickinson Rivers

Jan. 12. 1937-1941

EugeneTalmadge

Jan. 14. 1941-1943

EllisGibbsArnall

Jan. 12, 1943-1947

Eugene Talmadge

(Elected. but died Dec. 21. 1946, before taking office in Jan .. 1947)

Melvin E. Thompson. Lieut. Gov .. actinggovernor

"

, Jan. 20, 1947-Nov. 17. 1948

HermanEugeneTalmadge

Jan. 14, 1947-Mar. 18. 1947: Nov. 17, 1948-Jan. II. 1955

S, Marvin Griffin .. ,

,

Jan. II. t955-Jan. 13. 1959

Samuel Ernest Vandiver, Jr.

Jan. 13. 1959-Jan, 15. 1963

Carl E. Sanders

Jan, 15. 1963-Jan. 10. 1967

LesterMaddox

Jan. 10, 1967-Jan. 12. 1971

Jimmy Carter

Jan, 12, 1971-Jan. 14, 1975

George Busbee

Jan. 14. 1975-

(4year term)

The seat of government for the 13th British Colony in America was where Georgia history began. in Savannah. After its capture by the British in 1778. the capital temporarily moved to Augusta. When it. too. fell to the Redcoats the business of government was conducted at Heard's Fort. Wilkes County.
After Augusta was back in Georgia hands. the Legislature convened there in 1781 and 1782. The follOWing year state government returned to Savannah. During the 1783 session of the Legislature. Augusta became Georgia's
capital for the third time. The lawmakers met there through 1795.
At that time Louisville became the capital. Georgia's first permanent capitol bUilding was located on the site of the present Jefferson County Courthouse,
In 1804 the Legislature passed an act moving the capital to Milledgeville, where it remained until 1877. For years there had been pressure to make booming Atlanta Georgia's capital. On Decem ber 5, 1877 the issue was pu I to a popular vote and Atlanta won.
As a cornerstone on the northeast corner testifies, the present capitol was first occupied on June 15, 1889. Its total cost, $999,881.57, was some 5118 under the milliondollar appropriation for construction. Georgia gold was added to the dome in 1958, a gift of the citizens of Dahlonega and Lumpkin County, where it was mined.

GEbR-GIA GOVERNMENT.

SENATE:
The Constitution of 1777 provided for a Legislative Department with ten members. consisting of a House of Assembly and an Executive Council. Each county represented in the House of Assembl~ was entitled to representation in the Council, i.e., to two councillors elected from the membership of the House of Assembly. In case of retirement or death of a councillor, his successor was selected from the remaining representatives of his county in the House.
The Constitution of 1789 provided for a Senate and House of Representatives, both to be elected by the people. Senators were elected triennially for three-year terms from 1789 to 1795. An amendment to the Constitution adopted in May 1795 provided for oneyear terms and annual elections of senators. Biennial elections were provided for in a legislative act assented to on December 5. 1843.
The present Senate consists of 56 Senators elected from as many Senatorial Districts. Presiding officer is the Lieutenant Governor, who is designated as President of the Senate. The terms of office of the Senators are for two years and they are elected by the voters biennially in November of the even-numbered years. The minimum requirements for the office of Senator are 25 years of age, citizenship in the State for four years and residence in the Senatorial District for one year.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
When Great Britain was exercising control through Executive Boards, the Constitution of Georgia was modified and legislative power was vested in three branches: The King's Governor, The King's Council or "upper House," and the Commons House of Assembly (later called the House of Representatives). The first General Assembly was in existence from 1775 until the outbreak of the Revolution.
The commons or lower House was the representative body of the General Assembly and consisted of a group of delegates elected by landowners of the districts of the Colony, and the first Legislative Session convening in Savannah in 1755 consisted of 19 delegates.
The history of the House of Representatives in the 200 years since cannot be separated from the total history of Georgia. For indeed, as a lawmaking body, page after page of history has been written by its members, many of whom went on to become Governors, congressmen and United States senators.
The present House of Representatives consists of 180 members elected from 154 House Districts. Members are elected for Iwo-year terms biennially in November of evennumbered years. The minimum requirements for holding the office of Representative are 2 1years of age, citizenship in the State for four years and residence in the House District for one year.

GEORG1A FACTS AND FIGURES

population: 4.589.575 (1970 Census) Total Number of Counties: 159 Total Land Area: 58.111 square miles Total Area Submerged: 803square miles Total Number of Acres
in Woodland: 24.066.400 Total Number of Miles Around
State's Boundary: 1.05 I Length of State: 315 miles Breadth of State: 250 miles Elevation-
Highest: 4.784 feet at Brasstown Bald Lowest: Sea Level

Georgia leads all states in the production of paper and board. tufted textile products. and processed chicken. Among southeastern stales. Georgia ranks 1st in manufacture of transportation equipment. 1st in apparel. 2nd in food processing. 3rd in furniture and lumber production. 1st in wholesale trade. 3rd in retail trade. and 2nd in services and professions.
Georgia leads the nation in the production of peanuts and pecans and ninetyfive percent of America's

pimento peppers are grown and packed in Georgia. In addition. Georgia is the leading hog producing state in the Southeast. the NO.2 producing state for broilers and the NO.2 producing state for commercial eggs.
Georgia is the No. I pulpwood state in the nation and also leads in the production of naval stores.
Georgia leads the world in the mining of kaolin, is the nation's leader in the quarrying of granite and marble. and is second in the nation in the production of
GOOQGIA

The Live Oak. Stale Tree

_....... JIIIt.'- ....;., --- ,w,lEN w. FORTSON
Slale Son~
titanium and fuller's earth, rare earth concentration products. scrap mica and zircon. It ranks third in the production of kyanite and bauxite. fourth in production of barite. and fifth in feldspar production.

The Brown Thrasher. Slale Bird The Cherokee Rose. Slale Flower

FOR FURTHER INF., ORMATION:

Governor George Busbee Executive Department State capitol. Room 203 404656 1776
Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller State capitol. Room 418 4046565030
Secretary of State Ben W. Fortson. Jr. State Capitol. Room 2 14 404656 2881
Comptroller General Johnnie L. Caldwell State Capitol. Room 238 404-6562056
Attorney General Arthur K. Bolton Law Department Judicial Bldg.. Room 132 4046564585

Archives & History. Department of (Div. of secretary of State) Miss Carroll Hart. Director 330 Capitol Ave .. S.E. 4046562358
Community Development. Department of
Milton Folds. Commissioner Trinitywashington Bldg.. 6th Floor 4046563556
Corrections/Offender Rehabilitation. Department of
Allen L. Ault. Ed.D.. Commissioner 800 Peachtree St.. N.E.. Atlanta 30308 4048945541

State Fire Marshal John R. Gore Office of Comptroller General State Capitol. Room 238 4046562056

Except where indicated. all state offices: Atlanta. Georgia 30334

Administrative Services. Department of Gayle Manley. Commissioner 116 Mitchell St .. Room 400 Atlanta 30303 4046565514

Agriculture. State Department of Thomas T. Irvin. Commissioner Agriculture Bldg.. Room 204 404-6563600

Defense (&Civil Defense). Department of Maj. Gen. Billy M. Jones The Adjutant General & Director. State Civil Defense P.O. Box 17965. Atlanta 30316 404-6561700

Education, State Department of Dr. Jack P, Nix State Superintendent of Schools Old State Office Bldg" Room 242 404-656- 2 800
House of Representatives Thomas B. Murphy, Speaker State Capitol, 3rd Floor 404-656-5020

National Bicentennial Celebration, Georgia Commission for the
(Div of Secretary of State) A. K. Johnson, Jr.. Executive Director 1776 Peachtree St., N.W. Suite 520, South Wing Atlanta 30309 404-894-5780

Natural Resources, Department of Joe D. Tanner, Commissioner 270 washington St.. S.W. 404656-3500
Pardons & paroles, State Board of 800 Peachtree St.. N.E, Room 610 404894-5363
Public Safety, Department of Col. J. Herman Cofer, Commissioner 959 E. Confederate Ave .. S.E. 404-656-6063
Public Service Commission New State Office Bldg, Room 162 404-656-4501
Revenue, State Department of Nick P. Chilivis, Commissioner 270 washington St.. S.W.. Room 410 404-656-4015
State Senate, Zell Miller, President State Capitol. 3rd Floor 404-6565030
Transportation, Department of Thomas D. Moreland, Commissioner 20 Capitol Square 4046565206

Human Resources, Department of T. M. (Jim) Parham, Commissioner 47 Trinity Ave .. S.W. 404-656-5680
Labor, State Department of Sam Caldwell, Commissioner Labor Bldg.. Room 288 404-656-3011
Merit System of Personnel Administration, State
New State Office Bldg., Room 572 404-656-2705

Except where indicated, all state offices: Atlanta, Georgia 30334

GEORGE BUSBEE
GOVERNOR

Dear Friends:

Because Georgia is one of the Thirteen

y

Original States, the Bicentennial has

produced renewed interest in our

State's long and proud history. This

increased interest created the need for a

ready reference of basic information

about Georgia. especially highlights of

her role in the Revolution.

Although the information contained

in this booklet is not allinclusive. I think

you will find it a useful and informative

synopsis of our State's institutions.

government, symbols and history A list

of Department Heads with their

addresses and telephone numbers has

been included in this booklet to assist

you in obtaining more detailed

information about our great State.

I encourage you to take advantage of

the assets Georgia has to offer, and

whether you are a visitor from another

state or country or a citizen of Georgia, I

am sure you will agree that Georgia is

a fine place to visit and an even better

place to live.

Sincerely,

George Busbee

Office of the Governor Executive Department State capitol. Room 203 Atlanta, Georgia 30334