Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

The University of Georgia

April 13

1822 Confederate general William Stephen Walker was born in Pittsburgh, Penn. He fought in the Mexican War and in 1855 was commissioned a cavalry captain. Walker resigned his U.S. Army commission in 1861 and joined the Confederate cause as a lieutenant. He was promoted to colonel, and then in Oct. 1862 to brigadier general. He had command of South Carolina military district, then a brigade command. He was wounded and captured at Petersburg. He died on June 7, 1899, in Atlanta, Ga.

1854 African-American educator Lucy Craft Laney was born in Macon, Georgia. She grew up in a household that encouraged reading, and at an early age showed herself to be an exceptional student. Laney enrolled in Atlanta University at age fifteen and graduated with the first class in 1873. She began her teaching career in Savannah, staying for ten years before moving to Augusta. Laney returned to Savannah briefly before returning to Augusta to fulfill a promise she made to a local Baptist minister -- to establish a school for African-American children. She opened the school in 1883 in the basement of a Presbyterian church -- with only five students and virtually no support. Yet, Laney persevered, and by the end of the second year enrollment had grown to 234. In its third year, the school was chartered as a normal and industrial school. Although the trend of the times to educate African Americans in vocational training, Laney established a full liberal arts curriculum. Despite many hardships, her school continued to grow, eventually attracting over 900 students. Laney constantly sought support for her school, and found a generous donor in Francine Haines, an influential member of the Women's Executive Committee of the Home Missions of the Presbyterian church. The school was ultimately named for Haines, and continued to grow, offering Augusta's first kindergarten and nurse training program for African Americans. Laney died amidst the Depression on October 23, 1933 -- and the school began to lose support, finally closing in 1949. But Laney's contributions were not forgotten; Georgia governor Jimmy Carter selected Laney as one of the first three African-Americans to have their portrait hang in Georgia's state capitol. Today, Lucy C. Laney High School stands on the site of her old school in recognition of her life-long devotion to children and their education.

1861 After 34 hours of bombardment, the Union commander of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor surrendered to Confederate forces.

1944 Martin Luther King Jr. won the oratorical contest at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, earning the right to represent the school at the Elks Club's state oratorical contest.

1948 General Dwight D. Eisenhower and wife Mamie arrived in Augusta for a ten-day vacation at the Augusta National Golf Club. Eisenhower had recently resigned as U.S. Army Chief of Staff and would soon assume the presidency of Columbia University. Of his trip to Augusta he said he just wanted "to relax and play a little golf." This was Eisenhower's first -- but not his last --visit to Augusta.

1954 Hank Aaron played his first game for Milwaukee Braves. Playing in left field, Aaron had no hits in five at-bats in the Braves 9-8 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Aaron had his first home run in the major leagues ten days later.

1970 Billy Casper won the Masters golf tournament. [Click here to read the story of his win.]

1975 Jack Nicklaus won his 5th Masters golf tournament. [Click here to read the story of his win.]

1976 At age 37, Ted Turner attended the Atlanta Braves' first home game as the team's new owner. When introduced to the crowd, Turner burst from his seat and ran to the pitcher's mound. Unfortunately, his enthusasim did not spill over to the team, who lost 6-1 to Cincinnati.

1980 Steve Ballesteros became the youngest winner of the Masters golf tournament (until Tiger Woods captured this title in 1997). [Click here to read the story of his win.]

1982 The Atlanta Braves recorded their 7th consecutive win as their 13-game season-opening winning streak continued. After trailing in the game, the Braves pulled ahead in the seventh inning to give pitcher Gene Garber the victory.

1986 At age 46, Jack Nicklaus won a record sixth Masters title with a 9-under-par score of 279 for the four rounds. He became the oldest player to win the tournament's Green Jacket. [Click here to read the story of his win.]

1997 With a record 18-under-par score, Tiger Woods became the first African-American to win the Masters. At age 21, he also became the youngest golfer to win the Masters. [Click here to read the story of his win.] Four years later, Woods came in 16 under par to win his second green jacket.

2003 After 72 holes, Mike Weir and Lee Mattiace ended the Masters' final round tied at 7 under par. In the first sudden death since 1990, Weir won his first Masters--also becoming the first Canadian in history to win a major U.S. golf championship. Tiger Woods, finishing at 2 over par, failed in his bid to win his third consecutive Masters.

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1861 As 63-year-old planter and businessman John Banks recorded in his diary, the residents of Columbus, Ga. were rejoicing at the capture of Fort Sumter. Banks agreed with secession, but the war would cost him a terrible price. Seven of his sons would fight for the Confederacy--and three would die in battle. But for now, it was time for celebration:

"1 o'clock, the telegraph has just brought the news of the surrender of Fort Sumter. We have known for the last thirty hours that they were fighting at Charleston and it has been thirty hours of great suspense and anxiety. The telegraph bringing us constantly the progress. Now while I write the people are rejoicing, the bells ringing, cannons firing, drums beating. The next war news we anticipate to come from Pensacola. We are hourly expecting it."

Source: John Banks, Autobiography of John Banks, 1797 - 1870 (Austell, Ga.: privately printed by Elberta Leonard, 1936), p. 23.

1865 Captured and on prison liberty in Richmond, Va., Georgian W.C. McCall wrote to his wife of the Confederate evacuation at Petersburg, his inability to keep up with his unit, and decision to go to Richmond and give himself up to Union forces:

" [O]n Sunday morning, April 2nd, Grant attacked our lines in front of Petersburg, taking several miles of our works and killing and capturing a large number of our troops and demoralizing a great many. So that General Lee was compelled to evacuate his entire line from the left of Richmond to the right of Petersburg. I know that Grant would compel Lee to retreat, but it was more sudden and early than I thought for. My opinion was that Grant would outflank, but he did it by a direct attack. On Sunday night our entire line was evacuated, and we commenced our retreat. Grant shoved hard after us, and I learn that on Friday Grant had Lee surrounded and that Lee surrendered with all his army. About all this, though, you can learn more about and better from the papers than I can tell you.

"On the night of the evacuation of our lines, I was on picket. . . . We left lines at 3 o'clock and for two nights we had had no sleep. After we moved out, the picket was put on the rear guard of our division train. The weather being hot and but little to eat and having had no sleep for two nights, I became so broke down and wore out by night that I had to stop at a house to get some bread baked, and there I stayed all night. The picket had gone on and so had all the rear guard. My feet became very sore and blistered, so that I could not get up with the train any more. The army all crossed the bridges at different places on the Appomattox River and the bridges burnt. So when I got [to] the river, I could not cross. There were many hundreds in my condition . . . . So having nothing to eat, only as the citizens would give it to me, and all hope being cut off of getting to Lee's army without being captured, some advised for us to lay about in the wood and beg our living for a few days. . . .We concluded that it was best to return back to Richmond, the nearest point, and give ourselves up. We did so. And it is well we did. We found on coming back that hundred[s] had gone on back to give up. Those who did not, the Yankees caught. When I got back to Richmond I found that several thousand who was unable to keep up with their commands had come back and give up as prisoners. The Yankees treated us kindly. I got back to Richmond on the 7th. The Yankees' picket was Negroes. They treated us very kind. We were taken to prison and have been here ever since."

Source: Mills Lane (ed.), "Dear Mother: don't grieve about me. If I get killed, I'll only be dead.": Letters from Georgia Soldiers in the Civil War (Savannah: Beehive Press, 1990), pp. 348-49.

1865 With three sons having been killed the previous year in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, the Confederacy on the verge of collapse, and in poor health, 67-year-old John Banks of Columbus, Ga., wrote sadly in his diary:

"I have neglected my diary since December. Have been in feeble health and low spirits. Important events have happened since I made an entry. We got possession of Atlanta again after Sherman left it. Sherman passed on through the state without serious opposition to Savannah but little fighting. We evacuated the place and passed on through to South Carolina and at this time our army is at or near Raleigh, N.C. We have been compelled to evacuate Richmond and the seat of the Confederate government; not determined yet where it will be. Macon and Columbus are both spoken of.

"The Yankees have taken Selma, Alabama, and now threatening Montgomery. Much excitement and fears of their approach to Columbus. Our prospects very gloomy. Mobile is now the only seaport town from Norfolk to Texas but what the enemy has control of and skirmishing there. The enemy has a large army and navy besieging it. Some efforts have been made for a treaty of peace but nothing short of subjugation. Provisions very scarce and high. The past winter has been cold and much rain. Prospects fro the crop of '65 very gloomy.

"The Georgia Militia has been furloughed and been at home weeks. George, Sims and Gilmer [his sons] at present at home and none of my sons in the army but Elbert and he near Raleigh."

Source: John Banks, Autobiography of John Banks, 1797 - 1870 (Austell, Ga.: privately printed by Elberta Leonard, 1936), p. 36.

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