Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

The University of Georgia

December 21

1732 While James Oglethorpe was at sea sailing to America with the first Georgia colonists, the sale of all of his stock in the Royal African Company (then worth about £1,000) was finalized. Also before embarking, Oglethorpe apparently resigned from the board of governors of the company.

1819 Gov. John Clark signed an act creating Rabun County as Georgia's 47th county. Created from Cherokee lands ceded by the Treaty of Washington of 1819, the county was named for Gov. William Rabun, who died in office two months earlier.

1830 Gov. George Gilmer signed an act claiming for Georgia "all the Territory within the limits of Georgia, and now in the occupancy of the Cherokee tribe of Indians," dividing the territory up into four sections, directing its surveying, and providing for a system of distributing the land by lottery.

1835 Gov. William Schley signed an act incorporating Oglethorpe University.

1857 Gov. Joseph E. Brown signed an act creating Mitchell County as Georgia's 123rd county. Created from portions of Baker County, the new county was named for Gen. Henry Mitchell, who commanded Georgia troops after the American Revolution.

1864 In the early morning hours of Dec. 21, a regiment of Sherman's 20th Corps advanced on the Confederate defensive earthworks around Savannah. Although fires were burning, the Union advance force found no Confederate defenders. As they advanced toward Savannah, by dawn they could see Hardee's rear guard on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River.

On the morning of the 21st, Savannah mayor R. D. Arnold and his staff rode out to offer the formal surrender of the city. They were met by Gen. Geary, who accepted their offer and promised to try to protect Savannah citizens and their property. Geary sent a force to occupy Fort Jackson. By 8 a.m., Savannah was in federal hands.

Sherman's capture of Savannah left the captain and crew of the C.S.S. Savannah trapped in the Savannah River. The sluggish ironclad ram -- a converted paddle wheeler -- was so slow it couldn't advance upstream against the river current, and downstream were Union gunboats. In one last gesture of defiance, the crew fired on Fort Jackson as Union troops raised the Stars and Stripes. The captain then ordered the crew ashore and had the ship blown up.

1872 Georgia Congressman-elect and former Confederate major general Ambrose Ransom "Rans" Wright died in Augusta, Ga. Born April 26, 1826 in Louisville, Ga., Wright became a lawyer. After the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined the 3rd Georgia, serving as a colonel in campaigns in North Carolina and Georgia. In June 1862, Wright was promoted to brigadier general, and he subsequently commanded brigades at Seven Days, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. In Nov. 1864, Wright was promoted to major general and ordered to return to Georgia. After the war, he returned to the practice of law, also becoming a newspaper publisher. In 1872, Wright was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives but died before he could take his seat.

1877 Gov. Alfred Colquitt proclaimed that Georgia's newly ratified Constitution of 1877 was now in effect.

1893 Gov. William Northen approved an act proposing a constitutional amendment to change the meeting time of the General Assembly from the fourth Wednesday in October to the same date in July.

1897 Gov. William Atkinson approved an act changing the name of the Georgia Lunatic Asylum to the Georgia State Sanitarium.

1911 Negro League great (and later Major League Baseball Hall of Famer) Josh Gibson was born in Buena Vista, Ga.

1937 Jane Fonda, who later married and then was divorced by Atlantan Ted Turner, was born in New York City to Henry and Frances Fonda.

1946 Long-time Georgia politician Eugene Talmadge died in Atlanta. Born on Sept. 23, 1884 in Forsyth, Ga., he had obtained a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1907. Talmadge practiced law for a year in Atlanta before moving to Montgomery County. He married, moved to Telfair County, bought a farm on Sugar Creek, and practiced law while farming for over a decade. After unsuccessful races for the Georgia House and Senate, he ran for the office of Commissioner of Agriculture in 1926 and won. In 1932, he successfully campaigned for governor -- the first of four times he would be elected to the state's highest office (1932, 1934, 1940, and 1946). Sometimes referred to as the "Wild Man from Sugar Creek" for his flamboyant style and emotional speeches, Talmadge used the county-unit system (which magnified the voting power of small, rural counties and minimized the effect of urban voters) to his advantage like no other politician. His down-home demeanor appealed to Georgia farmers, many of whom were struggling in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. One of Talmadge's favorite quotes was "the poor dirt farmer ain't got but three friends on this Earth: God Almighty, Sears Roebuck, and Gene Talmadge."

Talmadge's terms as governor were rife with controversy, usually brought about by his unique style of governing. He disliked Pres. Roosevelt's New Deal immensely and was not ashamed to say so in blunt terminology -- referring to the Civilian Conservation Corps as "bums and loafers." When the legislature would not do his bidding, he often tried to rule by executive decree. When the Public Service Commission refused to lower rates, he fired the whole group. When a textile strike broke out in 1934, Talmadge declared martial law, sending troops to small textile towns. Perhaps his most controversial action occurred in 1941, when Talmadge wanted to fire two University System administrators, allegedly for advocating integrated public schools. When the Board of Regents refused, Talmadge dismissed all of them and replaced them with people amenable to his will. This lead to ten Georgia public colleges and universities losing their accreditation. The resulting uproar also was influential in Talmadge losing the ensuing gubernatorial race.

 

But Talmadge was not to be kept down for long. Returning to run for governor again in 1946, he launched a grueling campaign in which he delivered 272 of his renowned stump speeches. Though he lost the popular vote, he won the election through county-unit votes. But the campaign proved too much for his already poor health, and he died before he could take office. This led to even further controversy, since, it was now uncertain who should assume the office of governor. This lead to the infamous three-governors controversy in which three separate men, including Talmadge's son Herman, claimed to be the rightful executive. The matter was eventually resolved by the Georgia Supreme Court.

 

1974 Miami of Ohio beat Georgia 21-10 in the Gator Bowl.

1976 The White House announced that following the inauguration of newly elected president Jimmy Carter, Robins AFB would house Air Force One during Carter's trips home to Plains, Georgia.

1991 Ted Turner and fitness guru and former actress Jane Fonda were married at his Tallahassee, Florida estate. The marriage, however, would not survive the decade.

Georgia cities and towns first incorporated by acts approved on Dec. 21:

1866 Attapulgus (Decatur County) and Bascom (Screven County)

1886 Harrison (Washington County)

1898 Sylvester (Worth County)

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1737 The need for shoes forced the Salzburgers to temporarily overlook their contempt for the only available cobbler, as evidenced by this entry in the journal of pastor John Martin Boltzius:

"The German cobbler from Purysburg [a nearby settlement on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River] has returned and is making shoes for our people. He remains a careless fellow, although he has repeatedly made many promises. We have had quite enough of him; but, in view of the lack of a better cobbler, we have no other recourse but to use his services. He has caused much offense in Purysburg, and the people there are not as well served by him as might have been the case formerly. I am quite prepared to buy such shoes for our people as come from London or New England to Savannah until such time as we shall be supplied by a more conscientious man of this trade. The wooden shoes and Indian footwear which some of our people wear do not suffice during the winter and the rainy season. A cobbler who not only knows how to make shoes but is also versed in preparing the leather could find great demand for his services in this country. Cow and ox hides are quite cheap, but the people who might prepare them for use are lacking."

Source: George Fenwick Jones and Renate Wilson, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America . . . Edited by Samuel Urlsperger, Volume Four, 1737 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1976), p. 222.

1864 The morning issue of the Savannah Republican carried this front-page editorial:

"To the Citizens of Savannah:

"By the fortunes of war we pass today under the authority of the Federal military forces. The evacuation of Savannah by the Confederate army, which took place last night, left the gates to the city open, and General Sherman, with his army will, no doubt, to-day take possession.

"The Mayor and Common Counsel leave under a flag of truce this morning, for the headquarters of Gen. Sherman, to offer the surrender of the city, and ask terms of capitulation by which private property and citizens may be respected.

"We desire to counsel obedience and all proper respect on the part of our citizens, and to express the belief that their property and persons will be respected by our military ruler. The fear expressed by many that Gen. Sherman will repeat the order of expulsion from their homes which he enforced against the citizens of Atlanta, we think to be without foundation. He assigned his reason in that case as a military necessity, it was a question of food. He could not supply his army and the citizens with food, and he stated that he must have full and sole occupation. But in our case food can be abundantly supplied for both army and civilians. We would not be understood as even intimating that we are to be fed at the cost of the Federal Government, but that food can be easily obtained in all probability, by all who can afford to pay in the Federal currency.

"It behooves all to keep within their homes until Gen. Sherman shall have organized a provost system and such police as will insure safety in persons as well as property.

"Let our conduct be such as to win the admiration of a magnanimous foe, and give no ground for complaint or harsh treatment on the part of him who will for an indefinite period hold possession of our city.

"In our city there are, as in other communities, a large proportion of poor and needy families, who, in the present situation of affairs, brought about by the privations of war, will be thrown upon the bounty of their more fortunate neighbors. Deal with them kindly, exercise your philanthropy and benevolence, and let the heart of the unfortunate not be deserted by your friendly aid."

1864 Savannah mayor R.D. Arnold surrendered the city to Union forces with the following letter addressed to Gen. Sherman:

"The city of Savannah was last night evacuated by the Confederate military and is now entirely defenseless. As chief magistrate of the city I respectfully request your protection of the lives and private property of the citizens and of our women and children.

"Trusting that this appeal to your generosity and humanity may favorably influence your action, I have the honor to be, your obedient servant."

Source: U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of \he Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1893, reprinted by The National Historical Society, 1971), Series I, Vol. XLIV, p. 772.

1864 In his memoirs, Gen. Sherman recorded the following:

"[T]oward evening of December 21st we discovered, coming toward us, a tug, called the Red Legs, with a staff-officer on board, bearing letters from Colonel Dayton to myself and the admiral, reporting that the city of Savannah had been found evacuated on the morning of December 21st and was then in our possession . . . . General Hardee had crossed the Savannah River by a pontoon-bridge, carrying off his men and light artillery, blowing up his iron-clads and navy-yard, but leaving for us all the heavy guns, stores, cotton, railway-cars, steamboats, and an immense amount of public and private property."

Source: Mills Lane (ed.), Marching Through Georgia: William T. Sherman's Personal Narrative of His March Through Georgia (New York: Arno Press, 1978), pp. 177-178.

1867 For a variety of reasons, many white Georgians viewed with contempt the convention meeting in Atlanta to draft a new state constitution. The election on revising the state constitution had been called by Reconstruction military commander Maj. Gen. Pope; many whites could not vote; and many of the delegates elected to the convention were not sympathetic to the Democratic Party or ante-bellum society. Particularly upsetting to some whites was the fact that blacks -- including many former slaves -- were allowed to participate, as evidenced by this entry in the journal of Atlanta merchant Samuel P. Richards:

"The Menagerie convention has been in operation -- that is, showing -- for two weeks now and except as a great show have accomplished nothing at all but to spend our money at the rate of $2000 per diem. It makes me feel wolfish every time I think about those niggers there pretending to make laws for Georgia white men. It is too great a burlesque on law and order."

Source: Franklin M. Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of its People and Events (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1969 reprint of 1954 original volume), p. 772.

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© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

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