Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

The University of Georgia

August 12

1862 Following Braxton Bragg's declaration of martial law in Atlanta the previous day, Atlanta provost marshal G.W. Lee issued a special order prohibiting Atlanta hotels and boarding houses from lodging any person without a permit to be in Atlanta. [Click here for text of special order.]

Marietta St. in Downtown Atlanta, 1860s

For more, see This Week in Georgia Civil War History.

1864 From his headquarters near Atlanta, Confederate commander John B. Hood issued General Field Order No. 14 threatening penalties up to execution for "lawless seizure and destruction of private property by straggling soldiers in the rear and on the flanks of this army." In particular, Hood's order noted actions by members of Confederate cavalry in illegally seizing horses from private citizens.

For more, see This Week in Georgia Civil War History.

1909 The Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution calling on Congress to create a $5 million prize for the first person to discover an effective method to eliminate the boll weevil.

1910 Gov. Joseph M. Brown signed legislation making it illegal for any person to carry a pistol or revolver without first having a license issued by the county ordinary (now known as the probate judge).

Applicants for what came to be known as a "pistol toter's permit" had to be at least 18 and also had to provide a $100 bond payable to the governor in case of improper or illegal use of the weapon. On the same day, Gov. Brown signed another firearm-related law that made it illegal to shoot at occupied houses except in defense of person, property, or habitation, or under other circumstances of justification.

1913 On day fourteen of the trial of Leo Frank, his defense called twenty-two character witnesses to the stand, including Frank's relatives. They all testified that he was a man of good character and was very busy the day of the murder, showing no nervousness. When prosecutor Hugh Dorsey asked one of the witnesses, a boy who worked for Frank, if Frank had ever made improper advances to him, a bitter argument ensued between the opposing attorneys. Another female employee of the factory, Magnolia Kennedy, contradicted the earlier testimony of Helen Ferguson – who had claimed she tried to pick up Mary Phagan's pay on Friday (the day before the murder) – saying that Frank had told her Mary would pick it up herself on the next day. Kennedy claimed she was behind Ferguson in the line to receive her pay, and that Ferguson had neither asked about Phagan's pay or talked to Frank. Other witnesses testified to the shady character of C.B. Dalton, who had claimed to have used the basement of the factory as a meeting place with women and of using Jim Conley as a lookout. Click here for a detailed accounting of the case.

Lost among all this controversy was the brief testimony of one of the office boys who worked for Leo Frank. He was obviously nervous and timid the few minutes he was on the stand; saying only that he worked most Saturdays, including the day of the murder, and had never seen strange women in Frank's office and had never seen Dalton at all. But this inconspicuous boy, Alonzo Mann, carried a terrible secret – one he would hold for the next sixty-nine years. It was not until 1982, when he was on the verge of death, that he finally revealed what he had seen that fateful day – Jim Conley carrying the body of Mary Phagan over his shoulder, near the elevator shaft on the first floor of the factory. According to Mann, Conley had threatened him with death if he ever said anything about what he had seen. Mann had gone home and told his mother, who advised him to keep quiet. So the trial went on, with no one realizing that the nervous youth was too scared to give the testimony that likely would have freed Leo Frank.

1958 Joseph Bean, W.O. Cheney, Quinton Lumpkin, George (Pup) Phillips, Jack Roberts, and Sidney Scarborough were inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

1962 In Albany, Georgiaa., St. Teresa's Catholic Church and St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church allowed blacks to attend services for the first time. For more, see the Albany Movement from the Civil Rights Digital Library.

1987 The Atlanta Braves acquired pitcher John Smoltz from the Detroit Tigers in a trade for Doyle Alexander.

2000 In a very controversial – though unanimous 12-round decision by the three judges – Atlanta's Evander Holyfield defeated John Ruiz in Las Vegas for the World Boxing Association's heavyweight championship. Holyfield's victory resulted in his fourth WBA championship.

2009 In a ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama honored long time Atlanta civil rights activist Joseph Lowery with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest national honor awarded to civilians.

2011 In afternoon ceremonies, former Atlanta Braves manager (and general manager) Bobby Cox was inducted into the franchise's hall of fame. Then, prior to the evening game with the Chicago Cubs, Cox's uniform number 6 was retired. Cox was the eighth member of the Braves to have his number retired, joining Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Dale Murphy, Greg Maddux, Phil Niekro, and Tom Glavine. Cox led the Braves to a Major League Baseball record of 14 consecutive division titles, with a total of 2,504 career wins – fourth most in MLB history. Cox retired from the Braves at the end of the 2010 season.

Later in the evening in the game, Braves' second baseman Dan Uggla broke the team record by getting a hit in his 32nd consecutive game. But there was sad news as well, as late during the game it was announced that former Braves pitcher and longtime announcer Ernie Johnson, Sr. had died after a long illness.

Georgia cities and towns incorporated by acts approved on Aug. 12:

1903 Oakwood (Hall County)

1911 Empire (Dodge and Pulaski counties) and Weston (Webster County)

Other acts involving Georgia cities and towns approved on Aug. 12:

1904 Charter of Everett (incorporated Feb. 10, 1894 by Glynn County Superior Court) repealed

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1733 From late May to mid June, James Oglethorpe was in Charles Town on Georgia business. On his return to Savannah, he was shocked at what he found – dissension, idleness, use of black labor, rum, and worst of all sickness and death (which Oglethorpe incorrectly attributed to the rum). His concern is evidenced by this Aug. 12 letter to the Trustees back in London:

"I have not been able to write at length since I left Charles Town. When I returned hither from thence I found the people were growing very mutinous and impatient of labour and discipline. This petulancy was owing chiefly to several of them having got into drinking of rum . . . . Some of the silly people desired their provisions that they might be able to gratify their palates by selling a large quantity of wholesome food for a little rum punch.

". . .I found that Gray, who pretended to understand the silk, had been one of the busiest in preaching up mutiny and, whilst I was at Charles Town, had in a barefaced manner insulted all order and threatened the chief people here. . . . By degrees I brought the people to discipline but could not revive the spirit of labour. Idleness and drunkenness were succeeded by sickness. To remedy the first I sent away the Negroes who sawed for us, for so long as they continued here our men were encouraged in idleness by their working for them. To remedy drunkenness I gave a moderate allowance of win, prohibited rum and staved such as I would find in the town. But found that the [Musgrove] Indian trading house about one-half a mile from us, in spite of all my prohibitions, sold rum to our people. I did not care to disoblige them, because are the only interpreters we have to the Indians. However at present I must either suppress them or our people must be destroyed, we having lost twenty people within a month since the drinking of rum was come into fashion; whereas we lost but one person in five months whilst I was here and kept the people from excessive drinking.

"Millidge [sic], our best carpenter, is dead of a burning fever which on his deathbed he confessed he contracted at the Indian trading house. He rank there rum punch on the Wednesday, on Thursday was taken ill of a burning fever and on the seventh day, the crisis of distemper, died. Poor Overend . . . is also dead with rum, to which most of the rest owe their deaths. But the illness being once frequent became contagious. It appeared chiefly in burning fevers or else in bloody fluxes attended by convulsions and other terrible symptoms. Dr. Cox being dead, Jones looked after the sick. . . . Almost everyone that was taken ill at first died. Jones himself fell sick and some of the women (most handy about the sick) died. So that we had neither doctor, surgeon nor nurse, and about the 15th of July we had above sixty people sick, many of whose lives we despaired of. At which time Captain Horton arrived here with some Jews and amongst them a doctor of physick, who immediately undertook our people and refused to take any pay for it. He proceeded by cold baths, cooling drinks and other cooling applications. since which the sick have wonderfully recovered, and we have not lost one who would follow his prescriptions. Next to the blessing of God and this new regimen I believe one of the greatest occasions of the people's recovery has been that by my constant watching of them I have restrained the drinking of rum."

Source: Mills Lane (ed.), General Oglethorpe's Georgia: Colonial Letters, 1733-1743 (Savannah: Beehive Press, 1990), Vol. I, pp. 19-21.

1864 From Union lines north of Atlanta, Lt. Col. Fredrick Winkler of the 26th Wisconsin Infantry wrote to his wife:

"I was out all last night superintending the construction of a new line of works. I went on duty yesterday at noon and continued until daylight today. It was rather a hard tour and I cannot get a moment's rest by day, on account of the flies. Not until night can we get the benefit of night's sweet restorer. There is nothing new today. We keep digging, getting up closer and closer to the rebels and bringing new and heavy pieces of artillery into advantageous positions. Both armies use their artillery to a considerable extent. The enemy has nothing but our thin lines to fire at and do little damage; our artillery is certainty superior to theirs and plays into their forts and the city. There is constant firing along the picket line too, and every now and then a bullet flies into camp. Still we are enjoying a comparative rest. I rather think the plan is to keep the rebels constantly engaged and to hold them here, rather than to push vigorously for the possession of Atlanta, for upon the evacuation of Atlanta, it will be rather difficult to follow up the rebel army, and still it would hardly do to let it slip away from us elsewhere. . . ."

Source: Civil War Letters of Major Fredrick C. Winkler, in 26th Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers Home Page