Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

The University of Georgia

September 25

1864 Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis arrived at Palmetto, Georgia, for a briefing from Gen. Hood. Davis tried to boost the morale of the troops and that evening was entertained by the Twentieth Louisiana band.

1895 The Cotton States and International Exposition hosted a giant fireworks show on this night, described by the Atlanta Constitution as "the greatest pyrotechnical display ever seen in the south."

1895 The Colored Baptist Foreign Mission convened at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. More than 400 delegates representing every state were in attendance.

1926 Tiny Oglethorpe University in Atlanta stunned the college football world with a 7-6 defeat of Georgia Tech at Grant Field. After the game, Oglethorpe fans reacted to the victory by staging a spontaneous parade through downtown Atlanta.

1941 Warren Akin Candler died in Atlanta. Born in Villa Rica on Aug. 23, 1857, he graduated from Emory College in 1877. Afterwards, he served as a Methodist minister in Atlanta, Sparta, Dahlonega, and Augusta. In Augusta, Candler worked with the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church to help create Paine Institute in 1882. Candler served as president of Emory College for a decade (1888-98), and then as Methodist bishop from 1898 until 1935. In this capacity, Candler helped create Southern Methodist University and Emory University, serving as Emory's chancellor from 1914 to 1922.

1949 Atlanta-born Louise Suggs won the US Woman's Golf Championship.

1962 A black church was destroyed by fire in Macon, Georgia--the eighth church burned in Georgia since August 15 of that year.

1988 Billy Carter, younger brother of Pres. Jimmy Carter, died of cancer at age 51.

2008 The last car rolled off the assembly line at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Doraville, GA. The plant had been in operation for sixty years.

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1734 In London, the Earl of Egmont recorded this evening's meeting of the Georgia Trustees. Among the items that came before the board was the question of sending more Salzburgers to Georgia:

"A letter from Mr. Ulsperger, Lutheran pastor at Augsbug and correspondent with the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, was brought us by Mr. Henry Newman, Secretary of that Society, informing that that 54 chosen Saltsburgers had entered their names to go to Georgia, and were set out the 23rd of this month, new style, in their way to Rotterdam, in order to be brought to England, and from hence transported to their brethren in Georgia. That he had disbursed on their account already 1,000 florins.

"Mr. Newman desire we would give the Society an account of the expense to send these people over, which we ordered our accountant to do next Friday. We also acquainted him that we expect to have them here and send them with the Indians next Tuesday se'nnight [?]. Some persons applied to go to Georgia."

Source: U.K. Historical Manuscripts Commission, Diary of the First Earl of Egmont (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1923), Vol. 2, p. 127.

1792 Savannah merchant Joseph Clay wrote to Gov. Edward Telfair expressing his concern over the US. treatment of the Creek Indians, though his concern was more commercial than humanitarian:

". . . By Mr. Hull's Account it appears the Citizens of the United States are almost outlawed in the Creek Nation, and that were it not for the influence of some individuals among & with the Indians, 'twou'd hardly be safe to go among them in the way of trade -- the Spaniards who we suppose & say are far behind the Neighbouring nations in policy & commerce act much wiser than we do, at least in Indian affairs -- they fix a superintendent of the Commissary among the Indians in their nation, where he ought to be -- he talks of his Catholic majestys subjects, and that he must protect them & this I believe within our own territory, & if Mr. Hull's information is good, & he speaks very positively , he is not backward in doing us as a Nation, and this State in particular, every ill office -- and he says further that its said this very Man has been not long past stirring up the Northern tribes against us -- I shou'd suppose the necessity of our having a proper representative in the Nation, must soon impress every part of our government. . . ."

Source: Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. VIII, Letters of Joseph Clay, Merchant of Savannah, 1776-1793 (Savannah: Georgia Historical Society, 1913), p. 253.

1855 From Richmond County, Gertrude Thomas recorded a bit of Georgia election politics in her journal:

"I am alone with the baby this afternoon. Mr. Thomas has gone in town to hear Mr. [Robert] Toombs speak tonight. Election day is fast approaching and political excitement is running high. I today heard that Mr. Metcalf had offered to bet five thousand that Judge [Garnett] Andrews the know nothing candidate would beat Gov [Herschel] Johnson who is running against him. ..." [Someone should have accepted Mr. Metcalf's wager; Johnson won the election.]

Source: Virginia Ingraham Burr (ed.), The Secret Eye: The Journal of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas, 1848-1889 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990), p. 134.

1863 John Banks of Columbus had seven sons fight for the Confederacy. Two of these -- Eugene and Willis -- were involved in the Battle of Chickamauga five days earlier, as their father recorded in his journal on this day:

"Just gotten telegram from Willis who was in the battle near Ringgold, saying that William Mitchell, a lieutenant, was killed. Willis was wounded, flesh wound; and that Eugene Banks, his lieutenant, has escaped unhurt. I have sent son Kelly after Willis and at this writing have not heard from him. Willis was taken from the field. His telegram is dated at Adairsville.

"This battle has lasted several days and been most fatal. Our killed and wounded estimated at 10 to 12,000. The enemy's loss thought to be larger than ours. We certainly made a victory. The enemy commanded by Rosecrans. Bragg commanded our army. Many have fallen from Columbus and the neighborhood. The fighting still continues about Charleston. Nothing decisive from there yet, she still holds out and thus far has escaped the enemy. Elbert [another son] is still in Mississippi.

"Cotton not so high as it has been 35 to 45c."

Source: John Banks, Autobiography of John Banks, 1797 - 1870 (Austell, Ga.: privately printed by Elberta Leonard, 1936), p. 29.