Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

The University of Georgia

September 26

1778 The Continental Congress named Gen. Benjamin Lincoln commander of the Southern Department of the U.S. Continental Army.

1928 In the year he would be elected governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt made his first speech in Atlanta, campaigning on behalf of New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith in his race against Herbert Hoover for president. [For a first-hand account of Roosevelt's speech, see Sept. 27 "In Their Own Words."]

1948 The Boston Braves, precursors of the Atlanta Braves, won their first National League championship since 1914.

1961 Enoch Callaway, Jr. died in LaGrange, Georgia. Born on March 22, 1892 in LaGrange, he attended the University of Georgia (1909-12) and obtained his M.D. from Tulane in 1916. Assuming a general practice in LaGrange, Callaway became an early crusader against cancer. He set up the West Georgia Cancer Clinic, helped found Georgia's affiliate of the American Cancer Society, and fought to alert Georgians to the deadly disease.

1976 The Atlanta Constitution began publishing a three part series by Norman Mailer on his view of Jimmy Carter and the town of Plains, Georgia.

1979 Atlanta Brave knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro got his 20th win of the season. The victory over the Houston Astros made him the first National League pitcher since 1905 to both win and lose 20 games in a single season.

1997 For the first time since 1993 and only the second time in the 20th century, the Atlanta Braves won 100 games during the regular season.

1998 Playing at home, the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 4-0 for their 105th win of the regular season – a new franchise record.

1999 Playing in Montreal, the Atlanta Braves beat the Expos 10-0. More importantly, for the eighth consecutive year, the Braves won the Eastern Division championship over the second-place New York Mets.

2000 Playing in New York, the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 7-1. This was the ninth consecutive division championship for the Braves, setting a major league record. The previous record of consecutive division championships by a major league team other than the Braves was five by the New York Yankees.

Georgia cities and towns incorporated by acts approved on Sept. 26:

1889 Mineral Bluff (Fannin County) and Parrott (Terrell County)

1891 Lovejoy (Clayton County)

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1861 From Centreville, Va. Tomlinson Fort wrote to his mother in Georgia about picket duty:

"And now let me give you some description of picketing. Imagine a field about 300 yards in width covered with a growth of buckwheat. On each side of this field within twenty or thirty steps of each other, as the nature of ground will admit, are dug rifle pits about three feet wide, three feet deep and eight or ten feet long. In front of each of these pits is erected a barricade of rails covered with earth. In each of these pits is stationed from two to six men who sit behind these barricades and fire at each other whenever they can either see or imagine they see the 'inemy.' . . .

"The picket lines are also so near that bold, daring scouts sometimes creep up from either side and shoot down the pickets at night. For this reason no picket can sleep, as it might be the sleep of death. . . .

"Sometimes the scene changes. The pickets seem by mutual understanding to cease firing for a while and show white handkerchiefs on each side, when they come out of their pits and 'stop fighting to begin cursing,' as an old fellow told me. They then begin a conservation about in this wise:

Yankee: 'Got any whiskey over your way?'

Southerner: 'No. Have you got any?'

Yankee: 'Yes. Don't you want some?'

Southerner: 'Yes. Come and meet me half way and bring your canteen!'

"They then meet in the center of the field, each without arms, and no one fires on them. They often talk for fifteen minutes, take drinks, swap canteens and drink toast to 'Sweetheart they've left behind us.' The Yankee always wants to make a trade of some sort, swap knives, &c. This is all done in the best humor imaginable. . . ."

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. 67-68.

1863 Atlanta merchant Samuel P. Richards recorded in his diary of one aftermath of the Battle of Chickamauga:

"Hundreds of wounded soldiers have been brought to our city this week, for a severe battle has been fought since last Friday and during several succeeding days, between our forces under Gen. Bragg and those of the Federals under Rosecrans. We were completely victorious they say, though the loss of men was very great on both sides. Rosecrans was driven back to Chattanooga, where he has entrenched himself, it is thought. We took some eight or ten thousand prisoners, 36 cannon and a large quantity of small arms. The battle is called after the stream near which it was fought – "Chickamauga" or "Stream of Death." Alas! every victory, as well as every defeat, brings sorrow and distress to many hearts."

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. 551.

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