September 1, 1820

1820 In Milledgeville, drawings began on a land lottery dispensing lands ceded by the Cherokees in Treaty of Washington on February 27, 1819.

September 1, 1864

1864 The Battle of Jonesboro continued all day until late into the night. Confederate forces fought bravely but were overwhelmed by superior Union numbers. Confederate Brig. Gen. Daniel Govan and his Arkansas brigade were captured, and at one point Gen. Hardee’s entire corps was at risk. Darkness brought fighting to an end, and at 11 p.m. Hardee withdrew from the field. In the darkness, what was left of Hardee’s corps marched through the night to Lovejoy’s Station six miles to the south of Jonesboro. There, they wearily dug in to prepare for what would prove to be the final battle in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.

Meanwhile, the morning of September 1 had found Atlantans believing that the Confederates had won the previous day’s battle at Jonesboro. However, some Confederate deserters arrived and told what really happened. Confusion reigned during the day, and no one seemed in charge. Groups of slaves began arriving, taking residence in abandoned houses and cellars. By 5 p.m., a full-scale evacuation of Atlanta was underway. Confederate supplies that could not be carried were distributed to city residents. Gen. Hood ordered Gen. Stephen Lee to take his corps to Lovejoy’s Station to join Hardee’s corps.

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Archival Collection: MS 2 Albertson family letters, muster roll, and photograph, 1863-1865; MS 296 Confederate States of America Army, Georgia 47th Infantry Regiment military records, 1862-1864; MS 732 Alva Sinks letter, 1864; MS 1761 Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard carte-de-visite, circa 1860s Main Collection: Sherman's 1864 trail of battle to Atlanta / Philip L. Secrist, E476.7 .S34 2006; Breaking the Confederacy : the Georgia and Tennessee campaigns of 1864 / Jack H. Lepa, E476.7 .L46 2005; Sherman's historical raid. The Memoirs in the light of the record. A review based upon compilations from the files of the War Office. [By] H.V. Boynton ..., E467.1.S55 S54 Rare Collection: Photographic views of Sherman's campaign, embracing scenes of the occupation of Nashville, the great battles around Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, the campaign of Atlanta, March to the Sea, and the great raid through the Carolinas. From negatives taken in the field, by Geo. N. Barnard, official photographer of the Military Div. of the Miss, E468.7 .B25; The siege of Savannah in December, 1864, and the Confederate operations in Georgia and the third military district of South Carolina during General Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea. By Charles C. Jones, jr, E477.41 .J72; Marching through Georgia : pen-pictures of every-day life in General Sherman's army, from the beginning of the Atlanta campaign until the close of the war / by F.Y. Hedley ; illustrated by F.L. Stodda, E476.69 .H47; The Atlanta campaign : organization of the Union (field) forces, commanded by Major-General William T. Sherman, May 3-September 8, 1864, E476.7 .A85 (Rare Pamphlet); General Sherman's march from Atlanta to the coast : an address delivered before the Confederate Survivor's Association, in Augusta, Georgia, at its sixth annual meeting, on Memorial Day, April 26, 188, E476.69 .J65 1884 (Rare Pamphlet); Life and deeds of General Sherman, including the story of his great march to the sea ... By Henry Davenport Northrop, E467.1.S55 N88 (Rare Pamphlet) Vertical Files: CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA – ARMY; ATLANTA, GA – CIVIL WAR; GEORGIA – HISTORY – CONFEDERATE; Jonesboro Confederate Cemetery; BioVF: HARDEE, William Joseph; Sherman, Gen. William T Artifacts: A-1361-039 Musket used by Confederate soldiers; A-1361-271 Confederate seal, February 22, 1862; A-1361-448 Light dragoon saber, possibly Confederate, with basket type hilt. #1 marking on back of the blade; A-1620-003 CSA medal, one side reads "Surrendered at Greensboro, NC April 26, 1865, W. D. Dixon, Capt. Republican Blues, Co. C 1st Volunteer Regiment Ga., Smith's Brigade, Brown's Div., Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee, CSA"; A-2003-001 Paper money, $5.00 from Confederate States of America; A-0648-001 Confederate bond certificate and money

September 1, 1891

Georgia cities and towns incorporated by acts approved on Sept. 1:

1891 Rhine (Dodge County)

September 1, 1922

1922 Frank DuPre became the last person hanged in Atlanta. In December 1921, the 19-year-old son of a blacksmith had killed a jewelry store security man while stealing a large diamond ring for his girlfriend. DuPre also seriously wounded Atlanta’s city controller, who attempted to stop him from fleeing the scene. DuPre was subsequently apprehended in Detroit and returned to Atlanta, where he was tried and sentence to die. Approximately 5,000 people gathered outside the Fulton County jail to witness the hanging.

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September 1, 1941

1941 In the Houston County community of Wellston, ground breaking ceremonies were held for construction of an Army Air Corps depot in central Georgia. Unofficially called the Georgia Air Depot, the facility got an official name--the Wellston Air Depot--in September 1942, and then six weeks later yet another official name--the Warner Robins Army Air Depot. Today, Warner Robins Air Force Base considers September 1, 1941, as its founding date.

September 1, 1942

1942 The community of Wellston, Georgia, adopted a new name -- Warner Robins -- in honor of the late Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins, who had been a friend and mentor of the new depot’s commander.

September 1, 1946

1946 Insurance executive and state government official Henri Talmage Dobbs drowned while fishing on a lake on his farm near MacLand in Cobb County, Georgia. Born in Powder Springs in 1888, Dobbs entered the insurance industry as a file clerk in 1909 eventually rising through the ranks of what would become the Life Insurance Company of Georgia. In the early 1940s, Dobbs entered public service working on the staffs of two governors--including serving as Gov. Ellis Arnall’s chief of staff. Dobbs also served on the Board of Public Welfare and the Georgia Merit System Council. The year before his death, he was named chairman of the State Board of Personnel Administration, which was responsible for administering Georgia’s state merit system.

September 1, 1949

1949 The last Douglas C-54 transport planes arrived at Robins AFB on their way to West Germany to participate in the Berlin Airlift launched the previous year by Marietta-native Gen. Lucius Clay.

September 1, 1992

1992 After a day of campaigning in central Georgia, Vice President Dan Quayle flew out of Robins AFB on Air Force II.

September 1, 2004

2004 In a political oddity, Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller spoke at the Republican National Covention, in support of the re-nomination and re-election of incumbent Republican President George W. Bush.