September 10, 1752

1752 Officially, this day did not exist in Georgia. See Sept. 3 entry for reason.

September 10, 1836

1836 Joseph Wheeler, Jr. was born in Augusta, Georgia. After his mother died in 1842, his father took the family to Connecticut, where he owned part interest in a textile mill. After graduating from West Point in 1859, he was assigned to the New Mexico Territory in 1860. Here, during an encounter with hostile Indians, he earned the nickname "Fightin’ Joe" -- perhaps a particular compliment as he was only 5’5" tall and weighed 120 pounds. In April 1861, Wheeler resigned from the U.S. Army to accept a commission as a lieutenant in a Georgia artillery unit. In July 1862, he became commander of a cavalry division. After several key actions, he was promoted to brigadier general in October 1862. During his service to the Confederacy, Wheeler had 16 horses shot out from under him. After the Civil War, he moved to Alabama, where in 1880 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Wheeler re-entered military service in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War as chief of cavalry for the Fifth Army Corps. During that conflict, he participated in several battles in Cuba -- including San Juan Hill. Wheeler died on January 25, 1906 while visiting his sister in Brooklyn, New York.

September 10, 1875

1875 Former Confederate general John C. Vaughn died near Thomasville, Ga. [For biographical information on Vaughn see Feb. 24 entry.]

September 10, 1891

Georgia cities and towns incorporated by acts approved on Sept. 10: 1891 Nelson (Cherokee and Pickens counties)

September 10, 1901

1901 University of Georgia football coach Harry Mehre was born in Huntington, Indiana. Entering Notre Dame University in 1918, he played varsity football along with George Gipp under legendary coach Knute Rockne. After graduating, Mehre coached football at St. Thomas College in Minnesota (1922-23). In 1924, University of Georgia coach George Woodruff hired Mehre to help Georgia adapt the Notre Dame offense. Four years later, Mehre was Georgia head coach. The next year in the dedication of Sanford Stadium, his team shut out a Yale team that was favored win. Mehre won many more games at Georgia, until his retirement following the 1937 season. The next year he went to Ole Miss, where he was head coach until 1945. Mehre returned to Georgia,where he began a business in Atlanta. However, he enjoyed writing about sports, and Ralph McGill hired him to write for the Atlanta Constitution. Later, he became a columnist-analyst for the Atlanta Journal. In 1971, he was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Mehre died in Atlanta on Sept. 27, 1978.

September 10, 1980

1980 In the largest peaceful protest ever in a Georgia state prison, over 1000 inmates at the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville refused to work in order to dramatize their plea for more rights and better living conditions

September 10, 1994

1994 Civil rights leader James Lofton Barnes was found murdered at his office in Dawson, the victim of a robbery.

September 10, 2002

2002 The Atlanta Braves clinched a record breaking eleventh straight division title. Oddly they did it without playing a game, as second place Philadelphia lost, assuring the Braves of winning the crown.