The Augusta Chronical Sunday

The Augusta Chronical Sunday, May 11, 1902

Richmond Blues and Richmond Hussars Leaving for the Seminole War in 1836

With tints so darkened and dimmed by the passage of the years that the
casual inspector would pass it by without a second glance, a painting some
three feet by five in dimensions hangs upon the wall of the City Council
Chamber of Augusta that is really of absorbing interest to the people of
our city, especially to those who are descended from or related to the men
who walked the streets and contributed to the life and movement of the town
a half century ago. For a closer inspection reveals the fact that it is an
historical picture, commemorating the departure from Augusta of the
Richmond Blues, a local military company that was one of the first to
volunteer its services to go to Florida where the veteran Clinch was
engaged in the death grapple with the Seminole Indians amid the fastnesses
of the Everglades....

http://www.factorswalk.com/militia/militia.htm

Gordon Smith has a wonderful set of books:

History of Militia 1782-1861

This is what is posted for Richmond. This set would be wonderful to have
in your Library, and I keep working on my local library to invest in it.

Just this Table of Contents shows how much he has made available for
Richmond County.

CHAPTER 5: THE RICHMOND HUSSARS, 1786-1861
Ft. Augusta constructed, 1736-Captain Edmund Gray's troop of horse militia
organizes at Augusta, 1751-Troop of Horse Militia organizes in Augusta
shortly after the end of the Revolution; commanded by CPT James
Stallings-Augusta Dragoons, CPT Richard Call, organizes, 1786-Captain
Robert Watkins organizes a new troop of horse in Richmond County,
1789-escorts President George Washington, 1791-Captain James Armstrong
organizes a second Troop of Volunteer Light Dragoons in Richmond County,
1792-Richmond County Troop of Horse, CPT Reuben Coleman, in federal service
during the Oconee Wars for a few days-The Yazoo Freshet, 1796-Captain
William Dearmond of the Richmond Troop court-martialed for disobedience of
orders and is acquitted, 1798-Augusta Volunteer Troop organizes as a second
troop in Richmond County, but Governor James Jackson refuses to commission
its officers-Richmond Troop becomes defunct in 1800, but CPT George Walker
reorganizes it in 1803-re-ordering the Richmond County militia,
1804-Brigade of Cavalry organizes, 1808-1809-Troop of Horse in Richmond
County assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Regiment Cavalry-Richmond County
Troop of Horse becomes defunct by 1819-Augusta Volunteer Guards, an
infantry company, organizes in 1819 as Richmond County's only volunteer
unit-Richmond Hussars organize 1819 under CPT Michael F.
Boisclair-Legislature authorizes the Richmond County militia to organize a
legionary corps-Richmond Light Dragoons organize in 1831 under the command
of CPT Michael F. Boisclair as the second horse troop in the county-Second
Lieutenant Atton H. Pemberton resigns from the Richmond Hussars due to
politics-Richmond Blues, an infantry company, organize, 1834-Richmond
Hussars, acting as infantry, join the Richmond Blues in Florida during the
Second Seminole War-Richmond Blues represent the county in the Mexican War,
1846-1847-Independent Volunteer Battalion of Augusta organizes,
1856-"Captain Merriman" and his "Fantasticals" in Augusta,
1856-Secession-Herman Brandt fires a one hundred gun salute and smashes all
the window glass on Broad Street-Georgia troops take possession of the
federal arsenal at Augusta-Richmond Hussars split to form two troops in
preparation for war.
Regimental and Battalion Commanders of Richmond County
Volunteer Companies Commissioned in Richmond County
Roster of the Richmond Hussars, 1836
Roster of the Oglethorpe Infantry, 1853
Ode to the Oglethorpe Infantry of Augusta, 1853

Richmond Hussars
(Acting as Infantry)

Samuel Bones, Captain
James T. Gray, 1st Lieutenant
Joseph Collins, 2nd Lieutenant
John M. Anthony, Surgeon
Robert Clarke, Clerk
William Rankin 1st Sgt
F.G. Curtis 2nd Sgt
L.C. D'Antignac, 3rd Sgt
James Cashin, 4th Sgt
W.M.S. porter 1st Corporal
Lewis Sural, 2nd corporal
Patrick Hagan, 3rd corporal
A.S. Cortell, 4th corporal

M.A. Allen
Henry Baker,
Richard Berry
F. Brown
Samuel Brown
John Burnet
George W. Bloxum
W.C. Bush
Wm Busby
Paul Brentnell
D.M. Clark
Thos Chadwick
A.J.C. Campbell
Martin Chimes ? Climes
Richard Cooper
Marcus Cook
Beverly Culbreath
James Culbreath
R. Crook
George Croker
Edward Cunningham
Elbert Dagnal
Jno McDonnald
P. Duncan
C. Duley
R. Davis
J.M.C. Evans
James T. Gardner
William G. Gardner
L. Gibbs
Thos N. Jeffreys
S. Johnson
H. Johnson
Wm King
John Livingston
W.D. Longstreet
James E. Langley
M.J. McHughes
Wm Mitchell
Arnold Obrem
Wm H. Oakman
James M. Pitman
E.C. Powell
E.J. Purce
D.Pacel
Charles S. Reece
John Roberson
Joseph Shannon
J.L. Springs
M.M. Samuel
Andrew Steel
W.R. Tant
I.S. Tant ?
R.J. M. Tucker
John S. Vance
B.W. Weaver
H. Whitaker
A. Young

JOINED IN FLORIDA
A.H. Pemberton
Musicians - John, William , Caesar

RICHMOND BLUES

F.M. Robertson, Captain
Eben Starnes, 1st Lieutenant
William M. Martin, 2nd Lieutenant
Samuel C. Wilson, 3rd Lieutenant
Benj Douglass, M.D. Surgeon
Joseph A. Beard AACS
William H. Michael C?

Theodore J. Brown, 1st Sergeant
Charles B. Martin, 2nd Sergeant
William W. Mann, 3rd Sergeant
John W. Stoy, 4th Sergeant
John B? Campbell 1st Corporal
? Stovall, 2nd Corporal

John Kirkpatrick, 3rd Corporal
William O. Eve, 4th Corporal

George Anderson
Francis H. Alley
George A. Allen'James Alleman
W.T. Adams
Lewis A. Boisclair
George R. Beard
Foster Blodgett
Samuel W. Bates
Hosea Blinn?
James C. Bartlett
Phiades Beall
Oliver T. Brasengton
J.N. Copeland
Samuel Campbell
Hiram C. Clarke
Patrick Crown
Henry R. Casey
George R. Clayton, Jr.
Jacob R. Davis
David Douglass
Chappel S. Devall
Daniel W. Dill
James M. Dye
Samuel P. Edgar
Levi J.V. Fritts
Geo. W. Forrest
Mathew N. Fox
James A. Fulcher
Peter J. Guerin
James G. Gallagher
Thomas D. Glenn
William H. Grimes
George Groton
Sylvanus R. Groves
Hnery Hora
Neal Holland
Charles A. Hardwick
James M Hayward
Phillip Happel
Roger Hassett
Walter Henry
William H. Harris
Henry Jessup
Jesse C. Jackson
Peyton A. King
Hamilton A. Kendrick
Ira Lee
Bartholomew Labuzan
Charles B. Leitner
Jesse Lloyd
Ben F. Lyon
Wm J. Mealing
Sam Milling
Don S. McWhorter
Wm C. Musgrove
Wm McLaughlin
Thomas W. Miller
Joseph Marshall
Lewis Moncrief
James Maher
Sam C. Mustin
James McCafferty
Henry H. Meals
Robert Nesbitt
Henry P. O'Neil
Wm F. Pemberton
John A. Peck
William Phillips
Columbus M. Park
Frederick Plyler
Lewis C. Pearson
Wm A. Robertson
Aaron Ruff
Thomas Roberts
Soloman Rush
Wm W. Reid
Wm Reid
Marcellus A. Stovall
Wm A. Sandford
Sam Sandford
Wm T. Thompson
Wm Thornton Thompson
Kimbrough H. Watson
Jas H. Wilson
Robert Webb
Alexander C. Walker
George R. Wilson
Chas Webber
Barne Abrahams
Axe,am

JOINED IN FLORIDA

Same W. Trott
Andrew Low
Wm M. Berrien (musicians)
Wm McDowell
Matt Bennehed ?
Isaac Sherall?

At 08:46 PM 1/28/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>Virginia
>
>Here is an answer from a person I know as a result of our quest. I asked
>him how to get in touch with Tom Robertson, whose ancestor was the
>commander of the Blues. I know Tom as well. If I can find out, I will ask
>him to give us permission to use his information also. This kind of search
>is what makes this exciting for me. I agree that the rosters are in the
>public domain. Even the article is over 100 years old. I will continue to
>look for other sources though so we can have a backup. The article about
>the picture is very interesting.
>
>The old city hall was torn down and a new municipal building built in the
>70s. There is no telling what was done with the picture as most people
>don't appreciate history the way we do. I will see what I can find out.
>
>Liz
>
>"The places I remember seeing the hussars info was in the old Last Man's
>Club newsletters that Alethia Bigbee has and in the Georgia militia
>series. I bet you could find rosters and unit history in
>augustaarchive.com (this is the Augusta Chronicle site) and certainly at
>the state archives.
>
>Do you remember Mrs. Nowell? She was the librarian at Richmond Academy for
>years, married after she retired. She wrote a history of the academy and
>another book, the name of which escapes me right now.
>
>I think Tom Robertson has a roster of the Blues from the Seminole War. His
>ancestor, Dr. Francis Marion Robertson, was the company commander and Tom
>published his 1836 letters from Florida in Military Collector and
>Historian. I helped with the editing for publication. I've been the editor
>of the twice-yearly ARCHS magazine for the past five years and prepared
>the Hussars article (and many others) for printing. You should send us
>something."
>Russell
>

Richmond Hussars

Capt Bones

Newspaper Accounts:

30 Jan 1836
Federal Union (Transcribed by Lindy Hardy)

The Richmond Blues, under Capt. Robertson,
arrived at Jacksonville, in the steamer Florida.

[Fort Picolata - Florida St. Johns County]

January 30.-The Richmond Blues left Jacksonville,
for Picolata. . The Richmond Blues [Richmond County], the volunteers
from Glynn and Camden, under captain Richard
Floyd, and the volunteers from Darien [McIntosh Co], under
captain Thomas F. Bryan, have received orders to
escort twenty-five waggons loaded with supplies,
and three field pieces, from Picolata to Camp
King. This detachment is accompanied by
lieutenant Pierce, U. S. A., who had arrived a few
days before, with the waggons, from Camp King.

[NOTES:
http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030101/OCALACOMHISTORY/30919015/-1/OCALACOM&template=ocalacom

Fort King was built in 1827 at the north
end of the Seminole Reservation,[Marion Co Fl] and it would become the most
important fort in Florida following the Treaty of Paynes Landing of 1832
(May 9).(Treaty to remove Indians from Florida to Arkansas Territory west
of Mississippi) The fort was built to be durable and comfortable. Materials
were ordered from the War Department; however, the government turned the
request down.]

The Richmond Hussars, under captain Bones, have
arrived at Picolata; but their baggage waggons
have not reached that place.-The volunteers from
Charleston remain at St. Augustine. . Volunteer
companies of infantry from Campbell, Carroll,
Coweta, DeKalb, and Fayette, which have tendered
their services to the governor, have been invited
by his Excellency to rendezvous at Columbus, and
proceed from thence by steam-boat, to Tampa Bay.
No doubt is entertained, that they will comply
with the wish of the Executive. They number about
five hundred men.

The earliest mention of troops in Augusta, GA, was in 1738; a Captain Kent commanded a detachment of Rangers that consisted of 10-15 men, that were garrisoned at a Fort in Augusta. The Richmond Hussars was organized as a volunteer company as part of the Independent Volunteer Battalion of Augusta on 3 March 1856. The Richmond Hussars mustered into confederate service as Company A, Cavalry Battalion, Cobb's Legion, in August 1861 (subsequently furnished Company I, same battalion). Cavalry of Cobb's Legion reorganized as 9th Regiment, Georgia Cavalry, 11 July 1864. Surrendered 26 April 1865 and disbanded and prevented from reorganization by federal law until 1872.

It reorganized on 17 February 1873 as the Richmond Hussars, and on 9 April 1873 as the Independent Volunteer Battalion of Augusta. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, Georgia Volunteers, on 8 November 1889. It was redesignated as the 6th Infantry Regiment, Georgia Volunteers, on 29 January 1894. Its Elements consolidated with elements of the 3rd and 5th Regiments and were mustered into federal service for the Spanish-American war as the 2nd Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment between 11-14 May 1898, at Griffin, GA, and mustered out between 22 November - 9 December 1898 at various locations. It disbanded on 21 September 1899 and its elements were assigned to other units.

It was redesignated as Troop K, 1st Cavalry Regiment, on 3 October 1899, and as Troop K, 2nd Squadron of Cavalry, on 2 December 1907. It was mustered into federal service for the Mexican Border, on 16 July 1916; it returned to state but was not mustered out; and was drafted into federal service as Troop K, 1st Squadron of Cavalry, on 5 August 1917. It converted and was redisignated as Company C, 106th Field Signal Battalion, 31st Division, on 20 October 1917, at Camp Wheeler, GA. It demobilized in April 1919 at Fort Oglethorpe, GA.

CHAPTER 3: THE GEORGIA HUSSARS, 1785–1861

Professional military commands gradually leave Georgia service—colonial militia fills the breech—the Bosomworths and their Indian allies march into Savannah, and the Troop of Horse Militia organizes in that town to meet them, 1749—2nd Troop of Horse organizes in St. John’s Parish, leading the Troop at Savannah to be redesignated the 1st Troop of Horse Militia, 1757—1st Troop disbands, 1771—Joseph Coffell and his "Scopholites" pass through Georgia unchallenged on their way from Carolina to East Florida, 1778—Patriot House of Assembly reacts to the Scopholites by authorizing a Troop of Volunteer Horse to be raised in Savannah—Joseph Habersham refuses its captaincy, but leads mounted volunteers on the Florida Expedition of 1778—Light Dragoon Troop reorganizes in Savannah by 1785—Captain John Berrien moves from Liberty County to claim the command of the Troop at Savannah, 1785—2nd Troop of Horse organizes in Savannah under the command of Captain Samuel Hammond, 1793—1st Troop (Berrien) becomes defunct in 1794, and the 2nd Troop is redesignated as the Chatham Troop of Light Dragoons, commanded by "Chatham Jemmy"—Chatham Troop responds to the First and Second Requisitions for militia during the Embargo Wars—threat of war leads to the creation of the Brigade of Cavalry, G.M., 1808—exception made to the Militia Act so as to allow two troops to co-exist in Savannah—Brigadier General Daniel Stewart—political hacks grab the command slots in the cavalry, causing great dissatisfaction—each cavalry regiment divided into two squadrons—John Macpherson Berrien succeeds to the command of the 1st Regiment Cavalry, 1814—Chatham Hussars organize in 1811 as the second troop in Savannah—Sir George Cockburn captures St. Mary’s, and Berrien’s 1st Regiment Cavalry rushes to the plains of Darien to screen that town and Barrington’s Ferry—upon release from active duty at the end of the War of 1812, both troops of horse at Savannah disband—General Daniel Stewart resigns his commission in 1817 as his brigade dissolves—"Timothy Tugmutton Affair" highlights Savannah’s inability to respond to federal and state requisitions for men to march to Amelia Island, taken by Luis Aury’s pirates, and to the southern frontier as the First Seminole War breaks out at the same time—Captain Obed Wright disregards his orders and destroys a Chehaw village—General Andrew Jackson demands Wright’s punishment, Governor William Rabun rebukes Jackson, and Wright flees to Cuba—troop of horse reorganizes in Savannah in November of 1818 under the command of John Macpherson Berrien and adopts the name Georgia Hussars—definitive Militia Act of 1818 enacted in response to earlier problems—Georgia Hussars joined by other troops along the Georgia coast as the 1st or "A" Squadron, 1821—escort for Lafayette, 1825—Captain George Washington Behn of the Georgia Hussars publishes his Concise History of Instruction for Volunteer Cavalry, 1842—Hussars and sister units exchange social visits, attend tilts, and engage in sham battles—Georgia Legislature incorporates Hussars, 1859—troop moves to Skidaway Island after Secession.

Uniform Regulations, Georgia Cavalry, 1809

Charles Rinaldo Floyd’s Essay on Cavalry Flags, 1840

List of members of the Georgia Hussars claiming jury exemptio