James Milton Smith (October 24, 1823 – November 25, 1890) was a Confederate infantry colonel in the American Civil War , as well as a post-war Governor of Georgia .
13-744: Smith was born in Twiggs County, Georgia and was educated at the Culloden Academy in Monroe County . He was admitted to the bar in 1846 and opened his first office in Columbus, Georgia . In 1855, he unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Representative from his district. With the onset of the Civil War, he entered the Confederate Army as a captain in the 13th Georgia Infantry. He was promoted to major , then to
26-624: Is a historic county courthouse in Jeffersonville, Georgia , county seat of Twiggs County, Georgia . The Romanesque Revival architecture building was designed by J.W. Golucke and built from 1902 to 1904. The previous courthouse had burned down in 1901. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is located in Courthouse Square. The square includes a Confederate soldier memorial. This article about
39-534: Is included in the Macon , GA metropolitan statistical area . The Twiggs County Courthouse is located in Jeffersonville. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 363 square miles (940 km ), of which 358 square miles (930 km ) is land and 4.2 square miles (11 km ) (1.2%) is water. Due to its location on the fall line , the county boasts a diverse geography. Northern parts of
52-662: The Altamaha River basin. A narrow northwestern portion of the county, from just north to southwest of Dry Branch, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The entire eastern edge of the county is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, with a small triangular portion of Twiggs County, south of Interstate 16 and west of Danville , located in
65-713: The Confederate Congress until hostilities ceased in 1865. He established a very successful law partnership in Columbus, Georgia, and was elected to the Georgia Legislature in 1870 as an outspoken opponent of Radical Reconstruction. The following year, he became Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives . Running unopposed, Smith was elected Governor in 1872, succeeding acting Governor Benjamin F. Conley . To many, Smith's inauguration on January 12, 1872, symbolized
78-519: The State Normal School in Athens was named for him. Twiggs County, Georgia Twiggs County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 8,022. The county seat is Jeffersonville . The county was created on December 14, 1809, and named for American Revolutionary War general John Twiggs . Twiggs County
91-675: The Chattahoochee Circuit of the Superior Court from 1888 until 1890. Smith was married twice, first to Sally Marshall Welborn, then after her death to Hester Ann R. Brown. Smith died on November 25, 1890. He was buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville , Georgia. The Atlanta Constitution eulogized James Milton Smith as "one of the boldest and most fearless men in the history of Georgia". The James M. Smith Science Hall at
104-621: The Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same larger Altamaha River basin. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 8,022 people, 3,044 households, and 1,838 families residing in the county. The Twiggs County School District is the sole school district in the county. It includes Jefersonville Elementary and Twiggs County Comprehensive Middle/High School. Private schools: 32°40′N 83°26′W / 32.67°N 83.43°W / 32.67; -83.43 Twiggs County Courthouse Twiggs County Courthouse
117-600: The county tend to be hillier, being part of the Piedmont region, and southern parts of the county tend to be flatter, being part of the upper Atlantic coastal plain . The geographical center of Georgia lies in Twiggs County — off Bullard Road near Old Marion. The southwestern and central portion of Twiggs County, south of Dry Branch and west of Jeffersonville , is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of
130-590: The end of Reconstruction and the "redemption" of the Democratic Party in Georgia. Smith was reelected in 1874, serving until 1877. During his second term, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1876. Major accomplishments included restoring the state's credit rating by voiding fraudulent bonds and reducing overall expenditures, retiring the debt and leaving office with a surplus in
143-578: The regiment's colonelcy in 1862. He led his regiment through the Gettysburg Campaign , and marched to the banks of the Susquehanna River before returning to Gettysburg to participate in the Battle of Gettysburg . He was severely wounded in the 1864 Battle of Cold Harbor and returned to Georgia to recuperate. Smith resigned from the army to enter politics and was elected a Democratic delegate to
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#1732855403164156-493: The state treasury. He was a supporter of creating a state department of agriculture, and was noted for appointing the most qualified candidates to fill openings in his administration, a contrast to the patronage system that was popular at the time. In an 1876 interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution , Smith made racist remarks about African-Americans, calling them "idle, thriftless" and "always depending on
169-526: The whites for everything". The Equal Justice Initiative , a non-profit organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, noted posthumously (in 2017) that African-Americans made up 46 percent of his constituents. Smith was defeated in his bid for the U.S. Senate in 1877. He was named the first chairman of the new Georgia Railroad Commission, serving a 6-year term. Returning to his legal career, his former Civil War commander, John B. Gordon appointed him as Judge of
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