Oconee County Historical Society speaker for next meeting
Subject: speaker for next meeting The Oconee County Historical Society and OCAF invites all those interested in learning more about our local Civil War history to come to a talk given by Sam Thomas, curator of the T.R.R. Cobb House on Monday February 21 at 7:00pm in the auditorium of the OCAF building in downtown Watkinsville. Mr. Thomas' talk brings to life the Athens Home Guard, known as Mitchell's Thunderbolts, a Civil War militia formed to protect the town and did so in their own unique style. In 1863, with Georgia being threatened with a Union invasion from Tennessee many communities began to form their own local guard units to protect the towns in the case of attack. These militia groups were known as Home Guards and were generally made up of men either too old to serve in the regular army or those who could no longer serve and been discharged due to wounds, or young boys under the age of regular service (15 and under). Athens w...
