An All-Black Liberty County Militia, 1882

In 1882, Captain Andrew Stacy of the all-Black Georgia Lincoln Guards in Liberty County, Georgia, asked the Liberty County Ordinary, Joseph Ashmore, to record the names of the Guards. Ashmore recorded the list in the middle of an apparently unrelated Court of Ordinary Book that was dedicated to Homestead Exemptions. No other reference to this unit has been found so far.

I discovered this in 2025 while paging through that book to record the homestead exemptions for the TheyHadNames.net website. The immediate question was whether this was a militia recognized by the state or perhaps a local initiative.

The answer: it was a state-recognized militia in existence since at least the late 1870s.

How do we know this? There are two important works about late 19th century Black militias in Georgia: African American State Volunteers in the New South: Race, Masculinity & the Militia in Georgia, Texas and Virginia, 1871-1906 by John Patrick Blair and Show Thyself a Man: Georgia State Troops, Colored, 1865-1905 by Gregory Mixon. (Note: These books are excellent but pricy. If you’re interested in the topic, check your interlibrary loan service for them.)

Both authors confirm that a Black unit called the Lincoln Guards  from Riceboro was on the state’s list of sponsored “colored” militia units by 1878. Riceboro is where most of the militia members on the list lived. Why Riceboro? Riceboro was a hub of Black civic and political activity in postbellum Liberty County. For example, during the 1868 election when court officials did not open the Riceboro polling place, local Black leaders stepped up and collected hundreds of votes, for which more than 100 Black voters were indicted by the Grand Jury.

Were Black militias active so soon after the Civil War? Surprisingly, yes. Blair notes that from 1871 to 1906, armed Black militia companies represented one of the highest achievements of African Americans in the South. Mixon adds that these militias were crucial in Black Georgians’ efforts to secure freedom, citizenship, and a sense of belonging after the war.

Mixon also references Otis Singletary’s Negro Militia and Reconstruction (1957), which he says suggests these units were designed to support Republican governance in the South. However, Mixon argues that many members joined to assert their rights to citizenship, exercise masculinity, and fight for racial freedom — defending their rights to land, voting, and economic autonomy.

Phases of Black Militia Formation in Georgia:

According to Blair and Mixon, there were two phases in the establishment of these units in Georgia. Before 1880, they were independent militia units who could form themselves and request recognition and funding by the State — usually through petitions to the Governor or his Adjutant General requesting permission to elect officers. Blair notes that Governor Smith of Georgia approved many such petitions from African Americans starting in 1872. (Emma Davis-Hamilton and William Durant are currently searching for such a letter from the Riceboro Lincoln Guards in the Georgia Archive records.)

Blair mentions a significant rise in Black militia units around 1877-78, notably in Savannah, Atlanta, Augusta, and Macon. The Riceboro Lincoln Guards are listed among these units. He attributed this rise to the willingness of Governor Colquitt’s administration to approve these petitions. Savannah, Atlanta, Augusta, and Macon had the most number of units.

According to Mixon, the first use of the name “Lincoln Guards” appears to have been in Savannah in 1872 when a group of 130 African American members of the “Lincoln Association” met to form a militia and named it the Lincoln Guards. Given the proximity of Liberty County and Savannah, it seems likely that the Riceboro group was either influenced by this or connected in same way to the Savannah group.

In 1880, the Georgia State Assembly had mandated creation of a State militia that would consist of segregated units. The white commands would be called the “Georgia Volunteers,” and the Black commands the “Georgia Volunteers, Colored.” Any independent state militias that existed before October 16, 1880, could remain intact. Not surprisingly, the White Georgia Volunteers units consistently received preference in funding, arming and treatment, but both commands suffered over time from State neglect and lack of funding.

In 1905 the state legislature dissolved the Black militias in Georgia, according to Blair, leaving only the all-White militias.

Why did the Liberty County Lincoln Guards ask Judge Ashmore to record their names in 1882? That still is not clear, but it may possibly be related to the Georgia Assembly’s ruling that units formed before 1880 would automatically be approved as part of the state-sponsored militias. It seems odd, however, that the record does not include any information about when they were formed. That originally made me think it was a new unit, but Mixon’s and Blair’s information showed otherwise. It could be that the unit had originally formed, lapsed, and was being re-formed, of course.

Originally I thought there might be another Liberty County unit, as Blair listed the Midway Harrisburg Blues. (Midway is a town in Liberty County.) However, a search of the Georgia Historic Newspapers site turned up an article complaining about the Harrisburg Blues marching through the town of Milledgeville. Baldwin County, where Milledgeville is located, had a town known as Midway-Hardwick at the time. It seems more likely that the unit marching through the Milledgeville streets was from there than from Liberty County.

Blair also noted that “the Colored Liberty Volunteers of Fleming” had attempted to obtain permission to form as a cavalry company in 1892 but was unsuccessful due to limits placed on the overall number of militia units. Fleming is a town in Liberty County.

Andrew Stacy was formerly held in slavery by John E. Baker and freed when Sherman’s Army came to Liberty County in December, 1864. He became a farmer after the war and prospered, buying land and passing it down to his son, Solomon Stacy. Andrew Stacy appears to have died between 1889 and 1900. For a detailed account of his life, see https://theyhadnames.net/2021/07/22/andrew-stacy-southern-claims-commission/ (which also has a full transcript of his U.S. Southern Claims Commission petition).

Following is a transcript of the entry for the Guards. The three columns with links to the 1880 census and other information from the census were added by me (the transcriber.) Not all of the names could be identified due to the use of initials. See the citation at the end for a link to the original document. The Ordinary, Joseph Ashmore, was my 2d great-grandfather.

[Begin Transcript]

List of the Members of the “Georgia Lincoln Guards”

#	Rank	Name	1880 Census-Name	1880 Census-Race	1880 Census-Age
1	Capt.	A Stacy	Andrew Stacey	Black	36
2	Lieut	T.W. Delegal	Tony Delegal	Black	32
3	Lieut	John Crawford	John Crawford	Black	40
4	Lieut	S. Bacon	Possibilities: Scott Bacon (b. 1849) Samuel Bacon (b. 1840) Steven Bacon (b. 1845) Samson Bacon (b. 1845) Stephen Bacon (b. 1848)
1	Sergeant	H. Bacon	Possibilities:Henry Bacon (b. 1825) Henry H. Bacon (b. 1855) Henry Bacon (b. 1831)
2	Sergeant	J. Bacon	Possibilities: James Bacon (b. 1856) John A. Bacon (b. 1857) Joseph Bacon (b. 1830) John Bacon (b. 1850) (This John Bacon knew Andrew Stacy well) Jacob Bacon (b. 1855)
3	Sergeant	H.M Knight	Henry McNight	Black	32
4	Sergeant	Frank Givings	Frank Gibbin	Black	39
5	Sergeant	William Hicks	William Hicks	Black	27
	Corporal	March Bacon	March Bacon	Black	25
	Corporal	P.R. Stevens	Possibilities: Paul Stevens (b. 1845) Prince Stevens (b. 1834) Peter Stevens (b. 1855) Peter Stevens (b. 1820) (NOTE: Peter Stevens, b. 1855, lived very near Capt. Andrew Stacy)
	Corporal	Alex. B??ings	Last name possibly misspelled or misheard
	Corporal	Collins Golden	Collins Goulding	Black	27
1	Private	Joshua Green	Joshua Green	Black	35
2	Private	H.S. Stevens	Possibilities: Henry Stevens (b. 1820) Harry Stevens (b. 1833)
3	Private	Isaac Grant	Isaac Grant	Black	26
4	Private	Anthony Bacon	Anthony Bacon	Black	57
5	Private	James Stacy	James Stacy	Black	54
6	Private	Byron McIntosh	Byron McIntosh	Black	37
7	Private	Robert Chipp	Robert Chip	Black	18
8	Private	Ned Chipp	Ned Chip	Black	30
9	Private	Robert B. Stewart	Robert Stewart	Black	23
10	Private	George Stevens	George Stevens	Black	25
11	Private	Prince Jones	Prince Jones	Black	30
12	Private	Allen Benjamin	Allen Benjamin	Black	30
13	Private	Plenty Stacy	Plenty Stacy	Black	24
14	Private	John Jackson	Possibilities: John Jackson (b. 1858) John Jackson (b. 1860) John Jackson (b. 1848)
15	Private	Thomas Cassels	Thomas Cassels	Black	20
16	Private	John McIver	John McIver	Black	45
17	Private	M.B. Butler	Meshach Butler ?		20
18	Private	Anthony James	Tony James	Black	20
19	Private	Robert R. Stevens	Robert Stevens	Black	40
20	Private	M.B. Robert	Possibilities: Marlbro Robert (b. 1859) Madison Robert (b. 1866)
21	Private	Isaac Brown	Isaac Brown	Black	42
22	Private	Hamlet Delegal	Hamlet Delegal*	Black	33
23	Private	Harry A. Young	Harrington Young	Black	22
24	Private	Samuel Jackson	Sam Jackson*	Black	21
25	Private	Robert G. Goulden	Robert Golding	Black	27
26	Private	Thomas Hargraves	Tom Hargraves	Black	16
27	Private	Ned Hargraves	Ned Hargraves	Black	18
28	Private	Peter Hargraves	Peter Hargraves	Black	22
29	Private	Ed Gunner	Edward Gunn?	Mulatto	25
30	Private	Josiah Smith	Not found
31	Private	John Graham	Not found
32	Private	James Dolly	James Dolly	Black	40
33	Private	Charley Stewart	Charley Stewart	Black	18
34	Private	Windsor Stevens	Windsor Stevens*	Black	18
35	Private	George Powell	George Powell	Black	38
36	Private	Jimmy Low	James Low	Black	38
37	Private	Pulaski Richardson	Pulaski Richardson (1900 census)	Black	26 (in 1880)
38	Private	Richard Way	Richard Way	Black	21
39	Private	Ed Fleming	Edward Fleming*	Black	22
40	Private	Jacob Wilson	Only one found too young (12)

• Most likely possibility due to age 

Entered by request of Capt. A. Stacy

February Feby 7th 1882

Joseph Ashmore

Ordinary L.C. [Liberty County]

[End Transcript]

Liberty County Court of Ordinary, Exemptions, Book B (1881-1912), pages 100-1; digital database, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-7JVG : accessed 18 Jun 2025), Film #008628957, images 181-2.