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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL THURS., JULY 1, 1974,
Provided Much Os Labor Force
Blacks Played Big Role
In American Revolution
Austin, who later took
the surname of Dabney,
was enlisted in Colonel
Elijah Clarke's Georgia
Militia unit as a substitute
for his master, a Mr.
Aycock. Assigned to the
company of Captain
Dabney, Austin soon saw
action against the Tories
and acquitted himself well
as a soldier. In the Battle
of Kettle Creek, he
distinguished himself for
Prominent
Blacks In
America
George Washington
Carver of Tuskegee,
Alabama became one of
the great scientists of the
world through his research
with sweet potatoes,
peanuts, and soybeans.
Carver died in 1943 at age
78, after receiving many
honors.
Blind Tom Bethune, a
black boy of Columbus,
Georgia, became world
famous as a pianist
Recognized as a musical
genius, the young black
began giving concerts and
composing at an early age.
He performed in Europe
and in the United States for
over 20 years although he
could not read notes and
never had a music lesson,
Booker T. Washington,
educator and reformer,
was president of Tuskegee
Institute in Alabama from
1881.1915. This well known
black leader of his day
championed vocational
training for blacks. He was
not only an educator but an
able writer and speaker.
Served Over 50 Years In Congress
Carl Vinson Known
As The Father Os
Robins AF Base'
Although former
Congressman Carl Vinson
ot Milledgeville never
represented Houston in
Congress, this section is
indebted to him tor the
location of Robins Air
Force Base in this county.
During his more than
fifty years in Congress, the
longest period of service
of any person in history,
Mr. Vinson's many
achievements earned him
such titles as "Father of
Modern Navy" and Elder
Statesman of Aviation".
To the citizens of Houston
County he is known as the
"Father of Robins Air
Force Base".
When he took his seat in
the House of Represen
tatives from the Tenth
District on November 3,
1914, Mr. Vinson was the
youngest member at 30
years of age. For 40 years,
he was the senior
Democrat on either the old
Naval affairs committee
or its successor, the Armed
Services Committee. He
was the chairman of these
committees except for two
brief periods when
Republicans controlled the
House.
In his first speech on
military preparedness in
1916, the Congressman
stated two basic
philosophies which guided
him throughout his years
bravery under fire, but
was so gravely wounded
that he was left on the
battlefield for dead. After
lying nearly lifeless for
some time, the black man
was rescued by Giles
Harris, a local resident,
who took him home and
nursed him back to health.
After the war, the Georgia
Assembly recognized
Austin's service to the
State by passing a law
insuring him his freedom
and later granted him a
disability pension and 112
acres of land in Walton
County. Austin, who could
count Elijah Clarke,
James Jackson and other
equally important people
as his friends, remained
with Giles Harris, helping
to educate Harris' son and
to establish the latter in a
law practice. He left his
estate to young Harris.
To be sure, Austin
Dabney's case was
unusual; very tew Georgia
blacks bore arms, either as
Rebels or as Tories. A
great many, however,
were involved in non
combatant roles. Both
sides pressed Negroes into
service as laborers,
waggoners, cooks, and
utilized the talents of those
skilled as blacksmiths and
carpenters. They built
fortifications, drove
wagons, cooked meals,
carried ammunition, cared
for the sick and wounded,
shod horses, and did a
great many other tasks
which enabled whites to
concentrate on fighting.
Negroes were also used
effectively by both sides as
spies and casual sources of
information about troup
strength, movements, and
plans of the opposition,
details that slaves often
picked up without their
masters' realizing it. One
of service; "A nation can
maintain peace only if its
defenses are strong, and
preparedness is a non
partisan question".
While representing the
Tenth District, the young
Congressman had op
position from the powerful
political leader, Tom
Watson, in 1916 but won re
election. In 1931, Baldwin
County was restored to the
Sixth Congressional
District which elected Mr.
Vinson 16 times for 32
years' service.
In 1947, committees on
Naval affairs and military
affairs were merged into
the Armed Services
Committee. Mr. Vinson
served on the Naval affairs
for 30 years During this
time, he had a prominent
Carl Vinson
of the most dramatic
examples of the usefulness
of information given by a
Negro occurred when the
British were getting ready
to invade Savannah in 1778.
Colonel Archibald Camp
bell was preparing for a
frontal attack on the city
when an old Negro, Quash
(Quamino Dolly),
volunteered to lead troops
through the swamps by a
little known path to the
rear of the Rebels'
position. Taken by surprise
and outnumbered, the
Rebels were thrown into
confusion, and the British
were able to take the city
with little trouble or loss of
life.
Georgia's Negroes also
had a passive, but none
the less important effect
during the Revolution.
Constituting almost one
half of the colony's
population in 1773, they
provided much of the
colony's manual labor
force, doing not only most
of the field work on the
large farms and plan
tations, but also working
as skilled artisans,
stevedores, seamen, town
laborers, and house
servants. However, once
hostilities began, much of
their effectiveness as
workers was lost.
Supervision was relaxed or
Ed Barker Serves
Houston In 18th Dist.
Ed Barker, of Warner
Robins, who represents
Houston County in the 18th
Georgia Senatorial
District, has had im
portant committee
assignments during his
two terms in the State
role in the growth of
American military power.
Some of the most im
portant legislation ever
enacted for Armed Ser
vices was authored by the
Vinson committee. These
measures preserved the
Marine Corps, established
a separate Air Force with
its own academy, provided
for continued growth of the
Navy, set standard
procurement practices,
consolidated military
purchases, re organized
the Pentagon, unified field
commands, and gave Joint
Chiefs of Staff broader
authority.
After serving under ten
presidents and through
three wars, Congressman
Vinson retired in January
1965 and went back to
Milledgeville to live on his
River Ridge Plantation.
He is now 92 years
"young".
Called Uncle Carl" by
admirals, generals and
even Presidents, Mr.
Vinson is really "Uncle
Carl" to Mrs. Elizabeth
Nunn of Perry and her
children, U.S. Senator Sam
Nunn and Mrs. Betty Nunn
Mori of Atlanta.
"Uncle Carl's" driving
force, ability to com
promise, and keen mental
qualities anabled him to be
the principal architect of
American defense policies
for 40 years.
nonexistent because
owners and overseers were
away fighting. Whites
remaining behind often
lived in constant tear of
slave insurrections,
although few, if any, such
insurrections ever oc
curred. Opportunities for
escape were frequent and
often taken advantage of
as both sides, especially
the British, openly en
couraged slaves owned by
the opposition to run away.
Confiscation of slaves,
along with other property,
was also a common
practice by both sides. The
end result was that
Georgia had many fewer
slaves in 1783 fhan she did
in 1773. The exact number
of slaves who ran away to
Florida, joined the British
forces, or were confiscated
by she British and carried
out of she colony is not
known, but contemporary
estimates range from one
half so three fourths of the
total slave population.
Whatever she true number,
the economic loss in terms
of labor and money in
vested in slaves, created a
serious problem in
Georgia.
Courtesy of the Georgia
Commission for the
National Bicentennial
Celebration and the
Georgia Archives.
Senate.
Senator Barker was
among a small group of
lawmakers who had the
privilege of serving on four
of the nineteen standing
committees of the Senate.
Under re organization,
most of the 56 senators are
limited to serving on three
committees but Barker
was named to the im
portant Rules Committee,
one of the two panels ex
cluded from the limitation.
This group determines
what bills will be brought
to vote during the last
fourteen days of the
General Assembly.
The lawmaker also
served as chairman of the
Administrative Affairs
sub committee of the
Rules Committee, which
deals with the overall
operation of the Senate.
Other committees on
which Senator Barker
served were Natural
Resources and En
vironmental Quality and
its subcommittee on
Parks and Historical sites,
Defense and Veterans
Affairs, and Economy,
Reorganization and Es
ficiency in Government.
Legislation sponsored by
Barker includes Safety of
Hunters, Railroad Safety,
Veterans Affairs, Control
of Massage Parlors, and
Drug Abuse.
Senator Barker has been
a resident of Houston
County for 34 years. He
graduated from Warner
Robins High School and
attended Mercer
University.
His capable wife, the
former Janet Belflower,
native of Peach County, is
a member of the Houston
County Democratic
Executive Committee and
a delegate to the
Democratic National
Convention in New York
City in July.
The Barkers have three
children, Eddie, Billy, and
Jackie.
Mr Barker is a member
of the Houston Road
Church o' God in Warner
Robins He is the owner
and operator ot a furniture
store in Warner Robins.
Barker is a candidate for
re election to the Senate
from the 18th District to
represent Houston, Peach
and part of Macon
Counties.
The
Nation's Oldest
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Established In 1917
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Geo. C. Nunn & Son
Jernigan Street • Perry, Georgia