James G. Brown and the First Georgia State Troops (First Georgia Volunteer Infantry)

Articles about James G. Brown, of Murray County, Georgia, and his First Georgia Volunteer Infantry Battalion (U.S.), also called The First Georgia State Troops (first organized by James G. Brown in the Spring of 1864, under James S. Steedman, with the approval and recommendation of General Thomas). When the unit did not make, many of the men of the First Georgia Vols later joined the 5th Tennessee Infantry Volunteers.

The unit has a difficult, rather obscure history, and the various articles have conflicting information as to when it mustered, when it disbanded, etcetera. Part of the problem is that, under James Brown, the unit did not enlist enough men to become a regiment or a real battalion. Thomas recommended the unit to the War Department, who nixed the idea, on several counts. Not only did the War Department distrust Home Guard units, but the small battalion had run from battle in Dalton in October 1864. Steedman's criticism of the unit was very harsh.

Articles: 

"Forgotten Union Guerrillas of the North Georgia Mountains,"
Robert S. Davis, Jr., w/Bill Kinsland, asst.
Lumpkin County Genealogy
http://www.lcgen.com/UnionGuerrillas.html

Article in encyclopedia:
New Georgia Encyclopedia (link to article)
"Unionists," in "History & Archaeology: Civil War & Reconstruction, 1861-1877,"
New Georgia Encyclopedia
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/unionists

Mentioned in book:
A Separate Civil War: Communities in Conflict in the Mountain South
Jonathan Dean Sarris
Google Books (short URL): http://bit.ly/James-G-Brown-brief-ref

Mentioned on: "Georgians in the Union Army" (Historic Marker)
http://georgiahistory.com/education-outreach/historical-markers/georgia-civil-war-150/

JAMES G. BROWN IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE U.S. SECRET SERVICE DURING THE CIVIL WAR. HE WAS THE CHIEF OF SCOUTS IN NORTH GEORGIA.