A Century of Support to the Governor of the State of Georgia
On January 14, 2019, Brian Kemp was sworn in as the 83rd
Governor of Georgia. Soldiers and Airmen of the Georgia
National Guard along with volunteers from the Georgia State
Defense Force will take part in inaugural activities as they have
for decades. In this article, the Georgia National Guard History
inaugurations of past commanders in chief.
Slaton commuted the death sentence of a convicted murderer who
had been condemned by a jury decision that subsequent historians
and legal scholars largely consider erroneous. Ensuing riots and
threats of violence against Slaton prompted the activation of the
Georgia Guard. Brigadier General J. Van Holt Nash, Georgia’s
Adjutant General, mobilized the 5th Infantry Regiment; Troop
L, Second Cavalry Squadron and Battery B, 1st Battalion Field
Artillery.i Colonel Orville Hall, commander of the 5th Infantry
dispatched two companies to provide security for the governor.
ii Arriving at the governor’s house, the companies of the 5th
Infantry were confronted by a crowd of 2,000 angry citizens who
way onto the grounds. Several Guardsmen were injured by rocks
or broken bottles hurled by the mob. By the morning of June 22,
the Guardsmen had successfully dispersed the mob. For the next
several days, Guardsmen rotated through security shifts repelling
occasional assaults and arresting citizens who failed to disperse.iii
On June 27, 1915, The Georgia Guard Soldiers participated in
the inauguration of Governor Nathaniel Harris providing security
iv At the time of Harris’ inauguration
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the Georgia Guard was composed of 3,045 Soldiers.v In 1916,
Georgia Guard mobilized outside the state when he visited the 1st
Brigade encampment at Camp Cotton, El Paso. Harris observed
a review of the Georgia Guard units including those who had
helped secure his inauguration.
In 1955, two former Adjutants General were inaugurated as
the Georgia National Guard’s 101st Antiaircraft Artillery
War II and served as Georgia’s Adjutant General from 1944 to
1947. Former adjutant general Ernest Vandiver was sworn in as
Georgia’s third lieutenant Governor.vi
More than 2,500 Georgia National Guardsmen paraded down
Peachtree Street before the governor’s reviewing stand. The
Governor reviewed the Soldiers, tanks and artillery of the Maconbased
48th Infantry Division, the guns of the 108th Antiaircraft
aircraft engines and an oscillating radar antenna of the 129th
Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. Poor weather conditions
F-84 Thunderjets, but the streets echoed to the rumble of twelve
tanks 14 howitzers and nine antiaircraft guns. The 48th Infantry
Division Band provided music along with the 30th Infantry
Division Band and 530th Air Force Band from Dobbins Air
Reserve Base.vii
Governor Nathan Harris (right) with Brig. Gen. Walter Harris,
commander of the 1st Brigade, Ga. National Guard reviews troops of
the 2nd Ga. Infantry Regiment (now the 121st IR) in El Paso, Texas in
1916.
inaugural salute to Gov. Ernest Vandiver from the capitol grounds. (Photo
from Georgia Guard Archives)