| Atlanta, Ga., March 26, 2019 - The Georgia Historical Society in conjunction with the Waters Foundation, Inc., and the Bartow History Museum will dedicate a new historical marker recognizing Amos Tappan Akerman. Akerman was a teacher and attorney in Georgia who rose to prominence following the Civil War, first as federal district attorney for Georgia (1869) and then as U.S. Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant. Akerman became a staunch supporter of African-American political rights following the war and agressively prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan. The dedication will take place Thursday, March 28 at 11:00 a.m. at Booth Western Art Museum, 501 N. Museum Drive, Cartersville, Georgia. The keynote speaker is Larry Thompson, Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General, 2001–2003. Other speakers for the event include The Honorable Chris Carr, Attorney General of Georgia; Walter M. “Sonny” Deriso, Chairman, GHS Board of Curators; Don Waters, Chairman, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, founder of the Waters Foundation, and member of the GHS board of Curators; Trey Gaines, Director of the Bartow County History Museum; and Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society. The Marker Reads: |
Amos T. Akerman (1821-1880)
Amos Tappan Akerman, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, graduated from Dartmouth College and moved south. While tutoring the children of US Senator and former US Attorney General John Macpherson Berrien in Savannah, Akerman studied law and became an attorney, first in Clarkesville and then Elberton. Akerman supported the Confederacy during the Civil War but joined the Republican Party afterwards, staunchly defending African Americans’ political rights. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Akerman federal district attorney for Georgia in 1869 and then US Attorney General in 1870. Akerman began the newly created Justice Department’s first investigative unit, a precursor to the FBI. He aggressively prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan for political terrorism and violence against African Americans before his forced resignation in 1871. Akerman, whose home was at this location, is buried in Cartersville’s Oak Hill Cemetery.
For additional information please contact Patricia Meagher at 912-651-2125, ext. 153 or on cell at 434-996-7085 or by email at pmeagher@georgiahistory.com.
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