Warren Akin Sr. (October 9, 1811 – December 17, 1877) was an attorney, member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

politician who served in the

Confederate States Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and an ordained Methodist minister.

Early years

Warren Akin Sr. was born in

Elbert County, Georgia Elbert County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,637. The county seat is Elberton. The county was established on December 10, 1790, and was named for Samue ...

, and raised on a farm. At a very early age, he was inspired to become a lawyer, after viewing proceedings at an Elberton court. At age 18, with a limited amount of education, Akin sets off to seek his fortune in the

Dahlonega Gold Rush The Georgia Gold Rush was the second significant gold rush in the United States and the first in Georgia, and overshadowed the previous rush in North Carolina. It started in 1829 in present-day Lumpkin County near the county seat, Dahlonega, ...

. He would work in the gold fields for the next seven years, during which time he fulfilled his childhood ambition by reading law. Akins was admitted to the Cherokee Superior Court in 1836. He subsequently established a successful law practice in

Cassville, Georgia Cassville is an unincorporated community in Bartow County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was originally the county seat before the name was changed from Cass County. The seat was moved to Cartersville after General Sherman destroyed Cassvil ...

while also operating a modest farm just outside the city. He became well known within the north Georgia region and was appointed colonel in the

Georgia Militia The Georgia Militia existed from 1733 to 1879. It was originally planned by General James Oglethorpe before the founding of the Province of Georgia, the Crown colony that would become the U.S. state of Georgia. One reason for the founding of the c ...

, aiding in the removal of the Cherokees, a historical event which became known as the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

. Akin later confesses sympathy for their plight.

Political service

Expressing an interest in politics, but without the necessary support beyond his region in north Georgia, Akin ran unsuccessfully, receiving just 39.61% of the vote, for governor against incumbent Joseph Emerson Brown in 1859. Undeterred, he continued to stay active in the political events and controversies of the day. Akin was a slaveholder, but like many Southerners with Whig party backgrounds, he opposed secession. Nonetheless, after Georgia seceded from the Union, he felt honor bound to support his state, and the new national government of which it was part. He served in the

Georgia state legislature The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

from 1861 to 1863, where he was elected Speaker of the Georgia House. He is the only Representative ever elected to the position of Speaker in his first term. One act, for which he was largely responsible, was changing the name of his county from Cass to Bartow. During the first years of the war, Akin devoted his time to the practice of law in Cassville and his duties as a

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

in Milledgeville. In 1862, long before it was an acceptable notion, Akin proposed allowing slaves to enlist in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

with the promise of freedom in return for service. His proposal was met with overwhelming resistance. Akin wrote a letter to his wife, in which he lamented opposition to a proposal which he believed would win the war for the Confederacy: ''Have you ever noticed the strange conduct of our people during this war?'' How people of the Confederacy could oppose a measure that could help win the war seemed to have a hypocritical twist. Akin continued, ''They give up their sons, husbands, brothers & friends, and often without murmuring, to the army; but let one of their negroes be taken, and what a howl you will hear. The love of money had been the greatest difficulty in our way to independence - it is now our chief obstacle....'' In November 1863, after the Confederate defeat in the

Chattanooga Campaign The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Major general (United States), Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army, Union Army of the C ...

, Akin became convinced that his family would be in the path of approaching Union forces. In January 1864 he moved them initially to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

where Akin narrowly escaped capture by Union raiders. Akin's concerns were well founded, in May 1864 Union raiders burned Akin's home, law office, papers, and personal property left behind when the family moved to Oxford. In August 1864, Akin moved the family again, this time to Elberton, where they had relatives, and where many from the Cassville area had fled.

Confederate Congress

Akin represented Georgia in the

Second Confederate Congress The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia ...

from 1864 to 1865, where he was regarded as an ''administration man'' because of his high regard for

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

. The loss of his home, and personal property, along with the high cost of living in Elberton, and the Confederate capital of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

compelled Akin to extreme economies. His letters indicate that he wore clothes until they were so soiled that he was embarrassed to continue to wear them. It was also during this period that Akin occasionally expressed frustration with the protracted nature of the process and the long-winded speeches of his colleagues. On January 30, 1865 he wrote a letter to his wife in which he lamented ''I... feel we are doing nothing as we ought. Congress seems not to realize the magnitude of the duties devolved upon it.'' Akin left the Confederate Congress one month prior to adjournment, most likely because he anticipated that the Confederacy's collapse was imminent, and that further participation in the Congress was futile.

Death and legacy

Considered by the Cartersville

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“as the first man in his profession in North Georgia”, Akin died December 17, 1877. Continued by his descendants, Akin’s law practice in Cartersville is today one of the oldest law practices in the state.

References

External links