April 3, 1861; The Charleston Mercury
The readers of THE MERCURY have already learned that the President has made a requisition upon Georgia for one thousand men, to serve in Florida. Already the note of preparation is sounding in many parts of that gallant State, but so far as our observation goes, the Augusta Volunteers are the first who have actually taken the field. This is not surprising, however, when it is recollected that the citizens of Augusta have always displayed an ardent patriotism. They were among the first, if not the first, to volunteer for the Florida war, and more recently the Mexican war. On Monday last the Ogelthorpe Infantry, Capt. J. O. CLARKE, and the Walker Light Infantry, Capt. S. H. CRUMP, left Augusta for Macon, the place of rendezvous for the troops ordered on this campaign. Their combined force numbers 130 men. They were escorted to the depot by the celebrated Clinch Rifles, and other military organizations, together with a number of citizens, so large that the Chronicle and Sentinel feels diffident about furnishing an estimate. Of the volunteers themselves, that journal is not so sparing, for it says that if the day comes when they shall be obliged to meet a hostile army, will not be found wanting in all that constitutes brave and efficient soldiers. We wish these volunteers all that brave soldiers ever fought, died or hoped for.