SEAGRAVES: William Henry Hulsey: The Father of Georgia Military College

Published 11:30 am Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Every nation, state, organization and family has that one person or group of persons who are considered to be their founder or father. As Americans we consider George Washington to be the father of our nation. As Georgians, it is James Oglethorpe. But what about Georgia Military College? Who is considered to be the founding father of this institution? His is not a household name but perhaps it should be!

In the summer of 1879 William Henry Hulsey, a member of the Georgia General Assembly from Fulton County, introduced legislation in the House to create a school (Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College) utilizing the buildings and property located in Milledgeville on Statehouse Square.

Motivated in part to prevent the decay of the buildings, ($137 and $38 had been spent in the previous two years) and in part to provide educational opportunity for the students of Middle Georgia, Hulsey introduced legislation that would ultimately turn over control of “the State House and Square, the Executive Mansion and premises, and the Penitentiary Square and appurtenances” to the Trustees of the University of Georgia for the purpose of creating a school for military training, preparing students for higher classes at the University, for the business of practical farm life and mining, and the profession of teaching.

The bill introducing this idea proved to be a tough sell in the House as many opposed it on Constitutional grounds, arguing that it benefited only a small portion of the state and not the state in whole. The bill appeared to be dead and was actually defeated in the House on Aug. 5, 1879 and sent back to committee. Hulsey and his allies did not go quietly and on Sept. 24, 1879 the bill won approval. The Senate quickly followed suit and Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College was born!

William Henry Hulsey was born in Dekalb County in October 1838 and would ultimately move to Atlanta where he would study law in his teens and be admitted to the Georgia Bar at the ripe old age of 20. The Civil War interrupted Hulsey’s law career. He served in the 42nd Georgia Infantry during the War (rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel), and saw action in several of the War’s major battles including Vicksburg and the Battle of Atlanta. Afterwards he returned to Atlanta to begin the practice of law. In 1869, at 32 years of age, he was elected Mayor of Atlanta. Nicknamed the “Boy Mayor,” he saw the city through the early days of Reconstruction and helped Atlanta regain its prominence. His most notable and lasting achievement was the establishment of the Atlanta Public School System, perhaps foreshadowing his endeavor to establish the school in Milledgeville.

Unknown to the thousands who have attended and benefitted from what is today Georgia Military College, William Henry Hulsey should be honored as the “father” of this great institution.

—Scott Seagraves is a retired GMC Prep educator. His column appears occasionally in The Union-Recorder.