William O. Fleming was born in Liberty County, Ga., the son of William Bennett Flemming and his wife, Eliza Ann (Maxwell) Fleming. He married Georgia W. Williams in 1860 and became a planter near Bainbridge, Decatur County, Ga. At the start of the Civil War he was a lieutenant in Captain John W. Evans' company, the Bainbridge Independents, 1st Georgia Regiment; and in 1862-1865 he became an officer in the 50th Georgia Regiment, rising from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel. After the war he returned to his family at Bainbridge, was appointed solicitor general of the Albany circuit in 1876, and in early 1881 was elected a judge by the state legislature. The collection consists almost entirely of family letters, written by William Bennett Fleming and Eliza Ann (Maxwell) Fleming of Walthourville, Ga., to their son, William O. Fleming, and daughter-in-law, Georgia (Williams) Fleming; by William O. Fleming to his wife and other relatives; by sisters of W. O. Fleming, especially Kate F. Williams; with a few letters in later years written by Georgia Fleming and by younger members of the family. Most of the letters were from Walthourville, with others from Bainbridge and a number from Savannah. The largest concentration of letters is for the Civil War period and relates to W. O. Fleming's army career, with letters by him written from near Pensacola, Fla., and western Virginia, in 1861; from western Virginia in 1862 and 1863 and from near Fredericksburg, Va., in 1863; and from western Georgia late in 1863 and in 1864. Civilian letters during the Civil War were chiefly from Liberty County, Ga., and describe life on the home front and family affairs, with comments on military and political news and rumors. Letters and papers for the period after the Civil War are few and scattered in date, not revealing a full picture of family life or of affairs in Liberty and Decatur counties.
