Major General Ezekiel Wimberly, commanding the Twiggs Militia, erected and garrisoned three forts along the Ocmulgee River for frontier protection. Born in Bertie County, North Carolina, on September 1, 1783, the son and grandson of Revolutionary soldiers, he lived in Twiggs County from its founding in 1809 until his death on May 5, 1843. Wimberly served as a member of the House and Senate, was twice a Presidential Elector, served as a Colonel in the War of 1812, and was a Major-General from 1820 until his resignation in 1840.