John Batts

John A. Batts (September 11, 1814 – May 19, 1878) was an American planter, slaveowner, and politician. He sat in the Georgia General Assembly and was an inferior court judge.

Career Batts was a wealthy planter who enslaved at least 35 people on his plantation in Lee County, Georgia. He owned 2,250 acres of land, making him one of the largest landholders in the county.

In the late 1840s, Batts served on a regional committee to develop plans to construct a railroad through Lee County to the Georgia Central Line in Macon. He was a member of the senate when the state seceded from the Union but was not a member of the secession convention. His son, William, served in the 12th Georgia Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and was killed at the Battle of Cedar Mountain. Following the war, Batts applied for a presidential pardon from President Andrew Johnson after emancipating his slaves and swearing allegiance to the United States.