state's Secession Convention. The delegation elected Crawford president of the convention by a unanimous vote and he oversaw the state's vote of secession. As the convention's president, Crawford is considered the author of Georgia's Ordinance of Secession, the official document announcing the state's formal intent to secede the federal Union – originally as an independent republic, ultimately to join the Confederate States of America. The delegation approved the ordinance January 19, 1861, with 208 voting in favor of secession and 89 opposed. The delegates signed the document in celebratory fashion two days later in the public square in front of the statehouse in Milledgeville where the convention was assembled. Crawford survived to witness the consequences of enacting the ordinance, lamenting its cost in the shed blood of Georgia citizens rallied by the convention's call. Crawford was to be tried for inciting a rebellion due to his role in presiding over the state's secession and was excluded from eligibility for both Lincoln's and Johnson's amnesty proclamations because of his leadership status. Crawford escaped the harsh consequences of an adjudication of guilt in 1865, when Johnson approved his direct application for amnesty thereby restoring Crawford as a citizen of the United States in good stead – with full protection of his person and property against all forms of reprisal. Death and legacy Crawford died on July 27, 1872, at his Belair estate, located near Augusta, Georgia. His funeral was held in St. Paul's Episcopal Church and he was buried in Summerville Cemetery located in Augusta. On November 16, 1943, the keel was laid for the SS George Walker Crawford, a liberty ship built by the J.A. Jones Construction Company in Brunswick, Georgia honoring Crawford for his service to the state of Georgia. The ship was launched January 1, 1944, and delivered into federal service January 13, 1944. Crawford's biographer Len Cleveland said that in researching his material he observed that "Crawford's entire political career was motivated by a traditional sense of duty rather than by deep political convictions". Robert Toombs spoke well of Crawford, Saying, "There are but few abler and no purer men in America, and he has administrative qualities of an unusually high order." See also List of signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession Confederate States of America, causes of secession "Died of states' rights" References External links George W. Crawford at The New Georgia Encyclopedia "Death of Ex-Governor