Although born in rural Bryan County, Augustus Bacon attended school in Liberty and Troup Counties. He graduated from the University of Georgia Athens in 1860 with a law degree (he had earlier graduated with a literary degree). Bacon began to practice law in Atlanta when the Civil War broke out. During the war he served as an adjutant for the Ninth Georgia Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia. Upon his return he practiced law in Macon, where he began to get involved in local politics. He served 15 years in the state house, rising to speaker. In 1894 the state of Georgia elected him to the U. S. Senate, where he served until his death in 1914.