Georgia, Part 6

Actual date,Sunday, December 9th.

Oh, wait, we DID get to visit Kennesaw Battlefield after all!

We finished up at the Harris house around 1:30 in the afternoon, and since the battlefield didn't seem that far away (about a 40-minute drive), we decided to add it to the itinerary.

Kennesaw is on the outskirts of Atlanta, and was  the first position used by the Confederate Army, led by General Joseph Johnson, to delay the advance of General William Sherman's Union Army.  The battle was fought from June 19th to July 2nd, 1864.

The battlefield has four areas; the Kennesaw Mountain artillery position, Pigeon Hill, Cheatham Hill, and Kolb's Farm.

A shuttle will take you to the top of the Kennesaw Mountain position, or you may walk the road.  There is also a steep hiking trail.  Naturally, we rode.  Above is a picture of the cannons and fortifications at the top of the mountain.  Confederate and Union troops traded cannon fire for nearly a week, but neither seemed very effective.

The next part of the battlefield was down the road at Pigeon Hill, but that site was a hike into the woods, and we were running out of daylight.  So we skipped ahead to Cheatham Hill.
















Cheatham Hill was the "bulge" in the Confederate lines, and became a focal point of the battle.  The Southern army erected barriers and dug trenches.  They also camouflaged a set of cannons, with gunners given the order not to fire until specifically told to do so.

There are two kinds of plaques on the battlefield: the "slate" markers, seen at right, and a "table" marker common to National Park sites.  The "slate" markers usually present a single person and his contribution to the battle.


Cheatham Hill saw the bloodiest fighting of the battle.  Union troops made several attacks and were repulsed each time.  Finally a Confederate colonel, William P. Martin, called a cease-fire and instructed troops on both sides to come and remove their fallen comrades.  The next day, Union commanders presented Martin with a set of pistols to thank him for his humanitarian act.

Several monuments stand in the park, commemorating various regiments who fought here.  At left is the Illinois Monument.

The cannons above represent the hidden cannons.  They remained silent for over a week before the order to fire was issued.  The battle actually raged around them.  When they did fire, however, they were shooting into the middle of Union troops, and proved to be very effective.

Kolb's Farm, pictured at left, was actually the opening scene of the Battle at Kennesaw.  Confederate cavalry repulsed Union troops.  Sherman wanted to bypass the area and proceed to Atlanta, but later decide that Confederate troops were spread so thin that an attack would cripple the Southern Army.


The farm house, pictured above, was eventually purchased by the National Park Service and restored to its 1860s appearance.  Now it houses offices, and is not open to the public.  If anyone wants to check out the NPS Kennesaw site, click here.