Union and Confederate forces maneuvered and
fought near Kennesaw Mountain from June 19, 1864 until July 2, 1864. Today, the
2,965-acre park is managed by the National Park Service, and features a visitor
center and a driving tour, as well as monuments, historical markers, cannon emplacements, and
22 miles of hiking trails. The visitor center is a great place to start your tour of the park;
a short film, exhibits and knowledgeable staff will help you get oriented.
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| Trail to summit of Kennesaw Mountain |
Although there are trails that
ascend Kennesaw Mountain, we opted to take the shuttle bus to the top of the
mountain. On weekends it is not possible to drive to the top; visitors have to
either hike the road or trails (ranging from 1-2 miles to the mountaintop), or
take the shuttle. The fee was $3/adult, $1.50/kids ages 6-12, and we felt it
was well worth due to the time we saved and utilized on a couple of later hikes.
From the shuttle stop near the top of the mountain there was an overlook with a
panoramic view of Atlanta, and a short trail to the summit.
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| Atlanta, just the way I like it - from a distance |
The driving tour of the
battlefield includes seven major points of interest, each with parking and wayside
exhibits. After descending from Kennesaw Mountain, we loaded up the car and headed
on to stop #2 on the tour, the 24-Gun Battery. Located on a small, wooded rise
facing Little Kennesaw and Pigeon Hill, this Federal gun emplacement is called
the 24-Gun Battery because it housed four batteries, each one with six
artillery pieces. From their location the Federals bombarded Confederate forces
on Kennesaw Mountain for 10 days. Although it’s less than 1.5 miles from tour
stop #2 to the visitor center by trail, we opted to park at stop #2 and walk in
to the battery – it was less than a mile in and out. Some cannons have been positioned
along the trail to assist in visualizing the emplacement.
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| 24-Gun Battery cannons |
The third point of interest is
the Wallis House, dating back to about 1853 and abandoned upon the approach of
Sherman’s armies. We continued on to stop #4, Pigeon Hill (where a trail leads
to Confederate entrenchments where one of Sherman’s two major attacks was repelled),
and then to Cheatham Hill.
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| View from the 'Dead Angle' |
The mounds at Cheatham Hill are
the remains of earthworks defended by the Confederate army; 11 miles of these
defenses stretch through the park. At Cheatham Hill (tour stop #5) Confederate
Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham created an angle in their lines that due to the high
casualty count came to be known as the “Dead Angle.” We hiked ¼ mile along the
earthworks to the Illinois Monument, then looped around back to the parking
lot, stopping to read the markers. The Illinois Monument is the largest
monument on the battlefield, and near its base is a monument at the entrance of
a tunnel constructed by Union soldiers intending to blow up a section of the
Confederate defenses.
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| The Illinois Monument |
Stop #6 on the driving tour is
the Sherman/Thomas Headquarters where the two Union generals met to discuss the
assault on Confederate Gen. William Hardee’s troops on Cheatham Hill. And
finally, at stop #7 is Kolb’s Farm, where on June 22, 1864, Union soldiers
repulsed Confederate General Hood’s attack. The Kolb house is not open to the
public, although there is a small wayside with a placard adjacent to the Kolb
family cemetery.
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| The Kolb Farmhouse, restored in 1964 |
Kennesaw Battlefield provided
more than we had envisioned when we first planned our stop. Not only does it
preserve a historic Civil War battleground of the Atlanta Campaign, but it
interprets the events of those two years and presents it as part of the larger
Civil War story. Kennesaw also provides a valuable greenspace in a what is densely
populated urban area. The wildflowers and forest we saw there provided a glimpse
into what the woodlands of this part of Georgia looked like hundreds of years
ago.
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| Fire pink, found along 24-Gun Battery trail |
Luckily, we were headed west, and
so wouldn’t have to fight traffic once we concluded the driving tour of the
battlefield. As we continued on our journey, Kennesaw Mountain shrinking in the
rearview mirror, we followed the sinking sun into Alabama and another adventure.
