I had the opportunity to spend a few hours at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in late September 2016. The park is located a few miles northwest of Atlanta, Georgia.
Kennesaw Mountain was the site of some of the heaviest fighting of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign in the Civil War. About 100,000 Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman engaged with between 50,000 and 65,000 Confederate troops under General Joseph Johnston over a period of several days from June 19 until July 2, 1864. Being at a tremendous numerical disadvantage, Johnston had fought from a series of defensive positions and withdrew from near Chattanooga toward Atlanta in a series of strategic withdrawals that ensured his army was not surrounded and his supply lines remained intact. Due to heavy rains that made travel nearly impossible, Sherman ordered a frontal attack on the mountain. The result was a Confederate tactical victory on June 27. However as the rains ended and the roads dried out, Sherman reverted to his previously successful outflanking maneuvers and Johnston had to withdraw again when his flanks were threatened.
The park consists of 2965 acres of land on and around Kennesaw Mountain. The mountain is nearly 700 feet above the surrounding rolling hills. The visitor center was my first stop. It houses the usual information desk, bookstore, restrooms, and theater with the addition of a museum. Kennesaw: One Last Mountain is shown periodically throughout the day in the theater. Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film was produced in 2013 and is another excellent production by the National Park Service.
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| Entrance patio |
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| Cannon outside the entrance |
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| Portable display for rangers to utilize at schools and community events |
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| Information desk |
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| Timeline outside the theater |
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"All that has gone before is mere skirmishing. The war now begins..." - William T Sherman
in a letter to his wife dated March 12, 1864 |
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| Museum displays - Union |
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| Museum displays - Confederacy |
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| Focus on Atlanta |
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| Supply lines were key to maintaining an army in the field |
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| Battle artifacts |
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| Cannon in the museum |
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| Picnic area at the visitor center |
Entry to the battlefield park is free.
The park website is
https://www.nps.gov/kemo/.
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