Cheatham Hill - Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

The final stop on my late September 2016 visit to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park was Cheatham Hill. The hill is named after Major General Frank Cheatham, the commanding officer of the Confederate troops defending this portion of the line that extended about a mile southeast and four miles north past Pigeon Hill and Little Kennesaw Mountain to Kennesaw Mountain and beyond. Because the line was so long, Major General William T Sherman assumed that it was thinly defended. The Confederate line made a sharp turn at Cheatham Hill, leaving a protruding point or salient on the hill. This was one of the locations Sherman chose for a frontal assault on June 27, 1864. After a heavy artillery barrage, three brigades of Union forces commanded by Brigadier General John Newton crossed a small creek, a marsh, and then woods so dense they couldn't see the Confederate works. Others crossed an open wheat field and then began climbing the hill. They were met by entrenched Tennesseans commanded by Brigadier General George Maney. The Confederates fired so often that their gun barrels were too hot to hold. By 10 o'clock the attack was over. A National Park Service brochure from 1959 states "Sherman lost 1,580 out of 8,000 men, while the Confederates lost 206 out of 8,000."

Earthworks concealing Confederate artillery

Cannons like those used in the battle

Cannon visible behind the earthworks

After over 150 years, the trenches are still visible

Commemorative marker for First Sargent C. H. Coffey of the 22nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry

More earthworks along the trail

The Dead Angle

Former wheat field below the Dead Angle

Remains of the tunnel the Union forces tried to dig under the Confederate breastworks

Illinois Monument

Less than 50 feet from the Dead Angle

Further along the trail is this grave of an unknown US soldier

Entry to the park is free.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/kemo.

Kennesaw Mountain Trail - Kennesaw Mountatin National Battlefield Park

Continuing my September 2016 visit to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, I drove up Kennesaw Mountain Drive behind the visitor center to a parking area near the top of the mountain. The drive is open to private vehicles Monday through Friday. On the weekends, the park provides a shuttle service. Once at the parking area, I noticed the overlook was closed for renovation, but the short (about 800') trail to the summit was open to visitors. Although paved, the trail is too steep to be ADA compliant. Along the trail were several wayside signs and Confederate cannons. Once atop the mountain it is easy to see why it was once called the "Gibraltar of Georgia."

Overlook being refurbished

Marietta and Stone Mountain from the parking area

Atlanta from the parking area

Part of a Confederate four gun artillery battery

Paved trail to the summit

Another Confederate cannon

Still more artillery

Stone bench along the relatively steep trail

Rock outcroppings atop the mountain

City of Kennesaw to the northwest

Atlanta from the summit (18.5 miles)

Stone Mountain from the summit (27.5 miles)

More rock atop the summit

Marietta to the southeast

The crest of the mountain

Entry to the park is free.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/kemo.

Visitor Center - Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

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.

Entrance patio

Cannon outside the entrance

Portable display for rangers to utilize at schools and community events

Information desk

Timeline outside the theater

"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

Museum displays - Union

Museum displays - Confederacy

Focus on Atlanta

Supply lines were key to maintaining an army in the field

Battle artifacts

Cannon in the museum

Picnic area at the visitor center

Entry to the battlefield park is free.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/kemo/.