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Kennesaw Mountain Had to Protect This Line by Withdrawing from One Position to Another

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Kennesaw Mountain Had to Protect This Line by Withdrawing from One Position to Another ennesaw Mountain NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK GEORGIA penalty exacted on the attackers when brave and ever, he was unable to prevent the Federal experienced men fought from behind trenches, flanking movements which threatened his line barricades, and field fortifications. of supplies and communications. Therefore, he Kennesaw Mountain had to protect this line by withdrawing from one position to another. NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK The Atlanta Campaign The Battle of Kennesaiv Mountain On March 18, 1864, the Federal Army in Chattanooga was placed under command of A series of flanking movements forced the Confederates back to the vicinity of Marietta, Scene of a major engagement of the Atlanta Campaign General Sherman who made preparations for Ga., where, on June 5, Johnston intrenched on in which Sherman's great flanking movement, in the an advance against the Confederate Army in a line 10 miles long between Lost, Pine, and summer of 1864, split in two the heart of the Confederacy. Georgia. He was to start from Chattanooga at the same time that General Grant began his Brush Mountains. Sherman gradually pushed drive in Virginia in a great coordinated cam­ rhe Confederates back to a position on and N THE SUMMER of 1863, the North gained Sherman decided on frontal attack. The Battle paign intended to end the war. The Confederate around Kennesaw Mountain. Confederate Fort, Cheatham Hill (Loudermilk Studio). I complete control of the Mississippi River, of Kennesaw Mountain, therefore, marks a de­ Army had intrenched at Dalton, Ga., where As Sherman approached the position and ex­ the decisive action being Gen. U. S. Grant's cap­ parture in the general strategy and tactical plan General Johnston assumed command Decem­ tended his troops toward the Confederate left ture of Vicksburg on July 4. In the meantime, that carried Sherman from Chattanooga to ber 27, 1863, and prepared to resist the expected flank. Hood's Confederates, on June 22, as­ Cumberland was to make one assault at a point The loss of this manufacturing and railroad the Northern armies, based principally on Nash­ Atlanta. In this battle Sherman failed to break advance of the Federal forces. saulted in an attempt to disorganize the moving in the Confederate center, a hill south of the center was a severe blow to the South because ville, were striving ro gain control of Tennessee. the Confederate lines and suffered heavy losses. On May 7,1864, Sherman with approximately Federals, but were repulsed with heavy losses. Marietta-Dallas Road, defended by Gen. B. F. it deprived the Confederate armies in the field This was finally accomplished as a result of He then took up again his flanking movements, 100,000 men moved against Johnston at Dalton, This action occurred in the vicinity of the Kolb Cheatham, and now known as Cheatham Hill. of needed food, equipment, and reinforcements. decisive action in late November around which succeeded, proving that it could have where the latter with about 50,000 men was Farm on the Powder Springs Road. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee was to The occupation of Atlanta prepared the way for Chattanooga. The Federal Army was now been done in the first place. placed on the defensive. In the campaign that Sherman determined to try to break through assault the Confederate center at the south end the movement that was to take the Federal followed, Johnston proved himself a master of poised to strike, during the next spring, into Johnston fought the Atlanta Campaign with and then destroy the separated wings of the of Little Kennesaw Mountain. Both assaults Army across the State to Savannah—"the March defensive strategy. With his smaller army, how- Georgia and at the very heart of the South. tactics similar to those employed by the Roman Confederate Army. Thomas' Army of the were to be made at the same time, on June 27, to the Sea." In a 4-month campaign, during the spring General Fabius Maximus in defending Rome so that troops from one part of the Confederate The success of the Atlanta Campaign, and of and summer of 1864, Gen. W. T. Sherman with against Hannibal in the Second Punic War. Like line could not be used to reinforce any other the events in the lower South which subse­ Gen. Joseph Eggleston Johnston, Com­ 100,000 men drove 120 miles from Chattanooga Fabius, who fell back slowly on Rome, delaying part of the line. The Federal troops bravely as­ quently derived from it, made the collapse of mander of the Confederate Army of Ten­ into the heart of the Confederacy and captured and inconveniencing his great Carthaginian an­ saulted these points, but were repulsed with the Confederacy almost inevitable, the exact Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Com­ nessee and the Army of Mississippi which the great base and railroad center of Atlanta. tagonist without fighting a decisive battle, heavy losses. Sherman lost 2,500 men and date depending upon the success of Grant's mander of the Federal forces in the Atlanta opposed Sherman during the Atlanta Cam­ From May through August, Sherman's troops Johnston sought in the same way to frustrate Johnston 800 in this final phase of the battle. operations against Lee in Virginia. Campaign (Signal Corps, U. S. Army). paign (Signal Corps, U. S. Army). were in almost constant action, either marching Sherman and in the end to save Atlanta. or fighting, against Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's The men of both armies were of the same Fall of Atlanta The Park Confederates. Possessing superior forces, Sher­ general racial stock and blood and possessed of After this repulse, Sherman resumed his Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield man was able to maneuver against Johnston in the same intelligence, courage, and devotion to flanking tactics, which caused the Confederates Park has been administered since 1933 by the such a way that a part of his army would hold their respective causes. Blood brothers often to retire from rhe Kennesaw Mountain position National Park Service. As a result of congres­ in front while the remainder moved around the fought against each other in the opposing to the vicinity of Atlanta. At this critical sional action in 1935 and 1939, the area has Confederate flank to threaten their rear and armies. The high soldierly qualities displayed moment, on July 17, Johnston received a rele- grown from a small reservation of 60 acres at communications with Atlanta, thus forcing a by the men, from both the North and the gram from Richmond which relieved him of Cheatham Hill, acquired by a group of Union succession of withdrawals toward that city. South, who fought at Kennesaw Mountain are command and substituted Gen. John B. Hood soldiers in 1899 and accepted in 1917 by the In the course of this series of movements for all of us today a matter of pride, even in his place. Crucial and decisive action fol­ United States Government as a battlefield site, there were many skirmishes and several battles, though that engagement produced its full lowed immediately. Four major battles were to a battlefield park of about 3,000 acres. The including a bloody one at New Hope Church. share of misery, horror, and regrets. fought around Atlanta, in each of which park includes the principal points of combat in However, no general engagement involved the At Kennesaw Mountain, in the fourth year Sherman was the victor. After rhese engage- the vicinity of Kennesaw Mountain. Many of main strength of both armies until Kennesaw of the Civil War, Confederate veterans stopped menrs, the Confederate Army retired, and the Federal and Confederate earthworks con­ Mountain was reached. Here, for the first time, Federal veterans and demonstrated the awful Sherman entered the city on September 2. structed during the battle are well preserved. ennesaw Mountain o NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK Federal trenches facing Little Kennesaw Mountain (Signal Corps, U. S. Army). How to Reach the Park Campaign. The top of Big Kennesaw Mountain The park, located 2 miles north of Marietta, affords an excellent panoramic view of the Ga., and about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta, battlefield. Trailside exhibits and markers will is reached by old U. S. 41, which traverses its enable you to visualize the military operations. northern end. The museum is near the point You will find the collection of relics, photo­ where old U. S. 41 passes the northern tip of graphs, and maps at the museum helpful to Big Kennesaw Mountain. you. Library facilities and guide service are also There is an annual fee of $1 and a one-trip fee available here. Those who plan to visit in a of 50 cents for automobiles and motorcycles to group may receive special service if advance use the road from headquarters to the top of arrangements are made with the superintendent. Big Kennesaw Mountain. All fees are deposited Administration in the United States Treasury and offset, in part, appropriations made for operating the area. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is administered by the National Park About Your Visit Service of the United States Department of the During your visit you will see, in the Interior. A superintendent, whose address is Cheatham Hill area, well-preserved earthworks, Marietta, Ga., is in immediate charge of the typical of those used in the entire Atlanta park. The National Park System, of which this park is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and inspiration of its people. GEORGIA United States Department of the Interior FRED A. SEATON, Secretary Cover: Sketch of the Truce during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, CONRAD L.
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