Kennesaw (Big Shanty) in the 19th Century

Written by Robert C. Jones Kennesaw,

Copyright 2000, 2006 by Robert C. Jones

Robert C. Jones POB 1775 Kennesaw, Georgia 30156 [email protected] Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... 2

INTRODUCTION ...... 3

TIMELINE ...... 3

CHEROKEE INDIANS ...... 4

THE COMING OF THE WESTERN AND ATLANTIC RAILROAD ...... 6

EXCERPTS FROM THE 1837 W&A SURVEY, BY S.H. LONG CHIEF ENGINEER WESTERN AND ATLANTIC RAILROAD OF GEORGIA ...... 8 WHAT’S IN A NAME? ...... 10 THE 1860 COBB COUNTY CENSUS FOR BIG SHANTY ...... 11

KENNESAW AND THE CIVIL WAR ...... 14

THE LACY HOTEL ...... 15 CAMP MCDONALD/PHILLIPS LEGION ...... 16 THE ...... 17 SHERMAN’S CAMPAIGN ...... 19 AFTERMATH ...... 23 1870-1900...... 23

INCORPORATION OF KENNESAW ...... 25 THE CENTURY TURNS ...... 26

POPULATION ...... 27

SOURCES ...... 27

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ...... 28

2 Introduction This brief history of Kennesaw (Big Shanty) in the 19th century will attempt to capture major events in the city’s history – the coming of the railroad, the Civil War, incorporation as a town – and also try to give a flavor for what the town and it’s environs might have been like during various points of the 19th century.

I have had the honor of being the president of the Kennesaw Historical Society since 1993. During that time, I’ve collected most of the material that appears in this booklet. My work doesn’t stand alone though – I have benefited either directly or indirectly from the work of many others, including:

. Mark Smith, who wrote a History of Kennesaw, parts of which appeared in the Kennesaw Gazette in 1980 (parts of it remain unpublished) . Dr. Betty Smith of Kennesaw State University, who has done extensive studies on the Lacy Hotel, and on local Cherokee Indian trails . The Kennesaw Civil War Museum (formerly Big Shanty Museum), home of . Dent Myers, noted Civil War expert

I should also point out that I have only covered the Great Locomotive Chase somewhat briefly, as it has been well covered elsewhere. Big Shanty’s role in Sherman’s is covered in detail, as this has not been well covered in other easily accessible sources. Timeline Kennesaw in the 19th Century Date Activity c. 1838/39 Railroad shanties built by spring 1838 Last Cherokees removed from Georgia 1853 First postmaster named, Wm. M. Elliot June 11, 1861 Camp McDonald established , 1862 Great Locomotive Chase June 6, 1864 Big Shanty falls to Union troops; used as a supply

3 Kennesaw in the 19th Century Date Activity base, hospital, and headquarters by the June 27, 1864 Battle of Kennesaw Mountain October 3, 1864 Big Shanty briefly falls to Confederate troops under John Bell Hood November 14, The Lacy Hotel burned to the ground by Union 1864 troops September 21, City of Kennesaw is incorporated 1887 c. 1890s . Sole City income was from the "street tax" - $.50 for the head of every household . Scarlet fever epidemic; smallpox scare (affected houses marked with red flannel flags) 1891 . First Mayor, J .S. Reynolds . City Council of Kennesaw shows a balance in the city coffers of $3.69

Cherokee Indians

1830 map of the Cherokee Nation in Georgia (Anthony Finley Co.)

4 In the early 1800s, Northwestern Georgia was home to over 20,000 Cherokee Indians. Unlike other tribes, the Cherokees made a significant effort to adopt white ways. They created a form of government based on the U.S. Constitution, created a capitol city in New Echota, GA in 1825, and published their own newspaper. Christian missionaries, including the Moravians, were welcomed in Cherokee territory.

Although the territorial rights of the Cherokees were upheld by two Supreme Court decisions in 1831/32, events conspired against them. Gold was discovered in the North Georgia Mountains in 1828, and Georgia slowly passed laws denying the rights of the Cherokees. In 1828, Georgia passed an act that placed the parts of the Cherokee Nation in Georgia under Georgia law. In 1831, Georgia began the process of surveying the Cherokee Nation to be divided up into 40 acre (in the gold region) and 160-acre lots, to be raffled off in a land lottery. Seeing no other options, the Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1835, surrendering claim to their homeland in “exchange for $5,000,000, seven million acres in Oklahoma and an agreement to remove within two years”.1

By 1838, almost all of the Cherokees had been driven out of Georgia, under the watchful eye of 7,000 troops commanded by General Winfield Scott. On the “Trail of Tears” to Oklahoma, up to 4,000 Cherokees died.

The 1830s survey maps for the land lottery still exist, and show that there were some Cherokee structures located approximately at the intersection of Route 41 and Highway 293 in modern day Kennesaw (land lot 138, on the 1832 survey map). The Cherokees were undoubtedly attracted to the more than 12 springs in the Kennesaw area. The largest, Equa Ganuga Gr Ama – “The Big Spring of Water”, is located behind City Hall in Kennesaw. Parts of modern day Route 293 were built on top of the Cherokee Peachtree Trail (or “Standing Peachtree Trail” in some sources.)

1 Cherokee History: Part Two, Lee Sultzman 5

Equa Ganuga Gr Ama The coming of the Western and Atlantic Railroad

An early Kennesaw railroad building. (Mark Smith identifies this as an 1880 photo). The person standing (4th from the left) is Agent G.L. Howell.

On Dec. 21, 1836, the Georgia legislature authorized the building of a railroad – the Western and Atlantic - that would eventually stretch from the Mile 0 marker in Atlanta to Chattanooga. The Western & Atlantic was one of several Georgia railroads built in the mid-1800s, including the Rome Railroad, the Georgia Railroad, the Macon & Western, and the Montgomery & West Point. It was somewhat unique, as it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia, which still owns the right of way (some Union Civil War dispatches actually refer to the W&A as the “Georgia State Railroad”).

After the difficult route was surveyed in 1837 by S.H. Long, “Chief Engineer of the Western and Atlantic Railroad of Georgia”, construction started in 1838. Small towns sprung up along the Western & Atlantic right-of-way as track laying progressed north, including Vinings, Smyrna,

6 Big Shanty and Acworth. Big Shanty sat at the highest point of the line between the Chattahoochee and Etowah Rivers. A collection of railroad shanties built near a spring by laborers on the W&A Railroad grew up at this spot. This was the beginning of Kennesaw.

Thus, Kennesaw was founded as a railroad town, and the railroad would continue to be an important part of life in Kennesaw throughout the 19th century, as these examples show: . In the 1860 census, over 12% of the population of the unincorporated area known as Big Shanty was employed by the W&A . In 1862 (April 12), one of the most famous incidences of the Civil War started at Big Shanty – the Andrews Raid . In June of 1864, fighting erupted around Big Shanty as William Tecumseh Sherman followed the W&A southward towards Atlanta

The Coming of the Western and Atlantic Railroad Date Activity Dec. 21, 1836 The Georgia legislature authorizes the building of a state-owned railroad from Chattanooga to Terminus, Georgia (now Atlanta) 1837 Surveying (S.H. Long Chief Engineer Western and Atlantic Railroad of Georgia) 1838/40 Over 500 men (including some Cherokee Indians) work on grading, road bed, and trestles 1845 First 20 miles of track in operation 1850 The last section (Tunnel Hill) of the 138-mile W&A was completed on May 9, 1850. Total cost for the line was $4,087,925.50. April 12, 1862 W&A is sabotaged by Union Raiders 1870 . Georgia legislature passes law requiring W&A to be leased (not run by State) . W&A is leased for 20 years to a group headed by former GA Governor Joseph E. Brown 1890 W&A leased for 29 years by Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad

7

Two c. 1870 railroad shanties, destroyed in 1994

Excerpts from the 1837 W&A Survey, by S.H. Long Chief Engineer Western and Atlantic Railroad of Georgia

"The difficult and arduous task of discovering and choosing the most favorable route for a railroad, leading from a point in the line, "at or near Rossville," to some point on the Chattahoochee between Winn's Ferry and Campbellton, separated from each other by a distance of seventy miles, has, by law, devolved upon me, as Chief Engineer of the Western and Atlantic railroad of the State of Georgia. Deeply impressed with the high responsibilities thus imposed, I embarked, as early as practicable, in a careful and thorough examination of the country, with a view to the effectual discharge of the duties of my appointment."

"The Western and Atlantic railroad, when viewed in its relations to the natural and artificial channels of trade and intercourse above considered, is to be regarded as the main connecting link of a chain or system of internal improvements, more splendid and imposing than any other that has ever been devised in this or any other country. In contemplating the widely extended and incalculable benefits, in a civil or military, moral or commercial, and even religious point of view, that must undoubtedly result from its consummation, we are overwhelmed with the flood of magnificent results that breaks upon us. Among these, we venture to advert to one of the innumerable advantages hereafter to result from the sources above contemplated, in relation to which the south is most deeply interested, viz: the repopulation and reclamation of the worn out and deserted fields every where to be met with, in other parts of all the Southern States,

8 by industrious white inhabitants, who will "replenish the waste places", and restore fertility to the exhausted glebe."

"Commencing on the Chattahoochee near Montgomery's ferry, the road crosses the Chattahoochee, and ascends to Marietta, the seat of justice for Cobb county. It there crosses the Kennesaw summit, on the north side of the mountain of the same name, and descends towards the Etowah, passing through the village of Allatoona..."

"The 2d section, passing through the village of Marietta, is eight and half miles in length, and terminates at the point where the Kennesaw mountain intersects the ridge upon which its whole distance is coursed. By examining the profile, this will be found to be the most elevated summit between the Chattahoochee and Etowah rivers, 437 feet above the former, and 482 feet above the latter." (emphasis added)

Part of an 1887 W&A map showing how the railroad is routed between Marietta and Big Shanty (reprinted by Cobb Landmarks and Historical Association)

9 What’s in a Name? At the time of the Civil War, what is modern day Kennesaw was named Big Shanty, ostensibly after the group of railroad shanties built near a spring by the W&A railroad. But was Big Shanty the first name given to this settlement? According to the Civil Archives Division of the National Archives, it is possible that Big Shanty was actually the third name given to the settlement – Kennesaw (1853), Moons (1854), Big Shanty (1859) - as this list of 19th century postmasters indicates:

Kennesaw (8/8/1853)

1853 – 1854 Wm. M. Elliot

Moons (6/6/1854)

1854 – 1855 Wm. L Croft 1855 Sylvanus Baldwin 1855 – 1856 Abel Willis 1856 Wm. L Croft

Big Shanty (4/30/1859)

1856 – 1865 Lemuel Kendrick 1865 – 1868 G. T. Carrie

Kennesaw (1/25/1869)

1868 – 1872 Nelson Timleck 1872 – 1889 James Hughes 1889 – 1895 C. N. Price 1895 S. J. Baldwin 1895 – 1899 Chas. H. Fields 1899 – 1911 Thomas J. Hardage

An 1851 W&A timetable (pictured below) adds an additional bit of information to the discussion. Note that the town listed between Marietta and Acworth is…Moons. (Of course, the date doesn’t match up exactly with the postmaster list). And where was Moons? Is this referring to the location of modern day Kennesaw, or was the post 10 office at one time located further north down the track at Moons Station (a Civil War-era W&A map lists the stop immediately above Big Shanty as “Moons”)? So, what was the first name of the settlement? It would be ironic if it were as the postmaster list indicates – Kennesaw!

The 1860 Cobb County census for Big Shanty The Cobb County census of 1860 gives us an interesting view of Big Shanty on the eve of the Civil War. Of course, “Big Shanty” was never an incorporated city – it described an area, probably larger than the 1887 incorporated City of Kennesaw. This section analyzes the 1860 Cobb County census entries for Big Shanty.

Population of Big Shanty, 1860 718 - Male Residents 370 51.5% Female Residents 348 48.5% Residents Who Could Not Read or 119 16.5%

11 Write Residents That Attended School 66 9% Number of Freed Blacks 0 0

An examination of professions in 1860 Big Shanty shows a largely agrarian society, with over 63% of the Heads of Household holding farm-related jobs. The next most important employer was the railroad, with 12.3%. The following tables list the occupations for (first) Heads of Household, and (second) for non-Heads of Household:

Occupations of Heads of Household - Big Shanty, 1860

Profession Number Percentage Farmer 61 53.5% Railroad 14 12.3% Hand/Watchman/Contractor Farm Laborer 11 9.6% Physician 2 1.7% Blacksmith 2 1.7% Waggoner (or Wagon Maker) 2 1.7% Merchant 1 < 1% Carpenter 1 < 1% Ditsher (Ditch Digger?) 1 < 1% Total Heads of Household 114 Reporting an Occupation

Occupations of Non-Heads of Household - Big Shanty, 1860

Profession Number Percentage Farmer Laborer 26 35.6% House Work 22 30.1% Day Laborer 13 17.8% School Teacher 3 4.1% Railroad Conductor/Hand 3 4.1% Carpenter 2 2.7%

12 Grocery Keeper 1 1.4% Physician 1 1.4% Cooper 1 1.4% Serving (?) 1 1.4% Total Non-Heads of Household 73 Reporting an Occupation

The 1860 census also listed the Place of Birth of all of the residents. In Big Shanty, the resident who was born the furthest away from Georgia was one John Clark, who hailed from England. The distribution is indicated below:

Place of Birth for Big Shanty Residents – 1860

State Number Percentage Georgia 501 70% South Carolina 180 25% North Carolina 21 2.9% Alabama 6 < 1% Other 10 1.3% Total Population of Big Shanty 718 -

One item of curiosity in the 1860 Cobb County Census was the listing of the value of Real Estate and Personal Estate of individuals listed on the census. The top five richest people living in Big Shanty in 1860 are listed below, showing first the "Personal Estate", and then the "Real Estate" value.

Five Richest People in Big Shanty - Personal Estate Value

Resident's Name Profession Personal Estate Value Willis Roberts Farmer $44,000 John Roberts Farmer $39,550 George Roberts Farmer $26,880 Lemuel Kendrick Railroad $19,731 13 Contractor A. A. Winn Farmer $14,000

Five Richest People in Big Shanty - Real Estate Value

Resident's Name Profession Real Estate Value Lemuel Kendrick Railroad $27,825 Contractor John Roberts Farmer $13,000 George Roberts Farmer $10,800 A. A. Winn Farmer $6,500 Wm Gresham Farmer $6,000

As can be seen from the table above, Lemuel Kendrick had the largest land holdings in Big Shanty prior to the Civil War. He also served as the Big Shanty postmaster from 1856-1865. The photo to the right shows Lemuel Kendrick and his wife in an 1860s tintype photograph. (Ed Kendrick Collection; courtesy Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History Archives and Library) Kennesaw and the Civil War

Big Shanty on June 10, 1864 (Harper’s Weekly, July 9, 1864) 14

Kennesaw (Big Shanty) played multiple roles in the Civil War. It was the site of a training camp for Georgia volunteers (Camp McDonald), the site of the beginning of the Great Locomotive Chase, the site of several skirmishes during the Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, and it also served as a field hospital for the Union Army. But before we examine these events, we’ll take a brief look at the center of activity in Big Shanty during the War years – the Lacy Hotel.

The Lacy Hotel The Lacy Hotel seemed to figure prominently in all of the Civil War-era events in Big Shanty. It was the site where the Great Locomotive Chase started, it was a popular breakfast stop on the W&A passenger runs from Atlanta, it served the recruits of Camp McDonald, and it served as a headquarters and hospital during Sherman’s occupation in 1864. Mark Smith describes its creation in his History of Kennesaw:

“In the late 1850s the W&A Railroad acquired from Gaspard Carrie and Lemuel Kendrick a plot of land on the east side of the [Big Shanty] tracks ‘for the purpose of erecting a depot and an eating house for the convenience of the traveling public’, which deed also contained a clause that no spirituous liquors would be sold on the premises. This eating place became the famous Lacy House, and was operated by Mr. And Mrs. George Lacy.”

A letter from a Union soldier, dated June 12, 1864 from Big Shanty, Georgia, describes what is assumedly the Lacy Hotel:

“We left Cartersville this morning at 7 o’clock, came down two miles to the new bridge across the Etowah river…we passed over all night and soon it [rain] cleared off and we came through here safe. Expecting to have to put up tents but were happily disappointed, we found one large house close to the RR track so that it was convenient for us as it was used for a railroad eating house, when our men first came here some of the reb officers were dining, our men strayed a shell and it went in at one side of the house and out of the other so Johnies got up and left. There is one room that was furnished with sofa bottomed chairs and sofa and splendid Piano and wardrobe…”

15 The Hotel (which is referred to as the “Big Shanty Hotel” by Sherman in one of his dispatches) was burned to the ground by Sherman’s troops on November 14, 1864. Its exact location has been lost, but Dr. Betty Smith of Kennesaw State University conducted an archaeological survey of the general site in the late 1990s, and surmised that the hotel was located under the present day parking lot of the Big Shanty Depot.

Local lore says that this Civil War-era house at Allatoona Pass (which served as a hospital during the Pass in 1864) was built on the same plan as the Lacy Hotel.

Camp McDonald/Phillips Legion On June 11, 1861, Governor Joseph E. Brown established a training camp for Georgian volunteers in Big Shanty named Camp McDonald (after former Governor and Marietta resident Charles C. McDonald). The Camp included 60 acres of land west of the W&A railroad tracks. The Camp was commanded by Georgia Brigadier General (and Confederate Army Colonel) William Phillips. Cadets from the Georgia Military Institute served as instructors.

The greatest moment in the history of the Camp occurred on July 31, 1861, when a Grand Review was held – some sources indicate that as many as 2500 men passed in review before Governor Brown. In the next several days, most of these troops marched off to Virginia, as this excerpt from Mark Smith’s History of Kennesaw indicates:

“The first contingent left for Virginia on August 2nd and 3rd, the second left on the 5th and 6th, and the remainder followed on the 12th. A few days later two regiments of eight hundred men each came in to camp, but I can’t find out what their regimental number was. They stayed a few months and then the camp was empty until February of 1862, when the 39th, 40th, 41st, 42nd, and 52nd regiments came in…”

16 Members of “Phillips Legion” fought in many battles, including Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor. After the war, several reunions were held by Camp McDonald alumni by the spring behind the modern day City Hall.

There are no remains of Camp McDonald today, as the camp was made up primarily of tents and parade grounds.

The Great Locomotive Chase

“Capture of the train in an enemy’s camp” drawing from Daring and Suffering: A History of the Andrews Railroad Raid by , 1887

One of the most famous events of the Civil War began within a hundred yards of the modern day Kennesaw Civil War Museum. On April 12, 1862, 20 Union Spies, led by civilian James J. Andrews seized a Confederate locomotive named the General at Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw). The train was stopped for a 20-minute breakfast break at the Lacy Hotel, described elsewhere in this booklet.

The objective of the raid was to steam the train to Chattanooga, burning bridges, tearing up track, and cutting telegraph wires along the way. The raid entered into legend because the conductor of the train, William A. Fuller, and Western & Atlantic RR Superintendent of Motive Power Anthony Murphy pursued the stolen train for 87 miles, by foot, hand car, and three different locomotives, until the train was finally abandoned two miles north of Ringgold, Georgia.

17 All of the raiders were captured, with the following results:

 8 were hung, including James J. Andrews  8 escaped, and made it back to Union lines  6 were involved in a prisoner exchange

Twenty of the 22 original military members of the raid received the Congressional . As a civilian, Andrews did not receive the award.

The Great Locomotive Chase has been commemorated in numerous books, and at least two major Hollywood Movies, including the 1926 The General, starring Buster Keaton, and the 1956 Walt Disney movie The Great Locomotive Chase starring Fess Parker.

So, what part did Big Shanty play in the Chase, and why was it chosen as the starting point? Big Shanty was probably chosen for two reasons. First, the northbound train typically stopped here for a 20 minute breakfast stop. Second, there was no telegraph service from Big Shanty, which would prevent anyone from broadcasting the news of the raid to points north of the raiders.

The General arrived in Big Shanty at about 6:00 a.m. Most of the passengers (and all of the crew) left the train and headed to the Lacy Hotel. It was at this moment that Andrews and his raiders struck. After uncoupling the passenger cars from the rest of the train, the three raider locomotive engineers and Andrews jumped in the cab, while the rest of the 16 raiders piled into the boxcars still coupled to the train. The General headed north, under the hand of Engineer William J. Knight. Within seconds, Fuller, Murphy, and engineer Jeff Cain began the chase on foot. All in all, the General was in Big Shanty for perhaps 10 minutes, but it was enough to enshrine the little town in history!

In 1972, the General went on permanent display in the Kennesaw Civil War Museum (now the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History). The General was returned to Kennesaw in 1972, after sitting at Union Station in Chattanooga for many years. 18

c. 1910 postcard of the General at Union Station in Chattanooga, TN (Detroit Publishing Company)

Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign On May 6, 1864, an army of 100,000+ men marched south out of Ringgold, Georgia under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman. His goal – capture or destroy Atlanta, the supply and railroad hub of the deep South. As Sherman made his way south, generally following his supply line – the W&A - Big Shanty was directly in his path. This section will examine Big Shanty’s roles in the Atlanta Campaign. All of the quotes below are taken from War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, published in 1891, unless otherwise noted. (Photo source: National Archives) Battles Sherman’s troops had advanced into the Big Shanty/Acworth area by the beginning of June, 1864. The following dispatch sets the stage for what might be called the first Battle of Big Shanty:

HDQRS. FIRST CAV. DIV., DEPT. ON THE CUMBERLAND,

In the Field, June 4, 1864-6.30 p. m.

I have the honor to inform you that part of my forces were in Acworth this morning, and drove a small party of fifteen rebels from the town. They could not ascertain the precise location of their picket post, 19 supposed to be a strong one about two miles from the town. Their main cavalry force is at Big Shanty. I respectfully ask permission to move my command to Acworth tomorrow, as I can command this country as well from there as from my present position. I also ask permission to attack General Williams in the morning at Big Shanty.

E. M. McCOOK,

Colonel, Commanding.

The actual attack on Big Shanty would occur on June 6, as this report from a captain in the 4th Indiana Cavalry shows:

“On the 6th marched to Big Shanty, drove out a force of rebels, captured a small amount of forage, of which we were greatly in need, our horses having been on very short allowance for many days…” (Report of Captain Albert J. Morley, Fourth Indiana Cavalry)

Although Big Shanty fell to Union troops on June 6, skirmishing would continue in the area until the great battle at Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864.

What might be called the second battle of Big Shanty would occur in October, after the fall of Atlanta, when Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to cause havoc to Sherman’s supply line – the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The report below is from Hood himself:

FOUR MILES SOUTHWEST OF LOST MOUNTAIN,

October 5, 1864. (Via Newnan 6th.)

General BRAXTON BRAGG:

Lieutenant-General Stewart with corps struck the Western and Atlantic Railroad at Big Shanty on the evening of October 3, and effectually destroyed ten miles. He captured some 350 prisoners at Acworth and Big Shanty. Major-General French is moving to attack Allatoona.

Sherman's army appears to be moving out of Atlanta to meet us.

20 J. B. HOOD,

General.

A report from the headquarters of Stewart's Corps states that the defending Union troops “took refuge in the depot, which was loop- holed” during the battle. Supply base and hospital During June of 1864, Big Shanty served as both a supply base and hospital for the Union Army. The type of hospital that existed in Big Shanty is described by Surg. George E. Cooper, U. S. Army, Medical Director:

“A large field hospital, consisting of 100 tents, with all the appurtenances, had been organized, and was following in the rear of the army, at a convenient distance, keeping the line of the Western and Atlantic Railroad; into this the major portion of the wounded and sick were received and treated, until transportation to Chattanooga could be furnished them or their condition would permit of it…The wounded from the various assaults and skirmishers at and about Kenesaw [sic] were transferred from the division hospitals to Acworth and Big Shanty and thence by rail to Chattanooga.”

An order issued by Sherman on June 12, 1864 stated that Big Shanty would be a key supply center for the Union Army:

“During the temporary stay of the army at or near its present locality, the Army of the Tennessee will draw their supplies from the Big Shanty depot; the Army of the Cumberland from Acworth, and the Army of the Ohio from Allatoona.”

We get one very specific description of supplies that were dispersed from Big Shanty from Surg. John Moore, U. S. Army, Medical Director – 2,500 pairs of underwear – no doubt well appreciated by the troops:

“Doctor Brewer arrived at Big Shanty with a large stock of everything in the way of supplies. These were at once issued to the surgeons in chief of division, who receipted for them and expended them in the division hospitals. Among these were 2,500 shirts and drawers.” 21 Union Army Headquarters Sherman used Big Shanty as his headquarters from mid-June until the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Many dispatches bearing his name were issued from “In the Field, Big Shanty”. In one, dated June 13, he sends “my congratulations on your nomination” [as Vice-President] to Governor Andrew Johnson in Nashville. In another, dated June 21, he describes the weather conditions to Major General Halleck in Washington D.C.:

“This is the nineteenth day of rain, and the prospect of clear weather as far off as ever. The roads are impassable, and fields and woods become quagmires after a few wagons have crossed, yet we are at work all the time…The enemy hold Kenesaw [sic], a conical mountain, with Marietta behind it, and has retired his flank to cover that town and his railroad. I am all ready to attack the moment weather and roads will permit troops and artillery to move with anything like life.”

Sherman makes a brief reference to his headquarters in Big Shanty in his memoirs:

“…my headquarters at Big Shanty, where I occupied an abandoned house. In a cotton-field back of that house was our signal-station, on the roof of an old gin-house.”2

Destruction On November 9, as Sherman prepared to commence his March to the Sea, he issued orders to destroy the W&A from Big Shanty to the Chattahoochee.

“In accordance with instructions from Major-General Sherman, commanding Military DIVISION of the Mississippi, corps commanders will have their commands in readiness to march at a moment's notice to commenced the complete destruction of the railroad…From Big Shanty to a point eleven miles south will be destroyed by the

2 Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, 1875; reprinted by Da Capo Press, 1984 22 Seventeenth Army Corps, and thence to the Chattahoochee bridge by the Fifteenth Corps. The destruction will be most complete, the ties burned, rails twisted, &c., as [has] been done heretofore.”

As part of this destruction, the Lacy Hotel was burned to the ground on November 14, 1864.

Aftermath Evidently there wasn’t much left of Big Shanty by War’s end, as this description of Big Shanty after the War, from the letters of the Boston Daily Evening Traveller correspondent Russell H. Conwell shows:

“All along the Railroad from Ringgold to Atlanta black ruins, old chimneys, broken bridges, and dilapidated fences astonish the eye of the traveler. Ruin! ruin! ruin!…

At Big Shanty, we found nothing but the old blacksmith's shop to mark the place where such a vast army encamped, and where so many poor fellow suffered and died in the hospital. We went upon the hill near the railroad cut, where we last saw Mother Bickerdyke, the Florence Nightingale of the West, caring for the sick in the Army-of-the-Tennessee Hospital. We found there some tent pins and the hewn tree under which so many dead were laid before burial.”3

By the 1870s, though, Big Shanty (now called Kennesaw) was beginning to recover. 1870-1900 By the 1870s, Kennesaw was starting to recover from the ravages of the Civil War. Agriculture (and it’s processing) was the primary means of economic support. Crops included cotton, corn, various grains and (curiously) grapes. The rebuilt W&A railroad continued to be an important transportation artery for the town, and the whole northwestern Georgia area. The First Baptist Church and the Methodist Church were built in 1877.

3 Magnolia Journey: A Union Veteran Revisits the Former Confederate States, Joseph Carter, University of Alabama Press, 1974 23

The Kennesaw Railroad House: While the Lacy Hotel was never rebuilt, a structure serving a similar purpose was built by the W&A after the War. The man with the cane is Judge G.T. Carrie, manager. (From the collection of Gayle Croft)

A prominent post-War Kennesaw citizen was Thomas Franklin Summers, who died in 1883. He is buried in the Kennesaw City Cemetery, with the words “An honest man, a true citizen, a devoted father, gone to rest” on his tombstone. (Photo on the left below: From the collection of Ed Chastain; courtesy Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History Archives and Library)

The residence of Thomas F. Summers (1812-1893). (From the collection of Robert Ellison)

We have a concise description of Kennesaw in 1880 from the Sholes Georgia State Gazetteer:

“Kennesaw. Cobb County, W & A R.R. - Deriving its name from the mountain near which it is located, and also known as Big Shanty. Is 29 24 miles from Atlanta, 111 from Chattanooga, Tenn., and 7 northwest of Marietta, the seat of justice. It has a population of about 200, two churches - Baptist and Methodist - and a grist mill and cotton gin operated by steam. The Kennesaw Spring supplies the railroad station. Office of the Western Union Telegraph. Mail daily each way." (Sholes Georgia State Gazetteer, 1880)

Incorporation of Kennesaw By 1887, Kennesaw was prosperous enough for the citizens to request incorporation. The Articles of Incorporation were approved by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia on September 21, 1887:

“An Act to incorporate the town of Kennesaw, in Cobb county, and to provide for the election of a mayor and council, marshal and clerk, and to define their powers and duties, and for other purposes.”

As an indication of how important railroads were in the life of 19th century Georgia towns, the city limits were defined in relationship to the W&A depot:

"The corporate limits of said town shall extend one half mile, north, south, east, west from the depot of the Atlantic & Western Railroad."

Although the Acts of incorporation called for the election of a mayor and four councilmen “within six months after the passage of this Act, or so soon thereafter as practicable”, Kennesaw didn’t get around to electing it’s first mayor until…1891!

19th Century Mayors of Kennesaw

1891 J .S. Reynolds 1892 A. B. Smith 1893 C. N. Price 1894 J. S. Reynolds 1895 T. J. Hardage 1896 – 1897 B. H. Carrie 1898 Geo. W. Prichard 1899 – 1900 D. B. Irby

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Mark Smith in his History of Kennesaw describes Kennesaw around the time of incorporation:

“There were still very few business buildings of any permanence with the exception of the John Hill (later Ben Hill store) building…There were several small wooden buildings fronting Main Street, at one time there was a two story wooden building on the east side of Main Street about where the post office used to be, the lower story fronting the street and being used as a store and the upper floor facing the railroad track and used as a restaurant. Further south where the Texaco station now is was a gin, operated by Mr. J.T. Hardage, who was at one time postmaster. Mr. Gatlin owned and operated a store built on the bank next to the present sidewalk just beyond the entrance to the Museum. At one time there was a road running north behind the museum building and paralleling the railroad tracks. This store building was vacant for a good many years and was torn down in the late forties. There also was a small wooden building where the present three-story store stands, and around the corner up Lewis Street was a store building…”

From city records, we know that the city was not awash in cash during this period – in 1891, the City Council of Kennesaw showed a balance in the city coffers of $3.69! The 1890s also produced at least two epidemics - scarlet fever and smallpox (affected houses marked with red flannel flags). The Century Turns As the century turned, Kennesaw was about to begin a period of prosperity, spurred by cotton revenue, and Kennesaw’s prominence as a shipping center. Many of the buildings that make up downtown Kennesaw as we know it today were constructed in the period 1900- 1910. The building boom included the three-story brick building, the Kennesaw State Bank building, and the W&A (actually, NC&StL) depot. This wealth would eventually be wiped out by the boll weevil in the 1910s/1920s, and the depression in the 1930s.

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This c. 1908 photo shows (from left to right) a store, the N C & St. L water tower, what appears to be the railroad shanty shown earlier, and the modern- day depot. Population The population figures for early Kennesaw are somewhat elusive, but some approximate figures would include 1860 – 718, 1880 – 200, 1900 – 320, 1908 – 500 and 1930 – 426. Sources  1837 W&A Survey, S.H. Long, Chief Engineer  Big Shanty Commemoration (City of Kennesaw, 1972)  Cherokee History: Part Two, Lee Sultzman  Cobb County Census, 1860  Color photos by Robert Jones  Daring & Suffering: A History of the Andrews Railroad Raid, Third Edition, by William Pittenger (The War Publishing Co., 1887; republished by Cumberland House, 1999)  Ghost Trains & Depots of Georgia (1833-1933), by Les R. Winn (1995)  Harper’s Weekly, July 9, 1864  History of Kennesaw, by Mark H. Smith (Kennesaw Gazette, 1980/81)  Images of America: Kennesaw, by Joe Bozeman, Robert Jones, Sallie Loy (Arcadia, 2006)  Magnolia Journey: A Union Veteran Revisits the Former Confederate States, Joseph Carter, University of Alabama Press, 1974  Marietta: The Gem City of Georgia, Copyright 1887 by Jos. M. Brown; reprinted by Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society  Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, 1875; reprinted by Da Capo Press, 1984  The Great Locomotive Chase or, The Andrews Raid, by James G. Bogle (Blue & Gray Magazine, Blue & Gray Enterprises, July, 1987)  War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1891 (CD-ROM Editon H-BAR ENTERPRISES, 1994)

27 About the Author Robert C. Jones is President of the Kennesaw Historical Society, Director of Programs and Education for the Kennesaw Museum Foundation, and an at-large board member of the Civil War Round Table of Cobb County. He has written several books on Civil War and railroad themes, including Civil War Prison Camps: A Brief History, Famous Songs of the Civil War, Images of America: Kennesaw, Retracing the Route of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea, The : An Infantry Battle on Sherman's March to the Sea, The Fifteen Most Critical Moments of the Civil War, The Pennsylvania Railroad: An Illustrated Timeline, The Battle of Allatoona Pass: The Forgotten Battle of Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, The Ten Best – and Worst – Generals of the Civil War, The Battle of Chickamauga: A Brief History, Bleeding Kansas: The Real Start of the Civil War, The Top 20 Civil War Spies and Secret Agents, The Top 25 Most Influential Women of the Civil War and The W&A, the General, and the Andrews Raid: A Brief History.

Robert is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church. He has written and taught numerous adult Sunday School courses. He is the author of A Brief History of Protestantism in the , A Brief History of the Sacraments: Baptism and Communion, Heaven and Hell: In the Bible, the Apocrypha and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Meet the Apostles: Biblical and Legendary Accounts, Monks and Monasteries: A Brief History, Revelation: Background and Commentary, The 25 Most Influential Books in the Post-Apostolic Christian Church, The 25 Most Influential People in the Post-Apostolic Christian Church, The 25 Most Important Events in the Post-Apostolic Christian Church, The 25 People Who Most Influenced the Music of Christianity, The Top 25 Misconceptions About Christianity and The Crusades and the Inquisition: A Brief History.

Robert has also written several books on ghost towns and OId West themes, including Death Valley Ghost Towns – As They Appear Today, Ghost Towns of the Mojave National Preserve, Ghost Towns of Southern Arizona and New Mexico, Ghost Towns of Western Nevada and The Top 10 Gunslingers and Lawmen of the Old West.

In 2005, Robert co-authored a business-oriented book entitled Working Virtually: The Challenges of Virtual Teams.

rcjbooks.com [email protected]

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