Q: When was the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain fought? What are some of the details surrounding that battle?
A: The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was part of the Atlanta Campaign, which consumed north Georgia and the city for most of 1864. Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston retreated south from the mountains during that spring before making a stand in an area north and west of Marietta, a line anchored by Kennesaw Mountain at one end. Union Gen. William Sherman – you might have heard of him — ordered the bombardment of Confederate positions on the morning of June 27 and launched an attack on Pigeon Hill, but the main assault was aimed at the center of the line, which is now known as Cheatham Hill.
“Johnston holds Sherman on the Kennesaw line for about two weeks and gets Sherman to do what he loathes to do for the whole campaign, which was to attack him frontally,” said Gordon Jones, the senior military curator at the Atlanta History Center. The attacks stalled and the battle technically was a victory for the Confederates, who suffered 1,000 casualties compared to about 3,000 for the Union.
“It wasn’t a slaughter, but for the Atlanta campaign, it was pretty dramatic,” Jones said.
Those losses didn’t stop Sherman. He forced Johnston to fall back and continued his march to Atlanta and a summer of fighting around the city.
Kennesaw Mountain became a national battlefield park in 1935 and now includes 2,965 acres, 22 miles of trails and a museum. If you haven’t done the math, this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Georgia, so many ceremonies, reenactments and other festivities have been planned at Kennesaw Mountain (nps.gov/kemo, 770-427-4686) this weekend and throughout metro Atlanta this summer.
If you have any questions regarding other Civil War battles throughout the area, let me know.
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