While fighting his way toward Atlanta, William T. Sherman encountered his biggest roadblock at Kennesaw Mountain, where Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee held a heavily fortified position. The opposing armies confronted each other from June 19 to July 3, 1864. Hess explains how this battle, with its combination of maneuver and combat, severely tried the patience and endurance of the common soldier and why Johnston's strategy might have been the Confederates' best chance to halt the Federal drive toward Atlanta.
Kennesaw, called "Big Shanty" during the Civil War, started out in the 1830s as a railroad shanty town during the construction of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. In many ways, Kennesaw is a typical small town in Northern Georgia--it was built along the railroad tracks, cotton was the first engine of economic growth, stagnation occurred from the 1920s to the 1950s, and then it blossomed in the latter part of the 20th century as a suburb of Atlanta--but in other ways, Kennesaw is unique. The Andrews Raid, immortalized by Walt Disney as The Great Locomotive Chase, occurred here in 1862. In 1981, Kennesaw rocked the world when it passed its gun law requiring all households to own an operating firearm and ammunition. While still small, Kennesaw has had its time in the limelight.
Gain perspective on the Atlanta Campaign's dramatic month-long battle. In the summer of 1864, Union and Confederate armies fought and suffered in North Georgia, struggling for possession of Kennesaw Mountain. This book tells the tale of this important phase of the Atlanta Campaign during the Civil War. Included are insights into the character of commanders William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston and the common privates, along with civilian accounts.
The first in-depth ecological treatment of one of the most frequently visited National Battlefield parks in the country Designated as a battlefield in 1917 and as a park in 1935, the 2,965-acre Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park now preserves far more than the fallen soldiers and military history it was originally founded to commemorate. Written for a diverse range of readers and park visitors, Kennesaw: Natural History of a Southern Mountain provides a comprehensive exploration of the entire park punctuated with humor, colorful anecdotes, and striking photographs of the landscape. Beginning with a brief summary of the park’s human history before transitioning to a discussion of the mountain’s nature, including its unique geology, vegetation, animals, and plant-animal interactions, Graham also focuses on Kennesaw Mountain’s most important ecological and conservation attribute—its status as a globally important bird refuge. This volume addresses the complex interactions and behaviors of numerous species that live in or migrate through the park; yet it is written in a personal, lively, and entertaining style that will appeal to a wide audience. In many cases the book synthesizes information from the scientific literature and renders it in clear, comprehensible terms, making this otherwise arcane material accessible to the general public and underscoring—and hopefully increasing public appreciation for—the extensive biodiversity found in the Southeast.
While fighting his way toward Atlanta, William T. Sherman encountered his biggest roadblock at Kennesaw Mountain, where Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee held a heavily fortified position. The opposing armies confronted each other from June 19 to July 3, 1864, and Sherman initially tried to outflank the Confederates. His men endured heavy rains, artillery duels, sniping, and a fierce battle at Kolb's Farm before Sherman decided to directly attack Johnston's position on June 27. Kennesaw Mountain tells the story of an important phase of the Atlanta campaign. Historian Earl J. Hess explains how this battle, with its combination of maneuver and combat, severely tried the patience and endurance of the common soldier and why Johnston's strategy might have been the Confederates' best chance to halt the Federal drive toward Atlanta. He gives special attention to the engagement at Kolb's Farm on June 22 and Sherman's assault on June 27. A final section explores the Confederate earthworks preserved within the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
The town of Kennesaw was officially incorporated in 1887 and organized a baseball team shortly thereafter. In June 1908, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a headline, "Hail to the Amateurs--Here's a Good Georgia Bunch," featuring a photograph of the team with "Kennesaw" emblazoned across their jerseys. Kennesaw's former semiprofessional team, the Smokers; its little league parks; four high schools; and Kennesaw State University have contributed to a robust regional baseball culture. These respected and diverse baseball programs have produced many college-level, minor-league, and major-league players.
Published here for the first time, the Civil War combat memoir of Lieutenant Colonel James Taylor Holmes of the 52nd Ohio Volunteers presents a richly detailed firsthand account of the action on Cheatham's Hill during the June 1864 Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Written in 1915, Holmes' insightful narrative, with original hand-drawn diagrams, differs on key points from the accepted scholarship on troop movements and positions at Kennesaw, and contests the legitimacy of a battlefield monument. An extensive introduction and annotations by historian Mark A. Smith provide a brief yet comprehensive overview of the battle and places Holmes' document in historical context.
This Civil War history presents a lively and detailed study of one of the bloodiest and most important battles fought in Georgia. In the summer of 1864, Georgia was the scene of one of the most important campaigns of the Civil War. William Tecumseh Sherman’s push southward toward Atlanta threatened the heart of the Confederacy, and Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of Tennessee were the Confederacy's best hope to defend it. In June, Johnston managed to grind Sherman’s advance to a halt northwest of Atlanta at Kennesaw Mountain. After weeks of maneuvering, on June 27, Sherman launched a bold attack on Johnston's lines. The Confederate victory was one of the bloodiest days of the entire campaign. And while Sherman’s assaults had a frightful cost, Union forces learned important lessons at Kennesaw Mountain that enabled the fall of Atlanta several months later.
"As General William Tecumseh Sherman set his sights on Atlanta in the summer of 1864, he fought several small battles-Resaca, Pickett's Mill, and skirmishes around Marietta-against an ever-retreating General Joseph E. Johnston who had replaced the beleaguered General Braxton Bragg as leader of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. After heavy rains slowed Sherman's advance, Johnston shored his army up along the Brushy Mountain line. With Johnston's army well entrenched and Sherman unable to flank him because of the mountains and impassable roads, Sherman noted in his reports to Washington, 'Kennesaw is the key to the whole country.' Intended for the Command Decisions in America's Civil War series, this book explores eleven critical decisions that affected the outcome of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and why the battle unfolded as it did"--
