Seats available for May bus tour of NW Georgia Civil War sites: Former military institute, Resaca and Rocky Face Ridge

Sketch of the Georgia Military Institute made by a Union soldier before it was burned.

The Civil War Round Table of Cobb County in northwest Georgia is inviting members of Civil War or history-related organizations to join them in a May 6 bus tour of three sites.

The 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. program begins in Marietta at the site of the former Georgia Military Institute, which operated 13 years until it was destroyed by the Union army.

Local historian Michael Hitt will lead the walking tour and the bus will pass GMI-related sites on the way to Resaca, which is between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn.

GMI graduates joined Confederate units and cadets fought at the front line during the May 1864 Battle of Resaca. Participants in the tour will see the railroad depot where cadets arrived in Resaca and where they skirmished on May 9, 1864.

Among the tour guides is David Wynn Vaughan, a noted collector of Civil War portraits, including those of GMI cadets.

Lunch will be at Resaca Battlefield Historic Site, just off Interstate 75 in Gordon County,

Reproduction 3-inch ordnance rifle at Rocky Face Ridge Park (Picket photo)

The third stop is Rocky Face Ridge Park in Whitfield County near Dalton, about 20 miles north of Resaca. The May 7-8, 1864, battle was the first in what became known as the Atlanta Campaign. About 1,400 men from both sides became casualties in the fighting over several days. The park opened last summer.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park staff historian Jim Ogden will provide an overview and lead a walking tour at Rocky Face Ridge Park.

The cost for the trip is $99, which includes the charter bus, box lunch, tour guides, talks and handouts.

Contact Terry H. Kingery, 770-906-5635, tkingery2@bellsouth.net for more information and to make a reservation. Only a few seats remain.