Near covered bridge in suburban Atlanta, archaeologists to seek evidence of Battle of Ruff's Mill, tell stories of soldiers and civilians

Historic covered bridge on Concord Road (Georgia Battlefields Association)

Artifacts collected by Philip Ivester (Courtesy of Brian Hall Photography)

Philip Ivester’s interest in his neighborhood’s history and a collection of Civil War bullets and other relics he’s found on his property are the spark for an upcoming effort to research and locate evidence of the Battle of Ruff’s Mill, an overlooked clash during the Atlanta Campaign.

The National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program has awarded The Lamar Institute, a nonprofit archaeological group, a $96,000 grant to document the boundaries and features of the July 4, 1864, battle. The institute applied for the grant after Ivester contacted them and showed the artifacts.

“As one of over 30 strategic battles in reaction to Union flanking maneuvers and Confederate defensive fighting, the Battle of Ruff’s Mill represents these important linchpin battles resulting in the fall of Atlanta,” said Rita Elliott, education coordinator for the Savannah-based institute.

“Few of these battles have been studied archaeologically; however, and many have been destroyed, making the Battle of Ruff's Mill Project additionally important to interpreting the big picture of the Civil War, through a localized lens,” she said.

Recent public meeting on the Ruff's Mill project (Courtesy of Philip Ivester)

The Battle of Ruff’s Mill (Nickajack Creek) occurred in what is now the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District near Smyrna, Ga, about 15 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Elliott told the Picket the project’s aims include identifying specific areas of fighting, any remaining earthen works, and learning more about those involved with or affected by the battle, including enslaved African Americans who built defenses for the Confederate army.

Although there are many homes and roads covering the rustic area, county officials hope the effort “will empower the community in its education and preservation efforts.”

Charlie Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association, says Ruff’s Mill has gotten little attention because it was a brief incident between much more notable events -- namely the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (June 27) several miles north and the crossing of the Chattahoochee River by Federal forces (July 9) to the southeast.

Click map to see July 3-4 lines (Courtesy of GBA)

After his army had repulsed Union Gen. William T. Sherman at Kennesaw Mountain, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston once again had to resort to delaying tactics and a slow retreat toward Atlanta. “Johnston occupied the Smyrna Line principally to buy time for his wagons to retreat behind the Chattahoochee, and he did not intend to hold the line once that was accomplished,” said Crawford.

On July 4, 1864, Brig. Gen. John Fuller’s brigade with the 16^th Corps, supported by Sweeney’s division, attacked works held by Rebels in Hood’s command. “The Southerners fell back and dug in. Union casualties in this action totaled 140 killed and wounded. Confederate losses are not reported,” writes historian and author Stephen Davis.

That night, Johnston withdrew troops to their next position, even closer to the Chattahoochee.

Perhaps the best-known participant at Ruff’s Mill was Colonel Edward Noyes of the 39^th Ohio. The future governor was wounded in the left ankle and subsequently lost his lower leg to amputation.  

Because the line was built and held so briefly, Crawford doesn’t expect researchers to find as much physical evidence of the battle as they might at other Atlanta Campaign sites.

“I expect (the) team will find more artifacts and perhaps some less obvious fortification sites,” said Crawford, whose group supported the awarding of the grant. “While there are accounts of the fighting from some of the participants, the project may better define the boundaries of the engagements.”

Ruins of the Concord Woolen Mills (Georgia Battlefields Assocation)

The Concord Woolen Mill ruins are the best-known artifact in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District, which has a robust website explaining the neighborhood’s Civil War ties.

“I hope we get a better understanding of what took place in our part of Cobb County during the war. It is fascinating to see what modern archaeology can glean about events that took place so long ago,” Ivester told the Picket.

He said much of the fighting at Ruff’s Mill was in the area of Heritage Park, a passive park with hiking trails. The popular Silver Comet Trail brings tens of thousands of walkers and bicyclists through the park each year. The project could provide an excellent opportunity to educate them about the Civil War.

The Lamar Institute is conducting battle research now and will be during its principal archaeological work in April, followed by a report for the county and a video. Elliott stresses the importance of community involvement.

She told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution that the team will work on public land and seek written permission to go on private property. Residents will be asked to allow them to photograph and catalog artifacts and to share any information about the battle they’ve collected on their own.

“As far as preservation of private property goes, I think it is enough to educate landowners on what they have, and let that influence their future decisions,” said Ivester. “It is important to have landowner participation, and some owners might be reluctant if they thought it would have a negative impact on the financial value of their property down the road. I see this information as adding to the value of the land.”

Ivester stressed individuals not from the area should not do any metal detecting; the land is either privately owned or belongs to Cobb County.

A myriad of groups and landowners will be following or involved in the work.

Edward Noyes lost his lower leg

In a Cobb County press release last week, District 4 Commissioner Lisa Cupid said: “While Cobb County residents appreciate and preserve their history, they cannot preserve something until it becomes tangible and locatable,” Cupid said. “This project fulfills the need to locate and identify the battlefield and its related resources, and share the information about its significance with the community so that residents and policymakers can address the battlefield’s preservation and interpretation for the public.”

The Picket had a number of questions for Elliott with The Lamar Institute. Her emailed responses are edited for brevity.

Q. What are you hoping results from the project? Preservation or interpretation?

A. There are multiple goals for the project:

1. Locate the battle, define its boundaries, identify specific activity areas within the battlefield, and identify associated defenses and offensive works;

2. Use extensive historical research of documents and maps to uncover significant detail about the battle and its troops and develop a context for it within the broader war;

3. Identify those involved (on an individual and group level) in not only the battle, but in activities and events before and after, including African-American and white men, women, and children;

4. Collaborate with various members of the community in many phases of the project in ways the community finds beneficial;

5. Share information uncovered and derived from the project with the local community as well as the broader public;

6. Encourage this information to be used by the community to interpret all facets of its past (in K-12 and college curricula and educational programs, interpretive signage in parks, trails and other green spaces, museum exhibits, on the internet, and in public programming); and to preserve portions of the site when possible.

Public meeting on the project (Courtesy of Dan Elliott)

Q. What evidence of the battle is known to exist?

A. Physical evidence likely associated with the battle currently consists of artifacts collected from the area by local landowners as well as non-local relic collectors. Documentary evidence of the battle exists most extensively in Union records, such as military records and order books, maps, and private letters. 

Q. You mentioned to The AJC you want to learn more about people who lived in the area at the time of the battle. Why is that important and what is known about them now?

A. The battle itself reflects military history -- military strategy, warfare techniques, the movement of armies, men, munitions and supplies, and wins and losses. We know about the major generals and other officers involved in the decision-making and the actual battles.

Traditional military history; however, has tended to exclude other aspects of war, including the human face of it. We know that the miles of river line defenses, shoupades and other defenses were constructed in large part by enslaved African Americans. Yet most histories rarely address this important role of African Americans in the Civil War, nor their social history on an individual level within this enforced enterprise. Likewise, women of both races played important roles in the war and were impacted by it in many different ways. Their roles are usually treated superficially, if at all, in military histories.

Click map of several Civil War clashes in Cobb County (ABPP)

And finally, there are the children. They are almost universally ignored, in spite of the fact that they may have been the most affected by war. Children also participated in the war, not the least as drummer boys and even soldiers. This project seeks to illuminate both the specific military history of the Battle of Ruff's Mill and the more elusive civilian, human history of the battle in what is to date, America's most horrific conflict.

Q. Any other thoughts on what the institute will bring to the work?

A. The Lamar Institute has received seven National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program grants over the years, been involved in an additional five with other organizations, and worked on numerous other conflict archaeology sites. Like these, the Ruff's Mill Battle Project is a scientific study that will incorporate historical research, ground-penetrating radar, and controlled metal detection survey to document the exact GPS location of every battle-related artifact.

(Courtesy of Georgia Battlefields Assocation)

Such methodology will allow us not only to find artifacts, but to uncover their complete story, including what their locations tell us about troop movements, skirmishes, and other important details within the battlefield. We will complete a comprehensive report of our research, discoveries, interpretations, and data and make this available to Cobb County and to the public.

Cobb County and many of its residents have already shown a great interest in the project.