Little evidence of the Battle of Atlanta remains. The Cyclorama painting, markers and a vivid imagination are a good start. Our experts weigh in on their must-sees

Sign off Memorial Drive, scene from the Cyclorama, McPherson monument and 1964 state map

People often lament Atlanta paved over its Civil War battlefields. But there are some vestiges of the fighting, and you can go to a couple museums and gaze at dozens of roadside markers to get a sense of what happened there.

Tuesday is the anniversary of the July 22, 1864, Battle of Atlanta, which led to the fall of the Southern city weeks later and likely assured the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln. 

I asked area historians, tour guides and preservationists to suggest places the interested can go to learn more about the battle and its importance. Among the suggested stops are markers where Union Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson and Confederate Gen. William H.T. Walker, a grizzled Confederate veteran nicknamed “Shot Pouch," were killed in action that day.

The following responses have been edited for context and brevity. A few sections have material from previous Civil War Picket posts. 

CHARLIE CRAWFORD, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association

Obviously, start at the Cyclorama at the Atlanta History Center. Spend at least half a day studying the painting and all the associated displays, including maps at the “War in Our Backyards” kiosk on the main floor, not far from the locomotive Texas display. It would help if you have already read related books by Albert Castel, Steve Davis, Earl Hess and Bill Scaife.

Go thereafter to the Carter Center bus parking lot and note three historical markers there, including the one for the Augustus Hurt House, which was Sherman’s HQ during the battle. 

View toward Stone Mountain in Cyclorama, which shows July 22, 1864; Decatur Road on right (Atlanta History Center)

Next, drive to Inman Park MARTA Station parking lot, start eastward on foot along DeKalb Avenue and note the Georgia historical markers, starting with the Pope House. Continue eastward on foot along DeKalb Avenue and turn north onto DeGress Avenue, which has three more markers, including a marker for the Troup Hurt House that you saw in the Cyclorama painting and a marker for the DeGress battery. 

The Old Decatur Road was more serpentine than DeKalb Avenue is now. It curved south of the railroad, then back north in the vicinity of the Confederate breakthrough. You can see this in the diorama at the base of the painting at AHC.

Return to you vehicle and drive eastward on Glenwood Ave SE and turn left (north) immediately past the I-20 interchange onto Wilkinson Drive. In 150 yards, turn left into the parking area for DeKalb Memorial Park. Walk back south to Glenwood Avenue. Note the Walker monument (upright cannon), its associated marker, and the marker across Glenwood Avenue for Terry’s Mill Pond. (Picket photo of Walker stone)

When done, walk back to your car and turn left (north) out of the parking lot until you hit Memorial Drive. Turn left (west) on Memorial Drive then take the first right onto Clay Street. Stop the car almost immediately and note the “Battle of Atlanta Began Here” marker on the west side of the street.

Safely find a way to turn around and head south, then make a right (west) on Memorial Drive. Take the second left (south) onto Maynard Terrace, and immediately after passing the I-20 interchange, turn right (west) onto McPherson Avenue. Park when you see the McPherson monument (upright cannon) on your left. Read the associated markers there. 

Not a comprehensive tour, but should be enough to prompt further research among the uninitiated.

Go to Georgia Historical Society’s marker page and read the texts ahead of time by searching DeKalb County and Fulton County markers.

JIM OGDEN, historian at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Charlie is certainly the expert here, so I would second his recommendations and add only a couple of others.  

While not 100% historically accurate, the visual of the Cyclorama is so valuable that going there or starting there is really important. It would also be really valuable to have a printed copy of it with you while you do the walk along DeKalb Avenue, particularly for when you're along DeGress or if you maybe even walk just a bit farther east on DeKalb and then turn around and look back west, holding that portion of the Cyclorama up in front of you. 

It's a window back in time through all the 21st and 20^th century around you.  I can't remember if AHC is selling any sort of printed reproduction of it but there is the old Kurtz 30 p. booklet of it that probably can be found on the used market.

Marker at Springvale Park mentions remnant of ravine (David Seibert/HMbd.org)

This might be too obvious, but the only other thing I might note is that the many railroad tracks today on the south side of DeKalb are the modern version of the one track that is another one of the important landmarks in the Cyclorama.

For someone who might be up for a bit more of a walk, particularly if they want to do it a bit more from the perspective of the Confederate attack in the painting, would be to walk farther west on DeKalb, at least to Waverly Way, and then north to Springvale Park to see the remains of the low ground the Confederates crossed north of the railroad as they attacked east and the markers there. (Springvale Park has one of the few monuments to the battle. It has a marker as well, indicating that Manigault’s Confederate brigade reformed in the low ground there before making their final dash).

One could even go to Oakland Cemetery to the rise from which Hood watched the battle.  

Atlanta may have seemingly swallowed the July 22 battlefield, but there are still faint traces of that history to be found on the ground.

Artillery Capt. Francis DeGress trails Maj. Gen. Logan in Cyclorama scene (AHC)

PERRY BENNETT, local historian and tour guide

Perry Bennett, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, will be giving a free tour at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The historian said the tour will start at a historical marker on the grounds of Alonzo A. Crim Open Campus High School, 256 Clifton Road SE. It is being given to the Longstreet Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans but anyone can attend. 

“I cover both sides but am focused upon when the battle began on this particular tour and what went well and what did not,” he said.

Bennett mentions markers where Bate’s Confederate division deployed, where two of his brigades were blocked during their attack and another sign indicating where Walker’s division attacked the same hill from Terry’s Mill pond. 

The tour will also make stops at the sites of McPherson’s and Walker’s killings.

Those interested can contact Bennett at lperrybennettjr@gmail.com

CHAD CARLSON, East Atlanta historian and Civil War photo collector

Chad Carlson, a historian with the Georgia Department of Transportation, suggests a stop in East Atlanta Village, at the intersection of Glenwood and Flat Shoals roads. The agency put up a Battle of Atlanta replica marker and interpretive panel in 2013 to replace a 1930s version that was removed in the 1970s. (Read about that here).

Carlson said he appreciates the simplicity of the marker, which describes military units and troops movements. It describes Confederate troops pushing Federal units back to Leggett’s Hill on July 22.

Marker about troop movements in East Atlanta (Georgia DOT)

GDOT made an exact replica but used a cheaper metal material, I think aluminum, instead of bronze, so (there is) less likelihood of it getting stolen.”

For years, local historians, Civil War buffs and the Battle of Atlanta Commemoration Organization (B*ATL) have worked to educate residents and visitors to the rich Civil War history of East Atlanta, Kirkwood and other Atlanta neighborhoods.

13th Alabama Infantry flag is back at Gettysburg for the first time since Pickett's Charge. Read all about its close call, intrepid color bearer, capture and conservation

13th Alabama flag (Alabama Archives); Pickett receiving orders from Longstreet at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, and Confederate veterans at the grand Gettysburg reunion in 1913 (Library of Congress)

A half mile away from where it was captured – but not before its color bearer inflicted an ugly wound on a Yankee – the battle flag of the 13^th Alabama Infantry is on display at Gettysburg for the first time since the July 1863 battle.

The regiment, part of Archer’s Brigade, suffered a staggering 62 percent casualty rate in the three days of fighting; many members were captured during Pickett’s Charge, where the flag was lost to the 1^st Delaware Infantry near the Angle.

Gettysburg National Military Park is showcasing the flag at the visitor center’s main museum gallery until February 2027.

“Cool to see this flag coming for a visit,” Civil War flag expert and researcher Greg Biggs told the Picket in an email.

The park reached out to the Alabama Department of Archives and History for the loan. The effort was assisted by the Gettysburg Foundation.

The flag has been at the Alabama Archives since 1905, when numerous Civil War flags were returned to states by order of President Theodore Roosevelt as a symbol of reconciliation. It was conserved in 1991 and, until this year, has only been on display at the Archives and Confederate Memorial Park, said Ryan M. Blocker, a curator at the archives.

Three veterans at Alabama soldiers' home in 1902 (Confederate Memorial Park)

Confederate Memorial Park in Chilton County, Ala., routinely displays Civil War flags, said site manager Calvin Chappelle. The park is on the site of a soldiers’ home that operated from 1902 to 1939. Several residents were veterans of the 13^th Alabama.

“Each flag has a story to tell. It obviously it was very important to the men who fought underneath them,” Chappelle said of the rotating displays.

A provenance report on the flag provides compelling details on its near capture on the first day at Gettysburg and how it apparently was attached to a lance for the Rebel attack at the Union center on July 3, 1863.

“I think its survival in itself is significant,” said Blocker. “The flag has not been back to Gettysburg since 1863, and we were honored to partner with the curators at Gettysburg to temporarily return the flag to the site where Alabamians carried it through one of the most significant battles of the Civil War.”

This flag was a replacement crafted in Richmond

The 13^th Alabama was formed in Montgomery in July 1861 and it joined the Army of Northern Virginia, where it took part in numerous campaigns in Maryland and Virginia, ending at Appomattox.

Made of wool bunting, this flag was issued to the regiment after it lost its flag at Antietam in September 1862. Biggs noted the flag was made by the Richmond Clothing Bureau, one of 14 Confederate quartermaster clothing bureaus.

The depot also manufactured shell jackets (right, Library of Congress)

The RCB contracted with a local painter, Lewis Montague, to stencil the regimental designations and battle honors onto flags.

Blocker said the 13^th Alabama flag – which was conserved by Textile Preservation Associates -- is in “good, exhibitable” condition. The artifact is mostly intact, with about 5 percent of its fabric missing.

There is some insect damage in the wool and accumulations of soil from exposure to a polluted environment, possibly a coal or oil-heated atmosphere,” she said in an email.

Before conservation, the flag exhibited sharp crease lines from being folded for many years. Crease lines can develop into weak points over time, Blocker said. If left unaddressed, the fibers would have broken, leading to additional damage.

Color bearer took a stab at bluecoat foe

13th Alabama is part of the Fry command at left center; click to enlarge (Hal Jespersen / Wikipedia)

The 13^th Alabama was at Gettysburg from the battle’s beginning. Its brigade tangled with the Federal Iron Brigade at Willoughby Run.

“As the fighting intensified, Federal troops appeared on the regiment’s right flank, resulting in the capture of approximately 100 of its soldiers and forcing the remainder back across the run,” says a National Park Service article about the exhibit at Gettysburg. “Before the withdrawal, however, Private William Castleberry tore the 13^th Alabama Infantry’s battle flag from its staff, saving it from capture.”

On July 3, regimental commander Col. Birkett Davenport Fry (right) noticed the flag bearer had attached a “formidable looking lance head to this staff,” according to the provenance report.

The condition of this flag indicates that at the time Castleberry tore it from the staff on July 1, the leading edge was ripped, tearing away the two top eyelets, leaving only one by which the flag could be attached to a staff. “So, what Colonel Fry apparently saw was the flag of the 13th Alabama Infantry attached to a lance which had been used to replace the missing staff,” the provenance report says.

The 13^th Alabama pushed to the front of the doomed Confederate assault and the flag was carried by multiple bearers. The 1^st Delaware captured it and two other flags. A total of 38 flags from 50 Rebel regiments were seized at Pickett’s Charge.

Pvt. Bernard McCarren of Company C, 1^st Delaware Infantry, was credited with the capture of the flag of the 13^th Alabama Infantry and he received the Medal of Honor the following year.

Fry, who lost a leg in the charge and was taken prisoner, later said he encountered a Federal soldier with a serious shoulder wound from the lance.

The flag was eventually forwarded to the U.S. War Department, where it was assigned Capture Number 60.

Handwritten words across the top of the artifact say, “Confederate Flag of the 13^th Alabama Reg. Captured by Company C. 1^St Del. Vols.” The center star bears the inked inscription: “captured by Co. C., 1^st Delaware Volunteers Regt., Gettysburg Pa., July 3d 1863.”

These graybeard Alabamians attended reunion

The 13^th Alabama flag was on display at the 102-acre Confederate Memorial Park from 2021-2022.

The park, which the state opened during the Civil War centennial in 1964, contains the site of the original veterans home and other historic structures, as well as a museum, research facility and two soldier cemeteries.

13th Alabama flag while on display in Chilton County, Alabama (Confederate Memorial Park)

Chappelle, the site manager, told the Picket the park typically displays a few flags from the Alabama Archives on a rotating basis. Currently on display are ones for the 18^th Alabama, Hilliard’s Legion and the Rifle Scouts.

Five soldiers from the soldiers’ home attended the famous Gettysburg 50^th reunion in 2013. Two served in the 13^th Alabama, notably Capt. James M. Simpson, head of the home. He was wounded during Pickett’s Charge.

Confederate Memorial Park, in a Facebook post last year, quoted a June 25, 1913, article in the Montgomery Advertiser, Simpson was "very much gratified over the prospects of such a happy reunion at Gettysburg. Monday morning before the reunion begins, Captain Simpson has an engagement to meet old comrades at Reynolds’ monument on the battlefield at Gettysburg, the spot where they entered the great fight."

There is no evidence the 13^th Alabama flag was brought to Gettysburg for the reunion, Blocker said.

“There may have been a sense of reunion, but not complete reconciliation or equality. Regardless, it was a start to the long process that we are perhaps still enduring today,” Confederate Memorial Park said on social media.

James M. Simpson was commandant of the home from 1906-1916 (Confederate Memorial Park)

Among the residents at the Alabama home was Pvt. Oscar Williams, who served with the 6^th Alabama, which suffered heavy casualties at Gettysburg.

A database about the soldiers, created by Chappelle and late park director Bill Rambo, says Williams was “the toast of veterans” at a reunion, according to a 1911 Montgomery Advertiser article. That’s because he was shot twice on July 2 at Gettysburg while carrying the colors of the regiment.

It was apparent then, as in any conflict, a unit’s flag elicited much pride and emotion.

Flags need time to rest for a few years

While the 13^th Alabama flag wasn’t back at Gettysburg until earlier this year, the 5^th Alabama’s did pay a visit in 2009 during a meeting of the Artist Preservation Group. The Montgomery, Ala., chapter of the organization helped fund that flag’s conservation.

“Our chief curator at the time drove the flag up to the conservator, passing through Gettysburg. The flag was displayed temporarily at the Gettysburg convention center during the convention,” said Blocker.

Photo of the 13th Alabama flag during conservation (Alabama Dept. of Archives and History)

I asked the curator about how often the 13^th Alabama flag has been displayed. She described how the archives came to protect them from light, heat and humidity.

When the Archives moved to its current location in 1940, these flags were exhibited in cases lining the hallways of the second floor. In the 1980s, the flags were removed from display and placed in storage to assess their condition, Blocker wrote.

A flag conservation program was established in the early 1990s, and the 13th was sent for conservation in 1991. After its conservation, it was featured in the “Tattered Banners” exhibit at the Archives, which was on display until the early 2010s. Flags in this exhibit were rotated in and then out as new flags underwent conservation.

“Our policy on displaying flags has evolved over time as our understanding of best practices for the storage and display of textiles has improved,” Blocker said. ”We aim to limit the duration that a flag is loaned or displayed to a maximum of two years. The conditions for display are very specific; for example, light levels must stay within certain foot-candle measurements, and temperature and humidity must remain within defined parameters.”

Union veterans (background) at Gettysburg face Confederate men in 1913 (Library of Congress)

After a flag is displayed, it rests for several years before being exhibited again.

After its time at Confederate Memorial Park, the 13^th Alabama flag rested until earlier this year, when it was shipped to Gettysburg. “While the timeframe was shorter than our regular practice would allow, we thought it was a good opportunity for the flag to make its return to Gettysburg,” said Blocker.

She and other curators and conservators stress the condition of a flag helps tell its story. So the focus is on conservation and preservation, rather than restoring them to their original state.

“The flags reveal the harsh realities of war; some have holes where shrapnel has torn through, and others have whole sections of the flag missing. These holes and marks are an integral part of the flag's history,” said Blocker.

$2.8 million private gift will help fund restoration of Vicksburg's majestic Illinois Memorial, removal of old park HQ considered an intrusion on the battlefield

1906 Illinois Memorial (top photos) and July 11 demolition of old park HQ (FVNMP)

Conjuring the grandeur of Rome’s Parthenon, and topped by an oculus, mythical figures and a large bronze eagle, the Illinois State Memorial at Vicksburg, Ms., records the names of 36,325 soldiers from the Prairie State who took part in the campaign to capture the vital Confederate city.

Forty-seven steps – matching each day of the Union siege -- lead up to the interior and the lists of names on bronze plaques. The building is one of Vicksburg National Military Park’s most popular tour spots, but age and time have taken their toll.

The Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park & Campaign on July 11 announced a $2.8 million private donation, matched by $2.5 million from the National Park Service, will go toward restoration of the Illinois Memorial and other projects. Texas businessman and friends founding board member John Nau III made the large donation. 

Bess M. Averett, executive director of the friends group, told the Picket the work on the Illinois Memorial, which opened in 1906, will begin in mid-August and last about one year. The monument will be closed during that time.

Retired Brig. Gen. Robert Crear, Ryan Groves, Darrell Echols, John Nau III (FVNMP)

“Over a century of weather exposure -- including through the oculus -- has caused deterioration to both the stone and the inscriptions inside,” a news release said. “A full restoration is crucial to preserve its integrity and allow future generations to experience its splendor and meaning.”

More than 100 units from Illinois fought in the Vicksburg campaign. About 40 Illinois soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their valor.

Friday’s announcement signaled the beginning of the project, which started with demolition of the park’s former headquarters and museum, built in 1937.

The structure is on Pemberton Avenue, just south of the Illinois Memorial. It is considered an intrusion “that obscures the story and sacrifices of the men who fought and died there in 1863,” according to officials.

Illinois monument is between tour stops 2 and 3; old HQ is near surrender site (NPS; click to enlarge)

“People think because it was a replica antebellum home that it was historic. But it was built long after the war and literally in the center of one of the most critical areas of the park for interpretation,” said Averett.

An NPS report on museums built at Civil War parks in the 1930s said this of the old headquarters, which was unsuitable for its use and was later condemned:

“The Vicksburg building resembled so well an antebellum plantation mansion that a later superintendent converted it to his residence and packed the museum off to a utilitarian frame structure elsewhere in the park.

Nau was on hand for a ceremony and the start of demolition.

Old headquarters (center) obstructed sight lines of the battlefield (FVNMP)

“This gift from John Nau is nothing short of visionary,” said retired Brig. Gen. Robert Crear, board president of Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park & Campaign, according to the Vicksburg Post newspaper. “It will not only preserve a national treasure -- the Illinois Memorial -- but also reclaim the battlefield from post-war development and restore its integrity for all Americans.”

Ryan Groves, acting superintendent of the park, referred emailed questions from the Picket to the friends group.

The nonprofit said its chief goal is restoring land and landmarks to their wartime appearance and context.

One of the first projects accomplished by the in 2011 was the removal of 50 acres of trees in the same area. “Before that work, rows of cannons faced a dense forest confusing visitors and hiding the very terrain that made Vicksburg so impenetrable.” 

Rotunda of Illinois Memorial includes the state seal, plaques bearing names (Library of Congress)

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park expands by 21 acres with the help of the Trust for Public Land and the National Park Foundation

Kennesaw and Little Kennesaw mountain rise behind the 21 acres (TPL)

A 21.4-acre tract on which Union troops advanced upon Little Kennesaw Mountain has been added to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, a victory amid the continued threat of residential development, the Trust for Public Land says.

The national nonprofit recently announced it had closed on the property that belonged to the Hensley family of Marietta, Ga., which previously sold 34 acres to the National Park Service in 2008.

George Dusenbury, Georgia director for the TPL, said the NPS paid the fair market value of $2.58 million using funds from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The parcel is north of Burnt Hickory Road.

“TPL worked in partnership with NPS to complete the necessary property due diligence and secure the federal funding needed for the acquisition,” he told the Picket.

The property is largely meadow with some woods. A stream that flows through the property was dammed in the 1950s to form a small pond; it will remain as a fire suppression resource. The property is surrounded on three sides by land already owned by the NPS.

The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain occurred on June, 27, 1864.

Union troops that moved through the parcel were part of the extreme left of Logan’s XV Corps, said Ray Hamel, park ranger and chief of interpretation at Kennesaw Mountain. Troops serving under brigadier generals Harrow, Williams and Fuller and the 64^th Illinois skirmish line were among those present. (See Logan's, Harrow's and others' names at left, map courtesy American Battlefield Trust)

“Troops here did not take part in the assault on Pigeon Hill,” said Hamel. “Confederate defenses were east of the property. Nearest was a skirmish line of the 9^th Texas."

The TPL said “The newly acquired property, now under National Park Service ownership, safeguards not only the rural, open character of the area but also any Civil War-related archaeological resources that may lie beneath its surface."

The park said the acquisition "furthers the preservation of historically significant sections of the original battlefield from modern development."

The Picket reached out to the Hensley family for comment but has not yet received answers to questions about the transaction.

The National Park Foundation provided funding to assist with associated costs, such as the demolition of an old barn, said Dusenbury.

The park -- the most-heavily visited national battlefield in the country -- recently commemorated the 161^st anniversary of the Atlanta Campaign battle in Cobb County.

Click to enlarge to see details of newly acquired tract in orange; park boundaries in green (TPL)

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, told the Picket, “We appreciate landowners who are committed to preservation and will wait on the slow federal government process for acquiring additional land for the National Park Service.”

The TPL said is goal is to help create a cohesive park that “supports public exploration and learning.”

“This acquisition isn’t just about adding acreage -- it’s about preventing the fragmentation of this irreplaceable landscape and keeping it from being lost to suburban development,” Dusenbury said in the announcement.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield spans 2,923 acres, including three battlefield areas and 11 miles of preserved Civil War earthworks.

The TPL said its land additions to the park include:

Early 2000s: Approximately 50 acres to expand park access and continuity.

2008: Acquisition of 34 acres from the Hensley family, featuring forests, fields and a lake.

2013: Addition of the 42-acre Hays farm, home to Nodine’s Hill, with remnant Union entrenchments, rifle pits and cannon placements.

Another view of the 21 acres recently added to the NPS park (TPL)

Sam Hensley, a former Georgia legislator, once owned the land involved in both family transactions. The property includes trenches built by Federal Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces in June 1864.

“Our parents never let us forget that we stand on hallowed ground. They always told us that it was never going to be developed and that we would never see rooftops on this property,” said Sam Hensley Jr. during a ceremony in 2008 concerning the 34 acres. (Sam's brother Shuler is a notable Tony Award-winning actor and singer.)

“That became a very difficult thing to accomplish over the years. There was not a week that went by that my father did not have an unsolicited call from a developer or somebody that wanted to build a subdivision out here.”

Names of 30 Black soldiers are added to an Illinois monument

A plaque featuring two rows of 15 names has been added to the Civil War memorial on the square in Jacksonville, Ill. Those named were Black soldiers who fought for the Union, almost all members of the U.S. Colored Troops. The more than 3,000 names on the memorial before the update included a few Black service members — but some people noticed a gap. The 30 men whose names were added served mostly with the Third Heavy Artillery and 29th Infantry. -- Article

A Gettysburg shop called the National Park Service after it found a human remain in a collection it bought. Now the forearm bone, believed to be from a Union soldier at Spanish Fort in Alabama, will be buried at battle park

Note and display case holding the forearm bone, field that will hold grave (Historic Blakeley State Park) and Robert Knox Sneden map showing battle zones in and around Mobile (Library of Congress)

Early this year, employees at a shop in Gettysburg pored through relics it purchased from the family of a collector. Normally, such merchants in the Pennsylvania town synonymous with Civil War collectibles might receive display cases containing a belt buckle, bullets, unit badges or something rarer that turned up on a battlefield.

But this one was different, very different.

Tucked inside a box protected by bubble wrap was a handwritten scrap of paper, reading: “Found in Extreme Northern end of Union Army lines at Spanish Fort (near Basin Batteries). December, 1973.”

The note refers to the Federal siege and capture of Spanish Fort in April 1865. Back-to-back  victories at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley led to the surrender of Mobile, Ala., a vital Confederate port.

With the note and in the box was a human bone -- part of a forearm.

The Gettysburg shop, of course, had no intension of putting the relic up for sale.

What to do?

In this case, you contact a subject matter expert for advice. If you live in southern Pennsylvania, that expert is Greg Goodell, longtime museum curator at Gettysburg National Military Park.

After being contacted, Goodell acted as a middle man to ensure the bone would find a home and be laid to rest in a respectful way.

The curator contacted sites in the Mobile area, eventually reaching Mike Bunn, director of Historic Blakely State Park, home to the Fort Blakeley battlefield. Bunn stepped forward and said he would bury the bone in a field and place a granite marker that reads “Unknown Soldier, Civil War.” (design at left)

Next to the headstone will be an engraved interpretive plaque.

The Gettysburg business sent the item to Alabama a couple months ago.

Bunn wants to place the grave near a main park road and impressive remnants of Confederate defenses. He anticipates a Veterans Day ceremony to dedicate the memorial.

“We know not every person in the (Mobile) campaign has been found and marked,” Bunn told the Picket of his aim to honor them.

There’s plenty of mystery about the bone remaining, despite a story that appears to have a good ending.

The arm bone is believed to belong to a soldier, mostly likely Federal. What happened to the rest of him? No one knows. Officials see no need for DNA testing of the remain at this point.

I asked Gettysburg communications specialist Jason Martz how often such a thing has happened at the federal park.

“In plus-20 years, it has happened fewer than five times,” Martz replied.

Federal siege paid off in two Alabama battles

Although Union Adm. David Farragut had bottled up Mobile in summer 1864, the city remained in Confederate hands. 

The arrival of additional Federal troops in early 1865 brought about the campaign to take Fort Blakeley, Spanish Fort and other guardians east of Mobile. Historic Blakely State Park interprets the entire Mobile campaign.

Union troops, a third of which were U.S. Colored Troops regiments, laid siege of Blakeley for about a week. A similar operation against outnumbered Confederates took place at Spanish Fort, just to the south.

The forces under Federal Maj. Gen. Edward Canby (right) first surrounded Spanish Fort on March 27, 1865. Most of the Confederate troops escaped to Mobile or Blakeley and the fort fell on April 8.

Two Union commands combined to storm Fort Blakeley the following day, unaware of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender in Virginia. They carried the field.

Confederates evacuated Mobile and the mayor surrendered the city on April 12.

The Union lines at Spanish Fort were mostly to the east and north of the Rebel defenses.

Most of the battlefield lies within Spanish Fort Estates, a large residential community dating to the late 1950s and early 1960s. While most of the fortifications are gone, there are several discernible lines of breastworks running through front yards.

A chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has helped to preserve Battery McDermott.

Bone was found in future subdivision land

Bunn said he believes the forearm bone was found by a relic hunter in or near a Federal trench at Spanish Fort with other artifacts. The park director (below) said he does not know the finder’s name but believes he died several years ago. “He had a pretty big collection.”

A water artillery battery near the end of the Yankee line was in swampy ground at a body of water called Bay Minette. “All of that stuff is gone,” Bunn said of this part of the siege line.

Relic hunters frequently pored over the area, which is on private land, as the subdivision was built in stages.

The paper indicates the bone discovery in December 1973. “I can’t confirm all the details, but I don’t believe the section this came from was developed at the time. Probably dug as they were clearing land for it, though,” Bunn added.

It’s possible the bone was part of a mass grave. Bunn doesn’t know whether the rest of the skeleton was left intact, scattered by animals or taken by other collectors.

Relic hunters today are more likely to report human remains or leave them in place, officials said. “At least they did not chuck it. I am sure others have,” Bunn told the Picket of this bone.

Bunn said the exact circumstances regarding the bone and its precise location are impossible at this point to pin down.

Siege operations at Spanish Fort, note map is not displayed north-south (Library of Congress)

“If it was a burial, it probably would have been a shallow grave.” Circumstantial evidence points to a Federal soldier, though the U.S. military after the war worked diligently to relocate such remains to new national cemeteries.

“There could be a chance he was a Confederate,” said Bunn.

Shop knew the park service would have an answer

Martz, with Gettysburg National Military Park, said the local business – which he and Bunn did not identify -- had a conversation with Goodell (below) after the discovery.

“The shop was basically in a position to be a good Samaritan and didn’t know what to do with” the bone, Martz told the Picket.

“When someone in the position of the local shop doesn’t know where to start, they start with an organization like the National Park Service. It is easily one of the most recognizable and trusted organizations in the country come to,” he said.

In this case, there was no need to go to law enforcement.

Martz described the man who had the bone as an avid Civil War artifacts/relics collector. “When he passes, the family doesn’t know what to do with a collection. They find a reputable shop.”

Then the shop’s inventory process begins.

“They start to go through it piece by piece. ‘Oh wait a minute.’ There is one extra thing they are not comfortable with.”

Martz said there is no indication a law was broken. The only consideration would be the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which protects indigenous remains.

Nothing in this case has any connection with NAGPRA “as far as we know,” said Martz.

The takeaway is the Gettysburg shop did the best thing by reaching out to Goodell so the bone could be sent to the best place – Alabama, said the park spokesman.

Remains not eligible for state veterans cemetery

Bunn turned to the Historic Blakely Foundation and a GoFund me campaign to raise money for the headstone and plaque. So far, $350 of the estimated $600 expense has been raised.

The new grave will be in a field that holds a cemetery that dates to 1819. It will be in a separate area and will be viewable from the road. Bunn expects a ceremony in November, with a gun salute and presence of a U.S. flag. “It is a long overdue, proper respect,” he added.

The state cemetery contains about 5,000 graves (Alabama Dept. of Veterans Affairs)

The park director consulted with Joseph Buschell, director at the nearby Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort. Alabama operates the location because the U.S. cemetery in Mobile is closed to new interments and the closest national cemeteries are in Biloxi, Ms., and at Barrancas near Pensacola, Fla., each more than 70 miles away.

The Spanish Fort cemetery would not have been able to accept the remains without a name and proof of military service, including an honorable discharge, Buschell said.

On behalf of Historic Blakeley, Buschell contacted a company in Pensacola to make a government-grade marker. “It is assumed to be a soldier.”

Regarding Bunn, Buschell told the Picket: “I think what he is going to do with this is pretty noble.”