'Recognized as soldiers': A Black regiment fought on this NW Georgia tract that has been recently saved. The site includes Confederate earthworks and redoubts

Sgt. Charles Tyree of the 14th USCI was born into slavery  (Indiana Historical Society, M0470), Garrity Battery's site (at right) and Washington Artillery position on the top of 61 acres (Courtesy Bob Jenkins)

Sixty-one acres that feature impressive Confederate artillery and infantry earthworks and were the site of the first Civil War combat in Georgia involving Black troops have been saved following a 20-year effort.

Save the Dalton Battlefields recently trumpeted the preservation of 61.43 acres just north of Interstate 75. The American Battlefield Trust, among its partners in the effort, closed on the property last month after it and numerous groups and individuals raised $677,000.

SDB president Bob Jenkins said the site would likely have been converted to residential use if the sale had not occurred.

“The property immediately below (to the south of) this property was developed into four apartment buildings in the past couple of years and we lost earthworks on that property,” Jenkins told the Picket in an email. “Also, there are other condo units and apartments adjacent to this property to the east, as well.”

Parcel marked in green is near Rocky Face Ridge Park (American Battlefield Trust map)

Unlike Atlanta, Northwest Georgia has numerous remaining Civil War fortifications, including at Rocky Face Ridge Park, which is near the 61-acre site. About 300 acres in the Resaca battlefield have recently been saved, officials said.

For those who closely study troop movement and action during the Atlanta Campaign, the names of Confederate units defending the land the first months of 1864 are familiar: Stanford’s Mississippi Battery, Washington Artillery from Louisiana, Garrity’s Alabama Battery, Baker’s and Clayton’s Alabama infantry brigades and Stovall’s Georgia brigade.

Between them, they erected numerous lunettes, redoubts and earthworks -- much of which survive..

Save the Dalton Battlefields' sign about Black Civil War regiments in the area

But it was the infantrymen belonging to the 14^th U.S. Colored Infantry who made history months after those Rebel units left.

They became the first Blacks troops to see combat in the Peach State during the war.

Black regiment was drawn from formerly enslaved

The clash involving the 14^th USCI came months after important battles in Whitfield County, including Rocky Face Ridge. By August 1864, most of the fighting was happening well south, in and around Atlanta.

The regiment – organized in Gallatin, Tenn., mainly of former slaves -- was part of a Federal force that came in two trains from Chattanooga, Tenn., before dawn on Aug. 15, 1864, after Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his force threatened Dalton with the intent of destroying railroad tracks and supplies.

Black troops are shown in this camp scene near Citico Mound in Chattanooga ( photo CL 491 (44), Isaac Bonsall Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.)

“The three Union regiments disembarked from the trains on the west side of Mill Creek Gap where they deployed, with the 14th USCI placed in the front left of the formation and given the honor of leading the predawn attack,” said Jenkins. They were part of the skirmish line.

“This regiment swept across the southern end of the newly acquired property on their way to Wheeler’s cavalrymen, who were encamped along the banks of Mill Creek to the east.”

Eventually, Wheeler withdrew.

In his memoirs, Col. Thomas Jefferson Morgan (left), wrote the fight was short, with few casualties.

“To us it was a great battle, and a glorious victory. The regiment had been recognized as soldiers. It had taken its place side by side with a white regiment. The men had behaved gallantly. A colored soldier had died for liberty. Others had shed their blood in the great cause.”

The regiment marched into Dalton in a rain. A White regiment, standing at rest, “swung their hats and gave three rousing cheers for the Fourteenth Colored," wrote Morgan.

The 14^th later took part in the siege of Decatur, Ala., and the Battle of Nashville. The Slaves to Soldiers website features remarkable information about the regiment and other Black units.

Hikers will be able to see site near Rocky Face Ridge

Jenkins said numerous groups were involved in the preservation project, including the Georgia Battlefields Association, Open Space Institute, Georgia Piedmont Land Trust, various Civil War roundtables and Whitfield County officials.

“While it is not contiguous with Rocky Face Ridge Park, it is to be added to the profile of that park and managed accordingly, but without any bike trails or other high-density use,” he said. “This property is to be used for only hiking, historic and environmental preservation, i.e. low density use.

Lunettes were shaped as a half moon to protect men. (Courtesy Bob Jenkins)

While the terrain is not as rugged as Rocky Face Ridge, the parcel does not have easy car access.

Jared Herr, communications associate with the American Battlefield Trust, said the nonprofit negotiated the purchase agreement. He said the trust has championed several Civil War properties in the region, including Rocky Face Ridge, Ringgold Gap, Kennesaw Mountain and Resaca.

Once the Trust places a conservation easement on the 61 acres, it intends to transfer the property to Whitfield County. “Trails and interpretive signage will be installed on the property. Save the Dalton Battlefields will work on the signage under the guidance of the county. The Trust will lend its expertise, including sign text review, to the process.”

Brian Chastain, chief of Whitfield County parks, said he recently toured the site and said the earthworks are particularly notable. “It is a great asset.”

“While the property is not yet open to the public, I can provide private tours of the property on a limited basis and for now would like to limit that to our donors or potential future donors,” said Jenkins. “There’s no timetable yet for the public, but we will be working to get the property and hiking trails safe and ready to be dedicated and opened to the public as soon as possible.”

Bragg, Johnston deployed guns to slow Yankees

Another lunette at the 61-acre site (Courtesy Robert Jenkins)

It’s important to note Dalton and Whitfield County were occupied by Confederate and Union troops at different times during Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. The Rebel artillery was in place around the time or during the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge.

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association laid out this timeline:

The four-gun batteries were part of the defensive line Braxton Bragg (for the initial weeks) and Joseph E. Johnston (subsequently) built from December 1863 through April 1864. The artillery was positioned more to defend Mill Creek Gap than the ridge, said Crawford.

When Maj. Gen. George Thomas was ordered to attack Rocky Face Ridge in late February 1864, he determined quickly that a direct assault with the forces then at hand (only the Army of the Cumberland at that point, whereas Gen. William T. Sherman would have three armies when he approached the site in early May) would just result in casualties. But Thomas’s assault did have the effect of Johnston being allowed to recall two divisions he had been ordered to send to assist Polk in Mississippi. Thomas withdrew.

“There were certainly artillery exchanges in this area in February and May, but the principal infantry assaults were elsewhere. In one sense, the defenses here accomplished their purpose of defending the gap,” said Crawford.

Atlanta Campaign got bloody start at Rocky Face Ridge

The well-known Battle of Rocky Face Ridge came on May 7-8, 1864. It was the first significant clash of what became known as the Atlanta Campaign.

In 2022, Bob Jenkins (left) with reproduction 3-inch ordnance rifle at Rocky Face Ridge Park. (Picket photo)

Sherman sent troops from the Chattanooga area as a feint while Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson rushed to Snake Creek Gap in a bid to cut Rebel forces off from a vital railroad.

But the feint did not come without cost: About 1,400 men from both sides became casualties in the fighting over several days at Rocky Face Ridge, known for its steep terrain.

Johnston, surprised by McPherson’s move and seeing that Sherman was moving south, evacuated troops off the ridge and rushed them to Resaca.

The Federal strategy had failed, given McPherson moved back to Snake Creek Gap when he thought his army might be in a precarious position. Sherman was angry about McPherson’s failure to attack and perhaps cut Johnston off from the railroad. The Battle of Resaca ensued, with Johnston having consolidated his troops.

Here's when the Rebel batteries were in place at site

Jenkins provided these details on what occurred on the 61 acres.

There were two artillery battery sites on this property used by three different Confederate units: the one near the top of the ridge used by Garrity’s Alabama battery, and the one on the lower part of the ridge used at various times by the Washington Artillery and Stanford’s Mississippi Battery.

-- Garrity’s Alabama Battery served in the redoubt near the top of the property in action in May (May 6-13) 1864.

Georgia Division reenactors take part in 2022 ribbon cutting at Rocky Face Ridge Park (Picket photo)

-- The Washington Artillery served in the redoubt near the bottom of the property in action in February (24-26, 1864), May and October (13, 1864).

-- Stanford’s Mississippi Battery also served in the lower redoubt in May 1864. (Different batteries were pulled up into line and after 24 hours, pulled back and replaced to rest) But not Garrity’s Battery, because they were up on top and harder to get up and down.

-- The August 1864 action saw no artillery on this property, but instead was a running fight as the Federals lined up west of Mill Creek Gap, swept through the gap, including the 14^th USCI across the lower half of this property, as they surprised and swept Wheeler’s sleeping Confederate cavalrymen in the predawn hours of August 15, 1864, along the banks of Mill Creek between just west of the gap and down toward Dalton.

Kennesaw Mountain staff confirmed names of mountains on a map. Now, the Library of Congress is crediting drawing to Theodore Davis, rather than Alfred Waud

A map of the Kennesaw Mountain battlefield shows Rebel guns (Library of Congress)

An effort by the Library of Congress to identify mountains in a sketch depicting Confederate artillery positions at the Kennesaw Mountain battlefield has concluded with the institution changing the attribution for the drawing from Alfred R. Waud to Theodore R. Davis.

The unsigned and undated map of the Georgia battlefield was among many Civil War drawings donated to the library more than a century ago by the estate of famed financier J.P. Morgan. It was long attributed to Waud, the legendary artist-journalist who followed the Army of the Potomac in Virginia.

But the LOC’s Kara Chittenden, senior cataloging specialist with the Prints & Photographs Division, and Sara Duke, curator of Popular and Applied Graphics, told the Picket that the library is changing the catalog reference to the map as likely belonging to Davis (right), another famous Civil War illustrator.

Waud was in Virginia in June and July 1864, creating dramatic scenes from Cold Harbor and Petersburg while Davis was with Sherman’s armies during much of the Atlanta Campaign, including the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864. His employer, Harper’s Weekly, did not publish the sketch, according to the LOC.

Waud did travel to Georgia after the Civil War to make illustrations for a book and other publications. He died in nearby Marietta in 1891.

Chittenden in mid-November reached out to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park with a question. An outside researcher wanted an addition to the sketch’s catalog, but the federal library needed to verify that information.

Box of index cards showing locations of units at Kennesaw (Jake Boling/NPS)

“The researcher believes that the map depicts Kennesaw Mountain battlefield, with Pigeon Hill on the left, Little Kennesaw Mtn in the center and Big Kennesaw Mtn on the right. Unfortunately, there is very little information on the map to confirm this. Would you be able to verify this information?” Chittenden wrote to the park.

The inquiry was picked up by Jake Boling, a park ranger and education coordinator at the park.

Boling used valuable old-school technology to confirm the location of the mountains: Emmet Nichols, a ranger at Kennesaw Mountain in the 1970s and 1980s, worked from official records to pinpoint the locations of Union and Confederate positions, including those brimming with artillery. Nichols put the information on large index cards. The folders, which included the names of units on each mountain, have been kept in a large box.

These names in the park's archives are shown on the LOC map (Jake Boling/NPS)

While the Library of Congress drawing itself does not label the mountains, the artillery positions are labeled with the names of their commanders.

“Working here as long as I have, I recognized these names,” Boling said in a recent phone call.

The batteries were under the command of Confederate Maj. George S. Storrs.

At left, on Pigeon Hill, are Parrott guns of J.A. Hoskins’ Mississippi battery. Deployed at Little Kennesaw are more Hoskins Parrotts and Napoleon guns belonging to Capt. John Ward’s Alabama battery and Capt. Henry Guibor’s Missouri battery. At far right of the sketch are siege guns.

Detail from the Library of Congress map of Pigeon Hill (left) and Little Kennesaw

“The guns did move. I don’t think all of these were in these positions all at once,” Boling said.

The drawing shows the profile of mountains as they would be seen from Marietta, just to the southeast.

Boling says Confederate Maj. Gen. William Loring, who commanded a corps during the Atlanta Campaign, may have been consulted for the battery locations. When that occurred is uncertain.

Chittenden added the names of the mountains to the catalog and said the library will now be attributing the map and a few other Kennesaw Mountain sketches to Davis.

“The former attribution to Alfred Waud (left) is unlikely because Waud was not at this battle,” the updated catalog will say of the mountains drawing, which it says was created in 1864.

It’s impossible, without a signature, to know for sure who made the map. But there can be clues.

“I’m afraid there isn’t enough evidence on the map to know that Davis drew it and not a soldier or other eyewitness who drew it and gave it to him,” said Duke of the Library of Congress. “As you can see, modern databases have made it easier for us to change attribution of art and learn the whereabouts of the artists who recorded the Civil War for illustrated weeklies."

Duke told the Picket when she looked at copies of Harper’s Weekly for Kennesaw, the only artist represented was Davis.

“When I cataloged the collection in 1991, I worked with a pencil, sheets of paper and bound editions of Harper’s Weekly, Frank Leslie’s, and the New York Illustrated News. Almost all of the drawings were attributed to Waud when I arrived. I was able to verify attributions to other artists using the bound volumes. What I could not do in the time allotted, was track dates and movements with a pencil and paper. Now, it is easier to see how artists moved with the armies. As databases improve, it takes much less time to verify information, but a lot more time to change the cataloging.”

The Picket reached out to Boling about the new Davis attribution, but he was away from the office.

When asked for comment, Kennesaw Mountain park ranger Ray Hamel said: "If you feel the new information is reflective of accurate scholarship, I think it's safe to say the credit can go to Davis."

Folders in the park's collection show Storrs' batteries (Jake Boling/NPS)

The Picket learned about the drawing from a Facebook post by the park about the collaboration with the Library of Congress. The post said the sketch “matches up almost perfectly with the park's own records.” (At the time of our call, Boling and I understood the drawing to have been done by Waud.)

Chittenden said the public -- should they want to propose changes or additions to an image description -- can reach out to the Library of Congress’ Prints and Photographs page via its “Ask a Librarian” form. “Once we receive a request to update a catalog record, we try to verify the information before making any changes.”

Boling said he and fellow park staffers try to be transparent to the public about where they get their information. He points out that most of the visitors to the popular site come for recreation and do not realize the park also tells the history of the area.

“We try to set the standard for accurate, unbiased information, and research opportunities and resources.”

Where eagles dare: Well-preserved Virginia site to tell story of Potomac blockade

Remains of gun batteries (Courtesy of Prince William County, Va.)

While Confederate artillery batteries erected below Washington, D.C. had more bark than bite – observers wrote of poor marksmanship and munitions -- they effectively blockaded the vital Potomac River for five months.

Among the most imposing was Cockpit Point Battery in Prince William County, Va. Sitting atop a 70-foot bluff, the fort had an air of mystery from the beginning. It was built in secret, with trees left in front to better hide the construction. Curious Federal troops on the Maryland side of the river eventually used a balloon to try to figure out how many men were at Cockpit Point and other batteries in the area.

The Rebel emplacements thrown up early in the war saw relatively little action, but the threat embarrassed the Federal government and to a degree stymied efforts to resupply the capital.

“It is something that is really unknown, even to hard-core Civil War buffs,” said Bill Backus of the county’s Historic Preservation Division.

(Courtesy of Prince William County)

Backus and colleague Rob Orrison earlier this month conducted the first public tours (above) of the property, which was donated about a year ago by the developers of Potomac Shores, a large residential and golf community just to the north of Cockpit Point.

Cockpit Point Civil War Park, a few miles east of Dumfries, is not technically open. The 113 acres are split by a busy railroad line that passes by a chemical facility and the Possum Point Power station, modern facilities that bookend the park.

County officials for now will concentrate on a 93-acre parcel of the property, with the hopes of putting in a small parking lot later this year (until then, people are not encouraged to drive to the site). That side will highlight natural resources, including a pond. The park has two bald eagle nests.

“We think it is going to be mixed use, because access of the earthworks is limited, because of the railroad,” Backus said. “Our ultimate goal is to put a trail system to both sides of the park.”

There is no timetable for putting a trail or interpretive markers on the battery side of the property. There currently is no safe (or legal) way to cross the railroad. Officials encourage visitation through special tours in the spring and November.

Federal balloon gazed down on Confederate batteries (click to enlarge)

The 20 people who took part in this month’s visit saw “some of the few batteries that remain from the blockade of the Potomac River in the first year of the war,” said Backus.

In a press release announcing the tours, Orrison, the county's historic site operations supervisor, wrote: "This property is unique as it contains some of the best preserved earthworks and forts from the Civil War in Northern Virginia. It's by far the best-preserved Civil War battery associated with the Potomac Blockade." 

'A remarkable military position'

The Texas Brigade is said to have been among the units that Brig. Gen. Isaac Trimble employed in autumn 1861 to build the four lunettes on the bluff, called Possum Nose.

Backus said the batteries probably are about 150-200 yards from the Potomac.

(Illustration appeared in Harper's Weekly)

The Confederacy rotated artillery in and out of the fort. Sometimes there were six, sometimes fewer. A 30-pounder Parrott, nicknamed “Long Tom,” was used, along with guns from the Norfolk naval station. Between 100 and 200 men were in the garrison.

The Federal government was worried by Cockpit Point and nearby Shipping Point, Freestone Point and Evansport fortifications (totaling 37 heavy guns); a pro-Unionist called the former a “remarkable military position.”

Backus and Orrison recently wrote about the blockade for Blue & Gray magazine. They stress the Federal government needed an open Potomac River for resupply and communication reasons, along with a wish to keep Maryland out of the fight.

Orrison, in the blog Emerging Civil War, wrote: “Though the batteries were constructed under the auspices of the Confederate Navy, the men manning the guns were infantry. Various units moved in and out of the area to man the guns, and their skill as gunners was obvious, as they rarely were able to hit anything that fired along the river.”

While the blockade lasted until March 1862, Cockpit Point took a beating from the Union navy in January 1862. Two vessels – the USS Yankee and USS Anacostia --  pounded the batteries from positions that couldn’t be easily hit by return fire. Shots from the USS Anacostia were accurate enough to force the Confederates to abandon one of the batteries. But the fort remained in Southern hands

(Courtesy of Prince William County)

Federal troops and batteries on the Maryland side hoped for help from Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who could have used his massive force on the Virginia side to attack the batteries from the rear. But he apparently felt that did not fit within the larger strategy, Orrison writes.

Instead, it was Rebels who took the batteries out of action.

In early March 1862, they withdrew to build new defenses along the south bank of the Rappahannock River. An attempt was made to destroy the river positions.

John S. Salmon, in his “The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide,” wrote a Federal landing party found evidence of a hasty departure: Half-baked bread, clothes and spiked cannons.

For their part, Federal forces used Cockpit Point to launch patrols, “mainly looking for guerrillas.” They knocked the batteries down further so they would be of little or no use if the Confederates retook them.

Map of battle corps and study areas, American Battlefield Protection Program

Keeping further deterioration in check

Backus says the remnants of the lunettes are quite discernible. Trees have moved in and other natural forces have worked on the fortifications over the past 155 years. Still, the state of preservation is considered to be good and there have been few modern disturbances.

Foundations of winter huts are still in place, along with the remains of a communications trench.

A study conducted for the county said it should work to maintain surrounding forest to protect surviving earthworks and take steps to prevent vandalism.

There has been evidence of fairly recent relic hunting, and officials don’t want visitors on site. They could cause more damage to the batteries. “We are trying to keep it protected by not marking where everything is,” Backus told the Picket.

There’s no interest in reconstructing the defenses. Instead, officials want to prevent any further deterioration. One bluff is eroding and officials may step in to help stabilize it.