"Fighting Joe" Wheeler slept here in Newnan, Ga., after likely his finest day in uniform -- at Brown's Mill. The cavalry clash anniversary will be marked Saturday

Wheeler, fought at Brown's Mill, lower right) and stayed at Buena Vista (Picket photos and Library of Congress) 

Twenty-four hours of hard riding while chasing a large Union cavalry force paid off for Confederate Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his outnumbered troops on July 30, 1864, when they routed the Yanks at Brown’s Mill, a few miles outside Newnan, Ga.

After the battle, “Fighting Joe” – wearing a blacked plume hat, gray uniform and red sash, according to observers – tiredly rode back to Newnan and Buena Vista. He walked up the stairs at the home of Confederate officer Hugh Buchanan, a future congressman who was in Virginia with Phillips' Legion and recovering from a combat wound to his lung.

Wheeler's men were still in pursuit of the remnants of the Federal command, but the cavalry leader, just 27 years old, needed time to regroup.

Wheeler, according to legend, asked to use the home as his headquarters. Buchanan’s wife, who had hidden their children in the cellar during the day, happily obliged upon realizing there weren't Union troops outside. Mary Buchanan offered Wheeler and staff food and use of the dwelling.

“Shown to the study, Wheeler sat down behind a big plantation desk, spread his maps before him, and fell asleep,” historian David Evans wrote in his seminal “Sherman’s Horsemen: Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign.”

One of about a half dozen interpretive markers at Brown's Mill (Picket photo)

There was no real rest for the weary. Wheeler was back in the saddle the next day, and pressed his officers about the successes and failures of the pursuit as Union survivors tried to get back to safety near Atlanta.

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, said the Battle of Brown’s Mill was probably Wheeler’s best day in Confederate uniform, although the soldier is also recognized for his service at Shiloh and Perryville by protecting the Rebel army's rear guard during its retreat.

If Nathan Bedford Forrest was the “The Wizard of the Saddle,” perhaps Wheeler should be dubbed the “Prince of Pursuit.”

Some 160 years after the clash, the Brown’s Mill Battlefield Association will host a public commemorative gathering at 7 p.m. Saturday at the site. The Coweta County park is just a few miles from picturesque Newnan, which was home to a half dozen Confederate hospitals during the Civil War.

“As for General Wheeler, I think his relentless pursuit of McCook's Raid was nothing short of remarkable,” Evans has written. “Outnumbered, outgunned, and hopelessly outdistanced, he rode down, routed, and scattered what he called ‘the most stupendous cavalry operation of the war.’”

Union Maj. Gen. William Sherman had tasked Brig. Gen .Edward McCook (left) and Maj. Gen. George Stoneman with cutting vital railroads south of Atlanta so that he would not have to engage in a prolonged siege of Atlanta. McCook, after damaging some track at Lovejoy Station, hoped to rendezvous with Stoneman. He had nearly 3,000 men under his command.

But Stoneman had chosen to ride toward Macon, with the hope of reaching the large Confederate prison at Andersonville to the south. 

With no rendezvous, McCook hurried toward the Chattahoochee River and Federal lines to the north. Early the morning of July 30, after skirmishes at Line Creek and Shake Rag, troopers of the 8^th Indiana rode into Newnan. They were surprised to find dismounted Confederate cavalry at the railroad depot. McCook decided to avoid battle and continue his push for the river.

Wheeler chased them from Newnan.

“O, how joyfully we hailed them,” Confederate nurse Kate Cumming wrote in her diary. “They came galloping in by two different roads; the enemy in the meantime hearing of their approach, were retreating.”

Children attempted to follow the Union troopers, but were told to go home.

The park opened about a decade ago after a community campaign (Civil War Picket photo)

The Rebels ambushed the exhausted Federal forces at Brown's Mill. “This is where McCook lost control and was broken up,” said Crawford.

McCook held a brief council of war, suggesting the force surrender. Other officers decided to fight and McCook basically gave up command. It was every man for himself then, with separate columns attempting to break out from the trap.

Men fled toward the river and more than 1,200 men were taken prisoner over the new few days. Some men, including an officer who was naked, except for his hat, managed to swim or take a few ferries to safety. McCook got away.

Wheeler's force of about 1,400 riders also freed about 500 Confederate prisoners and seized supplies. It was a bloody debacle, in which there was saber-to-saber fighting, a trail of bodies and the heroic actions of a Union trooper who received the Medal of Honor. About 100 Federal men were killed or wounded, while Confederate casualties were about half that.

A day later, Stoneman was defeated and captured at the Battle of Sunshine Creek.

Painting at Newnan depot shows moment Union troops arrived (Picket photo)

Evans based his brief account of Wheeler’s stay on a 1952 book, “White Columns in Georgia,” Medora Field Perkerson’s account of antebellum residences.

After the McCook defeat, Sherman wrote to generals in Washington, DC:

“August 1, 1864 … Colonel Brownlow reports from Marietta that he has just reached there, having escaped from a disaster that overtook General McCook’s cavalry expedition at Newnan.” He expressed surprise such a large Federal force would be defeated and so many captured.

Wheeler, Perkerson wrote, brought the disaster referred to by Sherman.

The Newnan-County Historical Society's book "Coweta Chronicles" includes Wheeler's official report on Brown's Mill. He wrote of catching up with many of the dismounted Federals about three and half miles south of Newnan. "I determined to attack immediately, notwithstanding the great disparity of numbers."

Buena Vista was built in about 1830. (Civil War Picket photo)

Hugh Buchanan’s son, Edward, was 12 when the Confederates came to Buena Vista after the fight. The boy, who lived to nearly 84, never forgot the excitement. Called Eddie at the time, he tiptoed downstairs in the evening and found Wheeler asleep at the desk, according to a family letter kept by the historical society.

“All over Georgia they remembered Wheeler … a man small in stature but a fine leader and fighter, fine enough for the United States Army to make him a major general in the Spanish American War,” wrote Perkerson.

The house, built in 1830, gained its Greek Revival style when Buchanan added a second floor, according to the Newnan-Coweta History Center. Buchanan and a son bottled a medicine called "Horn of Salvation" at the residence. The attic was said to hold government records before the courthouse was built. An older building was used as slave quarters, according to a 1986 tour of homes.

The home was full of period furnishings and hand-crafted walls and mantels, according to the tour guide.

The seven-fireplace home, fronted by Doric columns, is owned now by Michael and Leah Sumner, who purchased it in 1990. The home did take a hit in a 2021 tornado that caused widespread damage in the area.

Old post card of Buena Vista (Newnan-Coweta Historical Society)

Loran Smith, a columnist and announcer associated with the Georgia Bulldogs football team, paid a visit a year ago and Leah Sumner told him the residence is on the highest ground in Newnan, giving Wheeler an excellent view of the area. Hence, the name Buena Vista, or beautiful view.

“We cherish the opportunity to live in and raise our family in such a special home,” she told the Picket in a recent email.

The area around the Brown's Mill battlefield used to be largely rural but, like most of the Atlanta region, that has changed.

“The farms over which the battle was fought have been subdivided and farmhouses that were present then no longer exist,” said Sandra Parker of the friends group.

Carolyn Turner, head of the battlefield association, said the desk where Wheeler fell asleep is believed to have been lost.

Brown’s Mill, she said, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places (above). “We are very proud of that.”

Bicyclists, hikers, runners and history enthusiasts use the park. Signs provide details on the Atlanta Campaign, the battle and personal accounts by and about soldiers, Turner said.

Evans told the Picket the Confederate cavalry victory at Brown’s Mill, one of few during the Atlanta Campaign, was the result of sheer force of will.

“Outnumbered more than 3 to 1, over the course of fifty-five miles and twenty-four hours, Wheeler and his men killed, wounded, or captured more than 1,300 Yankee cavalrymen, almost half of McCook's entire force. “

The Union defeat at Brown’s Mill forced Sherman to change tactics and besiege Atlanta and use infantry at Jonesboro, Evans wrote in “Sherman’s Horsemen.”

While Southern newspapers lauded his triumph, Wheeler was not without his critics. Cumming, the nurse in one of the Confederate military hospitals in Newnan, noted she heard "many complaints against General Wheeler."

Evans said among the critics was Capt. George Knox Miller of the 8^th Confederate Cavalry, who wrote to his wife, "Our forces were handled miserably . . . . If we had a commanding officer with any brains not one of them [McCook's raiders] would have escaped."

"Oh! for a few more Forrests and Whartons to command our cavalry," added Chaplain Robert F. Bunting of the 8^th Texas Cavalry.

“Just goes to show, you can't please all the people all the time, no matter what you do,” quipped Evans.

The anniversary “Toast and Taps” will occur 7 p.m. Saturday (July 27) at the Brown’s Mill battlefield, 155 Millard Farmer Road, Newnan, Ga. 30263. The battlefield association, said Carolyn Turner, will read the names of all who died on the property, salute them and play Taps and sing “Dixie.”

Where 'Fighting Joe' Wheeler whupped 'em: A quick revisit to the Brown's Mill cavalry battlefield outside Atlanta

Scenes from Brown's Mill (All park photos by Civil War Picket)

I made a brief stop Saturday afternoon at Brown’s Mill Battlefield Historic Site in Coweta County, Ga. The park is just a few miles from Newnan, which was home to a half dozen Confederate hospitals during the Civil War.

But the area also is known for a cavalry clash that ended in a disaster for Federal forces.

I had not visited the 200-acre, county-operated site in several years. The Brown’s Mill park includes a few interpretive signs, walking and bike trails and a parade field suitable for re-enactments. (The Picket wrote about the battle and the opening of the park in these articles from  2011 and 2013.)

My focus this visit was a June 1908 monument remembering the only battle fought in Coweta County. Erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, it pays tribute to cavalrymen under the command of Lt. Gen. Joseph “Fighting Joe” Wheeler.

In recent years, I have read about how often Union Maj. Gen. William Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign was stymied by the performance of his cavalry.

Notwithstanding Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard's success during a July 1864 raid east of Atlanta, historians and others have pointed out that Sherman did not have much confidence in his top cavalry division commanders. They lacked aggressiveness and competence and often suffered from self-doubt. And, observers say, Sherman was often ineffective in using his troopers to meet objectives.

Charlie Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association, last year told me that Garrard may have been the best division chief – when compared to Edward McCook, Judson Kilpatrick and George Stoneman -- “but that’s not saying much.”

McCook (left) suffered ignominy at Brown’s Mill on July 30, 1864.

Sherman had tasked McCook and Maj. Gen. Stoneman with cutting vital railroads south of Atlanta so that he would not have to engage in a prolonged siege of Atlanta. McCook, after damaging some track at Lovejoy Station, hoped to rendezvous with Stoneman. He had nearly 3,000 men under his command.

But Stoneman had chosen to ride toward Macon, with the hope of reaching the large Confederate prison at Andersonville to the south. 

With no rendezvous, McCook hurried toward the Chattahoochee River and  Federal lines to the north. Wheeler (right), hot on the Union cavalry's trail, pursued them from Newnan and ambushed the exhausted forces at Brown's Mill. 

A report written for the park's master plan describes the dismounted fighting and this detail:

"As Major Root and the 8th Iowa formed for the charge, Wheeler renewed the assault on McCook’s right. 'Follow me! My brave men!' he commanded. A wild Rebel yell answered the little general as he led his Texans and Tennesseans back into the fight. At the same time, 'Sul' Ross’s Texas brigade came up on their right, dismounted, and joined the fight.”

The attack overwhelmed McCook's flank.

“Wheeler had his best day as a soldier,” said Crawford. “This is where McCook lost control and was broken up.”  McCook held a brief council of war, suggesting the force surrender. Other officers decided to fight and McCook basically gave up command. It was every man for himself then, with separate columns attempting to break out from the trap.

Men fled toward the river and more than 1,200 were taken prisoner over the new few days (the monument mistakenly has a much lower figure). Some men, including an officer naked except for his hat, managed to swim or take a few ferries to safety.

Wheeler's force of about 1,400 riders also freed about 500 Confederate prisoners and seized supplies. It was a bloody debacle, in which there was saber-to-saber fighting, a trail of bodies and the heroic actions of a Union trooper who received the Medal of Honor.

A day later, Stoneman was defeated and captured at the Battle of Sunshine Creek.

The Union cavalry clearly failed to attain its goal in the McCook-Stoneman raid, forcing Sherman to change tactics and besiege Atlanta and use infantry at Jonesboro, wrote historian David Evans in his book “Sherman’s Horsemen."

Brown's Mill was one of few Confederate victories during the Atlanta Campaign. The fighting at Brown's Mill cost McCook about 100 killed and wounded, while Wheeler's casualties probably numbered less than 50, according to Evans.

The Coweta County park is along Millard Farmer Road hear the intersection with Old Corinth Road. It was the scene of much of the heaviest fighting. 

An interpretive panel near the monument details some of the units involved at Brown’s Mill.

Saddle up! At Brown's Mill event in Georgia, three styles used during the Civil War

Over the seven years I’ve authored this blog, I’ve rarely delved very deep into the topics of military gear and weapons. (I don’t have the expertise, but sometimes I’ve spoken with experts.)

I traveled this past weekend to Newnan, Ga., for the 152^nd anniversary of the Battle of Brown’s Mill. Because it was largely a cavalry battle, the Friends group concentrated on “The Campaigner: Re-enacting the Life and Times of the Civil War Trooper.”

I spoke with a few participants who brought horses, mules and a 12-pound mountain howitzer and caisson. Those who are really serious about re-enacting turn to craftsmen and women for authentic reproductions of saddles and related gear.

Saturday’s re-enactors described some of their saddles, and I did some subsequent online research. Here’s what I came up with. My summaries barely scratch the surface. 

Grimsley saddle

Grimsley artillery driver's saddle on McClellan tree

Thornton Grimsley of St. Louis created a saddle that was adopted in 1847 for dragoons, mounted riflemen and officers and it remained popular for two decades. “The Grimsley was a vast improvement over the Ringgold saddle, which gave poor service in the war with Mexico,” according to Border States Leatherworks. “The Grimsley tree was covered in rawhide and the seat was stuffed with deer hair under the quilted seat.” A smaller version of the Grimsley was made for U.S. artillery service during the Civil War. Gens. Ulysses Grant and William T. Sherman rode on Grimsley saddles. The Society of the Military Horse says: “The Grimsley is known to have been an excellent and expensive saddle. Its construction shows a product that used a substantial amount of leather and brass fixtures (increasing its weight and cost).”

Hope (or Texas) saddle

One of Scott Wortham's horses

According to Glenn Pier Depot, a tack shop, the Texas-style saddle was used extensively by Southern troopers. “It was manufactured by the thousands by arsenals and civilian contractors." The Society of the Military Horse says this of the Hope saddle (named for James Hope): “This is a very specific name, associated with a particular Texas saddle maker, however the name Hope is merely one of a number of names that have been used for this style. It was much more commonly called a ‘Texas’ saddle, occasionally modified to ‘Texican.’ This Texas saddle was extremely popular and prized for its very light, strong yet inherently compromised construction. The pommel was usually made in two halves, with a wooden horn nailed to the top – covered with rawhide in the fashion of many American saddles coming from the Spanish/Mexican tradition.”

McClellan saddle

Bob McLendon of Phillips' Legion

The U.S. Army in 1859 adopted a saddle designed by George B. McClellan after a tour of Europe. It was the most popular saddle used by Union troopers. It was affordable, lightweight and sturdy and gradually eclipsed the Grimsley. “Used throughout the world, the McClellan is one of the most popular and enduring military saddle designs ever created,” says the society.” Glenn Pier Depot said the saddle was more comfortable for less-robust horses. It was used by both sides during the Civil War, and many Rebel troopers opted to use it rather than the heavier Jenifer saddle. The McClellan supported a rawhide-covered open seat and a thick leather skirt. Some argue whether it was based on a European style or a Spanish tree saddle design. Either way, it proved to be very serviceable. It has been modified since the Civil War and the Army still uses it for ceremonial purposes.

• Related: Veterinary care during the Civil War

Battle of Brown's Mill: Where everything went horribly wrong for Union cavalry

Thomas E. Redwine shows movement of Union troops into Newnan

Not a whole lot went wrong for Union Gen. William T. Sherman during his successful 1864 campaign to take Atlanta, a huge win for the North and President Abraham Lincoln, who needed a victory to assure re-election.
 

While his unsuccessful assault of Kennesaw Mountain was costly, Sherman’s decision to send about 5,200 cavalry troopers to tear up railroad track south of Atlanta turned into an outright disaster.

Author David Evans

His aim was to disrupt vital supply and communication lines and avoid a protracted siege by forcing the South to abandon Atlanta.

“Sherman had no experience to speak of with cavalry. He never truly appreciated their abilities and their limitations,” argues historian David Evans.

In his book, “Sherman’s Horsemen,” Evan details the use of cavalry during the campaign and the ill-fated McCook-Stoneman Raid.

Two previous Union raids -- which came up against few Confederates -- proved successful. Sherman was emboldened.

List of Rebel casualties

“He decided to put all his eggs in one basket and decided to conduct one of the largest raids in the Civil War.”

As another large Federal column engaged elsewhere, Brig. Gen Edward M. McCook, with about 3,000 troopers and Maj. Gen. George Stoneman’s 2,200 men set out in separate columns. They agreed to rendezvous at Lovejoy Station to destroy track.

“They are riding into a hornet’s nest,” Evans tells the Picket.

The hornet stings ended up paralyzing McCook while his men tried to escape a horde of Rebel pursuers a few miles outside of Newnan, a hospital town.

The Confederates sprung their trap at Brown’s Mill in a well-timed ambush. After a council of war, McCook ceded effective command. He lost artillery pieces, horses and about 1,200 men forced to surrender during their pell-mell rush to cross the Chattahoochee River and reach the safety of Union lines.

Campaign map at Newnan depot

It was a bloody debacle, in which there was saber-to-saber fighting, a trail of bodies and the heroic actions of a Union trooper who received the Medal of Honor.

A portion of the battlefield will be formally dedicated Saturday as Brown’s Mill Battlefield Historic Civil War Site. The 105 acres includes two short trails, a meadow and a half dozen interpretive signs detailing the battle.

McCook had initial success after setting off July 27, 1864, tearing up Atlanta & West Point Railroad track at Palmetto and capturing Confederate supplies at Fayetteville. “There is some pretty good evidence that McCook got into some captured liquor and overimbibed,” says Evans.

Stoneman, who had moved south on the east side of the Ocmulgee River, was unable to ford and abandoned plans to meet McCook. He decided to move up plans to free Union prisoners at Andersonville. Stoneman and much of his command, however, were captured at Macon.

McCook and his men reached Lovejoy Station on July 29. They did little damage to the Macon & Western Railroad.

“There is no sign of Stoneman. This puts McCook in a quandary,” says Evans.

Brig. Gen. McCook

McCook makes what he calls a “strategic withdrawal” and is hounded by Confederate cavalry after he made the decision to head back to Union lines via Newnan.

Early the morning of July 30, after skirmishes at Line Creek and Shake Rag, troopers of the 8^th Indiana ride into town, surprised to find dismounted Confederate cavalry at the railroad depot. McCook decides to avoid battle and continue his push for the river.

Confederate Lt. Gen. Joe Wheeler, urging his exhausted men, was soon on McCook’s heels.

“O, how joyfully we hailed them,” Confederate nurse Kate Cumming wrote in her diary. “They came galloping in by two different roads; the enemy in the meantime hearing of their approach, were retreating.”

Newnan children attempted to follow the Union troopers, but were told to go home.

Nurse Kate Cumming

An ambush at what is now the intersection of Old Corinth and Millard Farmer roads demoralizes the advance Indiana, Iowa and Kentucky regiments in the column, setting up the short, but ferocious battle.

“Wheeler see his lines wavering and he rides to the front, draw his sword, orders his bugler to sound charge and orders the men to ‘follow me,’” says Evans.

Sandra Parker, comprehensive planner for Coweta County, which owns the new historic site, said Wheeler and other commanders made an assault on the larger Union force, which was now straddling what came to be known as Ricketyback Road.

Fighting see-sawed across the road.

Wheeler “used (his men) very strategically in a huge horseshoe and moved in on them,” says Parker. 

McCook held a brief council of war, suggesting the force surrender. Other officers decided to fight and McCook basically gave up command. It was every man for himself then, with separate columns attempting to break out from the trap.

“They were outgeneraled and fled south,” says Parker.

There were moments of heroism among the jolted Union troopers.

Cpl. George W. Healey (Healy) of Company E, 5^th Iowa Cavalry is to win a Medal of Honor for his actions at Brown’s Mill.

George Healey

According to the citation, “When nearly surrounded by the enemy, (he) captured a Confederate soldier, and with the aid of a comrade who joined him later, captured four other Confederate soldiers, disarmed the five prisoners and brought them all into the Union lines.”

Larry Conzett of Nashville says his great-great-uncle, David, also of the 5^th Iowa, rode with Healey. David Conzett died shortly before Healey took the prisoners.

“This family folklore was George fought back with David’s empty pistol, capturing Confederates, feigning the gun was full,” says Conzett, who will attend Saturday’s dedication of the site.

David Conzett fell near a tree within 75 yards of the home of George W. Cook. The home was on high ground where McCook placed artillery and the council of war during a “last stand.”

One of three nieces staying at Cook’s home was killed during the fighting. Later, Cook wrote a letter demanding the return of horses taken by Union troopers during the battle.

David Conzett and two comrades were buried at the Cook property before being moved to a national cemetery in Marietta, north of Atlanta.

Planners and preservationists hope a small visitor center will someday be built on the high ground.

The 5^th Iowa was among the 500 troopers that were captured on the battlefield while trying to cover the Union retreat.

An interpretive sign for battlefield (Coweta County)

The fighting at Brown's Mill cost McCook about 100 killed and wounded, while Wheeler's casualties probably numbered less than 50, according to Evans. Wheeler freed about 500 prisoners and captured supplies.

“By 5 p.m. it was completely over, with the nurses out there already,” says Carolyn Turner, president of the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield Association.

Confederate nurse Fannie Beers wrote about the carnage she encountered.

"The dead lay around us on every side, singly and in groups and piles; men and horses, in some cases, apparently inextricably mingled. Some lay as if peacefully sleeping; others, with open eyes, seemed to glare at any who  bent above them. Two men lay as they had died, the 'Blue' and the 'Gray,'  clasped in fierce embrace...one shot in the head, the throat of the other was partly torn away.”

The retreat of the remaining Union forces was chaotic, with another 700 captured before they could ford the Chattahoochee. Some men, including an officer naked except for his hat, managed to swim or take a few ferries to safety.

Route of the Union retreat at Brown's Mill

According to Evans, the McCook-Stoneman escapade and the loss at Brown’s Mill changed the way the Atlanta Campaign was fought.

Sherman could no longer depend on his now-crippled cavalry. A siege of the city ensued and infantry was used to move on two crucial railroads.

“It forced Sherman to change his strategy and while it did not change the ultimate outcome… these Confederate victories prolonged the campaign at a crucial moment of American history.”

'Stepchild' cavalry clash in Georgia finally gets its due at site's grand opening Saturday

Cavalry insignia in bench made by Eagle Scout

Armed with revolvers and a photograph, Sgt. Josiah Conzett and two Army buddies left their Atlanta-area camp for a farm outside Newnan, Ga., where Conzett’s brother was believed to have been buried after he fell during the Battle of Brown’s Mill on July 30, 1864.

The three men planned to spend a peaceful night at a Newnan hotel before heading out to the battlefield. But an armed man taunted the Union soldiers and worked a crowd – sullen in wartime defeat -- into a ‘dangerous mood.” Conzett and his comrades barricaded themselves in their room overnight and were all too happy to get out of town the next morning.

Josiah Conzett

Conzett, of the 5^th Iowa Cavalry, Co. E found the farm of G.W. Cook, a merchant and minister, according to historians and an account provided by a Conzett descendant. The horseman showed Cook a photo of his brother, David, and learned his older brother was one of three soldiers buried on the property. Cook, these several months after the cavalry clash, remembered that David Conzett, 26, had been stripped of his new uniform.

“Mr. Cook gave us a nice smooth board, on which I carved with knife and pencil his name, company & regiment, his age, time of death, his city and state,” Josiah Conzett wrote in his recollections. “I asked Mr. Cook to care for it, that I would see he was well paid for it. He promised to do so, and faithfully kept it up to the time the government took charge of it.”

The remains of Swiss-born David Conzett and about 30 other troopers, killed in a resounding defeat during the Atlanta Campaign, were moved a couple years later to Marietta National Cemetery just north of Atlanta.

One of a half dozen signs that will provide context (Courtesy of Coweta Co.)

The site of the Cook farm lies in Brown’s Mill Battlefield Historic Civil War Site, which will have its grand opening this Saturday (July 27), the culmination of 13 years of work by Coweta County and a rejuvenated, small group of preservationists and historians.

The opening is one year ahead of the 150^th anniversary of the battle. A re-enactment is planned for October 2014, after the hot summer months, on the 105-acre site.

Mounted re-enactors will be on hand Saturday, along with food, music, a rifle salute and a scavenger hunt. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 9:45 a.m. and activities continue until about 2 p.m. at the park near the intersection of Millard Farmer and Old Corinth roads.

 

Carolyn Turner (left) and Sandra Parker at site

“We’ve just got started,” said Carolyn Turner, president of the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield Association. “We have something we can show people.”

Phase 1 of the new county park includes two trails, a meadow for re-enactments and other activities, an observation pavilion and seven interpretive signs, which feature QR codes by which visitors can use smartphones and other devices to download additional information of the battle.

Phase 2, which is not funded, is several years down the road, said Sandra Parker, comprehensive planner for Coweta Park. A master plan calls for a visitor’s center with exhibits not far from the Cook homestead.

Union cavalrymen were routed south of Atlanta

“What the county has out there now is a good start,” said David Evans, author of “Sherman’s Horsemen,” an account of Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s use of cavalry during the Atlanta Campaign. “From a tourism point of view, it is easy access to Interstate 85.” 

A 2004 master plan prepared for Coweta County said, “The Brown’s Mill Battlefield Historic Site will be the only Civil War park south of Atlanta as well as one of only two Civil War parks in the nation featuring a cavalry battle.”

A challenge, it said, would be attracting Civil War visitors south of Atlanta to a battle few members of the general public know much or anything about.

The Battle of Brown’s Mill on July 30, 1864, took place between Union cavalry under the command of Brig. Gen. Edward McCook, and pursuing Confederate cavalry units under the command of Gen. Joseph Wheeler.

Sherman had tasked McCook and Maj. Gen. George Stoneman with cutting vital railroads south of Atlanta so that he would not have to engage in a prolonged siege.

McCook was unable to meet up with Stoneman and his 2,400 troopers left Lovejoy and headed north back toward the Chattahoochee River. Wheeler’s smaller force pursued him and ambushed the exhausted Union forces.

They clashed near Brown’s Mill, three miles southwest of Newnan, a town known for its historic antebellum homes.

Confederate Gen. Joe Wheeler

The county’s parcel was the scene of much of the heaviest fighting.

McCook’s forces fled and, eventually, more than 1,000 were taken prisoner. Wheeler freed about 500 Confederate prisoners and also seized supplies.

The fighting at Brown's Mill cost McCook about 100 killed and wounded, while Wheeler's casualties probably numbered less than 50, according to Evans. 

The Union cavalry failed to attain its goal in the McCook-Stoneman raid, forcing Sherman to change tactics and besiege Atlanta and use infantry at Jonesboro, wrote Evans.

The property is near an auto salvage yard, which unwittingly benefited preservation efforts over the years.

“People fuss about it,” Turner, a retired longtime teacher, said of the business’s proximity to the park. “(But) we owe them a debt of gratitude. If they were not out there, many parts would have been developed by housing.”

Will park one day have reservoir for neighbor?

According to Parker, Coweta County has spent about $310,000 on the project, with assistance from state and federal sources totaling about $659,000. The Friends and other groups have raised nearly $8,000 for the $976,000 total cost for land acquisition, planning, interpretation and construction.

The Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority at some point may build a reservoir right next to the county site. 

But CEO Jay Boren told the Picket that plans for the 300-acre reservoir have “been put on hold.”

The county made an 18-acre land swap with the authority. In exchange for land for a reservoir spillway, the authority provided vital high ground where Cook’s cabin and federal artillery pieces likely stood, Parker said.

 

“They found something like an old well, period, nails glass and crockery,” Parker said of an archaeological survey.

Preservationists and historians have not been thrilled with the possibility of portions of the battlefield lying under water, although some speculate whether water over land might be preferable to homes that would disturb the ground.

Turner at UDC monument

The fighting comprised up to 1,000 acres, most of it east and south of the county site. There’s even more if you count the federal advance and retreat, Charlie Crawford, head of the Georgia Battlefields Association, two years ago told the Picket. The area is largely rural, with homes, a few businesses and woodlands.

Crawford, whose group supports the Brown’s Mill Friends, said that at least part of the entire battle area would be under water. Boren said "no portion of the Browns Mill Battlefield property will be affected by the water"  if a reservoir were built.

Water demand currently is flat in Coweta County and its one reservoir is adequate and can be expanded, said Boren.

At Brown’s Mill, the authority has acquired much of the needed spring-fed land, which sits in a natural bowl, but has been thus far unable to negotiate the purchase of two smaller tracts, according to Boren.

“We currently have more water than we can even sell,” said Boren. “We haven’t seen the growth.”

The Atlanta Regional Commission in 2010 released a new population estimate saying Coweta County’s population would double to 250,000 by 2040, but local officials say the economic slowdown has brought slower growth and water needs.

“It could be something we possibly not even need to look at (for) 20 to 30 years,” said Boren.

Still, Boren says, the authority board always has the topic on the table, given projected growth and revenue possibilities.

A master plan rendering shows a reservoir and spillway forming a peninsula around much of the battlefield site.

“You will have to convince people this was not an amphibious assault by Joe Wheeler’s cavalry,” Evans said of the scenario if the reservoir is built.

“Three Ladies” made their case, raised awareness

Turner told the Picket there are no projections for daily visitors at the historic site, although she has received calls.

And while officials expect walkers and joggers (but no dogs) to use the venue, the county will discourage picnics and parties. While there are no entrenchments, the site, full of sloped ravines, was the scene of ferocious, if brief, combat.

“This needs to be a commemorative park,” said Parker. “This is hallowed ground.”

Evans told the Picket that "Brown's Mill is the stepchild of Civil War" battlefields, because it did not make a congressional list of important battles, and is finally getting its due.

The Coweta County Convention & Visitors Bureau regularly touts Newnan’s charm and history and welcome packets include a brochure about Coweta’s ties to the Civil War. The county’s historical society also promotes tourism and visitors can learn about Confederate graves at Oak Hill Cemetery; Buena Vista, a home used by Wheeler; and the railroad depot where McCook’s raiders entered Newnan.

Turner speaks of efforts of the “Three Ladies” – she, Parker and retired teacher Pat Tidwell – to help make the battlefield site a reality, by raising awareness and funds.

They would make appearances before local politicians to make their case.

“We had taught some of them,” said Turner.

• Details of Saturday’s grand opening

• Upcoming in Picket: Detailed account of battle