'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.

This honor was mine: Medal of Honor recipient James Taylor showed me how LBJ presented the award in recognition of his heroic rescues in Vietnam

Medal of Honor recipient Jim Taylor demonstrates placement of medal (Special to the Picket)

When a Medal of Honor recipient insists (or asks, for that matter) you sit at his table, you don’t say no.

I found myself in this unexpected situation Tuesday afternoon while onboard a train carrying 13 Medal of Honor recipients during an immersive reenactment of the Civil War’s “Great Locomotive Chase” in North Georgia in April 1862. Members of the Andrews Raid were the first to receive the Medal of Honor.

I was darting between cars and taking pictures for the Picket’s Facebook page when I encountered James “Jim” Taylor, who was wearing a bright blue shirt with the words Medal of Honor beneath a burst of stars.

What happened next deeply touched me, and left an indelible memory.

Taylor, 87, was holding his medal, held in place by a blue ribbon, in front of him, and I assumed he was just adjusting it before returning it around his neck.

Instead, the Vietnam War hero beckoned to me. After I sat in a chair, he proceeded to reenact how President Lyndon B. Johnson placed the medal at the White House on Nov. 19, 1968.

Don’t worry: He did not place the medal around my neck.

Taylor asked me to open my outstretched hands to mimic a neck. He then moved the ribbon around the hands before placing the medal in the cup of my fingers, showing the bright medal to onlookers.

The demonstration took about a minute. I don’t know if the Army veteran has done this before with other people. I have no idea why he picked me. Someone did film the moment. (Picket photo in Kennesaw)

But I felt I was part of something special. I texted my family one of the photos in this post.

I will admit to not ever hearing of Taylor, who was a first lieutenant at the time he merited the nation’s highest military award for valor.

The Californian was in action on Nov. 9, 1967, west of Que Son. Any description I could provide would not be adequate, so it is best to provide the citation.

Capt. Taylor, Armor, was serving as executive officer of Troop B, 1st Squadron. His troop was engaged in an attack on a fortified position west of Que Son when it came under intense enemy recoilless-rifle, mortar, and automatic-weapons fire from an enemy strong point located immediately to its front. One armored cavalry assault vehicle was hit immediately by recoilless-rifle fire and all five crewmembers were wounded. Aware that the stricken vehicle was in grave danger of exploding, Capt. Taylor rushed forward and personally extracted the wounded to safety despite the hail of enemy fire and exploding ammunition. Within minutes a second armored cavalry assault vehicle was hit by multiple recoilless-rifle rounds. Despite the continuing intense enemy fire, Capt. Taylor moved forward on foot to rescue the wounded men from the burning vehicle and personally removed all the crewmen to the safety of a nearby dike. Moments later the vehicle exploded.

As he was returning to his vehicle, a bursting mortar round painfully wounded Capt. Taylor yet he valiantly returned to his vehicle to relocate the medical evacuation zone to an area closer to the front lines. As he was moving his vehicle, it came under machine- gun fire from an enemy position not 50 yards away. Capt. Taylor engaged the position with his machine gun, killing the three-man crew. Upon arrival at the new evacuation site, still another vehicle was struck. Once again Capt. Taylor rushed forward and pulled the wounded from the vehicle, loaded them aboard his vehicle, and returned them safely to the evacuation site. His actions of unsurpassed valor were a source of inspiration to his entire troop, contributed significantly to the success of the overall assault on the enemy position, and were directly responsible for saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military profession and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

I did a bit of research on Taylor this morning after returning home last night.

Sammy Davis, third from left, and  Jim Taylor to his left (White House photo)

The official photo of Taylor with LBJ shows him in a line, next to Sgt. Sammy L. Davis. Fittingly, Davis was among those on the CSX journey Tuesday from Kennesaw, Ga., to Ringgold, where he gave remarks to a large crowd in the town’s depot.

The veterans are taking part in the 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration in Chattanooga, Tenn. The principal sponsors are the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. (There are currently 61 living Medal of Honor recipients.)

Taylor, in a video recorded years ago, said he did not want to be considered above millions of other veterans.

The day’s events – in Atlanta, Kennesaw and Ringgold – and, of course, the train ride, were an amazing experience. As a military brat in Germany, we lived near an Air Force Vietnam War recipient. To meet or talk with 13 was a real privilege.

Jim Taylor (right) and other medal recipients Tuesday at the Atlanta History Center (Picket photo)

PHOTOS: 13 Medal of Honor recipients retrace the 'Great Locomotive Chase'

(Civil War Picket photos)

Jim McCloughan, Kyle Carpenter and Britt Slabinski (from left) were among 13 Medal of Honor recipients who rode a CSX executive train Tuesday afternoon that reenacted the Civil War’s “Great Locomotive Chase” in 1862. The daylong event in Atlanta, Kennesaw and other points in North Georgia was part of the 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration in Chattanooga, Tenn. Union soldiers in the Andrews Raid were the first to receive the Medal of Honor. See the Picket’s updates and photos at our Facebook page.

Medal of Honor recipients will take a special train ride in Georgia reenacting the 'Great Locomotive Chase.' They will take the same route used by Yankee saboteurs who were the first to receive the nation's top award for valor

Type of locomotive being used Tuesday (CSX); click to enlarge map showing route of the Andrews Raid in North Georgia; Ohio Pvt. Jacob Parrott received the first Medal of Honor; this is his second issue medal (Picket photo)

On Tuesday afternoon, about 15 Medal of Honor recipients will climb aboard a train in Kennesaw, Ga., to travel back in time while retracing the daring escapade of warriors first awarded the nation’s highest military award for valor.

The journey’s nexus to the Civil War episode will be somewhat remarkable, albeit no actual danger will be involved this time around.

The Medal of Honor recipients – who are meeting Sept. 29-Oct. 4 in Chattanooga, Tenn., for their annual convention – will be riding along the original route of the ambitious Andrews Raid, better known as the "Great Locomotive Chase."

The April 1862 romp began in Big Shanty (now Kennesaw) and ended near Ringgold, Ga., below Chattanooga when the Union men – most soldiers dressed in civilian clothes – jumped off the General, the train they commandeered, when it ran out of steam. Their brave mission was a strategic failure.

The Medal of Honor recipients will see both surviving engines Tuesday and start their two-and-a-half hour train journey near where the Union sabotage mission began.

The public is invited to wave at the CSX train and the honorees during the reenactment ride from Kennesaw to Ringgold. It starts around 1 p.m. ET and ends at 3:30 p.m.

As organizers note, the Great Locomotive Chase is more than a Civil War story. (At right the General inside the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, Picket photo)

“It’s a defining moment in American military history and established Chattanooga as the birthplace of the Medal of Honor. The audacious raid, spanning roughly 87 miles over seven hours, evoked an epic chase," they said in a news release.

The very first recipients (in March 1863) of the Medal of Honor were men who took part in the Andrews Raid. Ultimately, 21 of 24 raiders received the award, while two were not eligible because they were civilians.

Eight Yankee raiders – including leader James Andrews – were tried as spies and executed in Atlanta. They are interred at Chattanooga National Cemetery. Last year, two hanged Ohio participants in the raid -- Pvt. George Wilson and Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach -- were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after a long campaign by descendants and a Georgia researcher to have them receive the honor.

Tuesday’s immersive reenactment is being principally sponsored by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga and CSX.

The Civil War Picket is planning to attend the events and post updates via Facebook.

Startled Southern conductor sprang into action

Andrews and his men traveled in groups to Marietta, below Kennesaw, where most spent the night at a hotel before the raid.

Their aim was to take a locomotive to Chattanooga while destroying sections of track and Rebel communications. The audacious raiders hoped to deliver a blow to the Southern war effort and morale.

The Texas can be seen from the front of the Atlanta History Center (Picket photo)

On that spring day in 1862, Western & Atlantic Railroad conductor William A. Fuller was shocked to see a group of men steal the General while passengers and crew were enjoying breakfast at the Lacy Hotel in Big Shanty.

Fuller and a couple of others ran north after his train. He didn’t yet know it had been taken by the Union commandos. The conductor ran across a handcar, jumped on three trains and traveled 86 miles -- along with Confederate horsemen who had been reached by telegraph -- after the raiders.

The Andrews Raid did not do much damage to the rail line, but it gained fame in the North, where the men were treated as heroes who struck a blow, however small, deep in enemy territory.

Officials at the Atlanta History Center, which showcases the Texas, have long stressed the engine tells a much larger story of the postwar growth of the city. For its restoration several years ago, they decided to paint the Texas in an 1886 scheme, rather than the bright colors it wore at its former home in the city’s Grant Park -- in part because its surviving parts date closer to that year than the Civil War.

Like the General, the object of the chase, the Texas was saved (in 1907) from the scrap heap.

Here's how the day's events will play out

The Medal of Honor recipients’ formal introduction to the chase will begin Tuesday morning with breakfast at the Atlanta History Center.

From there, participants will take a bus to Kennesaw, about 20 miles northwest. They will attend a lunch program at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, which is home to the General. The museum will be closed to the public Tuesday.

A rather fanciful depiction of the raid and a burning bridge (Wikipedia)

Around 1 p.m., the recipients, guests and others will board one or two modern executive rail cars positioned near where the Lacy Hotel once stood. CSX operates what once was the Western & Atlantic route.

A vintage engine cannot be used because the route was long ago modernized for faster and heavier commercial traffic.

The train will make no stops at it passes historic depots in Acworth, Adairsville, Resaca and Dalton. The retinue will arrive in Ringgold at 3:30 p.m.

Raid's legacy bigger than its accomplishments

During the trip, costumed living historians will tell the Medal of Honor recipients about those involved in the raid. Organizers note there will be no pursuing train, though the reenactors will discuss Fuller’s dogged pursuit, according to Task & Purpose website.

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, told the Picket last year the Andrews Raid made no difference in the war’s outcome. Still, he said, the raid “made Southerners behind the lines aware that they could be vulnerable.”

Richard Banz, executive director of the Southern Museum, said those on both sides of the Great Locomotive Chase should be considered heroes.

“These were men who were willing to sacrifice everything for their perspective countries to succeed. Amazingly, they seemed to hold each other in high esteem despite being enemies during this terrible war.”

Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator at the Atlanta History Center, said the Andrews Raid, through books and a 1956 Disney movie, brought the Civil War to young people.

And, he added in 2024, the caper did result in something sacred that has been special to Americans for generations.

“It’s the origin story of the highest award for military valor the United States government can bestow. It’s about personal sacrifice to save others. That’s timeless.”

There are only 61 living Medal of Honor recipients.

From boarded up to reborn: This 1852 Western & Atlantic depot had a role in 'Great Locomotive Chase;' now it's reopened as a philanthropy center in NW Georgia

A nook overlooking rail line, the large boardroom and depot exterior work this week (Photos courtesy CFNW)

The old Western & Atlantic train depot has reopened in Dalton, Georgia, as a community gathering space where philanthropy aimed at solving 21^st century challenges can gain steam in a 170-year-old building integral to the town’s identity.

The Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia earlier this month moved a mile to a building that features 25-foot ceilings, charming brick and Civil War-era architectural features. But make no mistake, this will a very up-to-date environment -- from modern furniture to TV monitors that will prompt collaboration in today’s world.

“It’s been wonderful. It is beautiful office space,” foundation president David Aft told the Picket in a phone call this week. “It is a really neat place to work, and I have heard my whole life space has a huge impact on people’s creativity and the ease to get things done.”

A kitchen will provide refreshments for meetings (Community Foundation of NW Georgia)

The oldest commercial structure in the northwest Georgia city best known for its carpet industry is studied by Civil War enthusiasts for its brief part in the “Great Locomotive Chase.” Federal raiders commandeered a locomotive above Atlanta and raced north, bent on destroying sections of the railroad. Confederates pursued them through several cities, including Dalton

Locals tend to think more about the Dalton Depot, a longtime restaurant and club which operated in the long brick building until about 10 years ago. Trains still roll by regularly.

Aft said visitors and those attending foundation meetings in the depot appreciate its homage to the station’s history (it last had passenger service in about 1971) and its compelling design and architecture.

The foundation’s five employees are working in an office nearly twice as big as its longtime more traditional offices across town. They will facilitate meetings in a glass-lined board room and smaller “collaboration zones.”

A large freight scale (above) and telegraph window greet visitors in the open center of the depot. The foundation resides in the south end of the structure.

The depot fell into hard times after the restaurant closed. The city contracted with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation to market the vacant and deteriorated building. Officials wanted $500,000, but eventually sold it to local Barrett Properties in 2018 for $300,000. 

The community foundation, which is leasing its space, occupies the former nightclub area. Barrett Properties is still marketing the other side, which still has remnants of dining booths.

Officials think a new restaurant might be a good fit.

Working with charitable givers, the nonprofit provides grants and funding for organizations in the area. Some of the endeavors involve mental health programs, historic preservation, neighborhood revitalization and other civic projects.

For now, the foundation is settling in as improvements to the brick exterior continue. Wood trim is being replaced and an old awning is coming down. (Above, the point of origin for surveys in Dalton)

He had to get a message through -- quickly

The Western and Atlantic Railroad line from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tenn., was completed in the early 1850s and the Dalton depot opened in 1852 to provide passenger and freight service.

The depot was the hub for commercial growth in the Dalton area and the point of origin for surveys and maps. The 12,100-square-foot brick building is “a pretty high-style example of Georgia depot architecture” and has Greek Revival features, with stone lintels, brick pilasters and door entablatures.

Union raiders on the General set fire to a river crossing in North Georgia (Wikipedia)

The building had its moment of fame on April 12, 1862, when Northern raiders (the South labeled them spies) commandeered the locomotive General in Big Shanty. They chugged toward Chattanooga, intent on destroying parts of the railroad.

The pursuing locomotive Texas picked up a 17-year-old telegraph operator who rushed to the Dalton depot and wired Confederate troops to the north.

Although not all his message got through, Edward Henderson’s alarm sent troops toward the track. The Andrews Raiders were captured near Ringgold when the General ran out of steam. They had accomplished little. Many were hanged while others escaped. Several were the first to receive the Medal of Honor.

The depot remained in use as a rail stop for more than a century.

The setting: A comfortable place to convene, create

For Aft (left), the project mixes nostalgia, history and preservation. Not everyone is interested in each of those aspects, he acknowledged. But they are interested in community needs that include mental health programs, food banks, education and other civic projects.

The area’s Latino population has grown considerably while Whitfield County’s overall population growth has remained stagnant. Housing affordability and supply are big issues.

The foundation contends it setting needs to be comfortable, with a good flow that brings people together into the central room and then into corners featuring some privacy. Large TV monitors are being built into the space, and PowerPoints and other technology will provide visual representations of projects.

The hope is for outside groups to eventually utilize the convening spaces about four times a month. The foundation, naturally, will hold meetings in the depot the rest of the time. “We understand it will take maybe 12 months to fully activate the space and to get the staff understanding how others want to use the space,” said Aft.

The nonprofit’s leader said he has already talked with groups who might choose to hold meetings at the depot.

The 173-year-old building “has its own peculiarities to it,” said Aft, who quipped no ghosts have thus far made their presence known.

What is evident is the appreciation community members for the time and care into making a charming gathering place.

Aft summarizes their thoughts: “You made something important to me – you took care of it.”

Common area (left) and work spaces at Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia

Descendants of 2 Ohio soldiers who took part in daring Andrews Raid make visit to where they were hanged as spies. The men finally received the Medal of Honor this year, and families also saw their new headstones

The new headstones for Perry Shadrach and George Wilson in Chattanooga (Picket photos)

I am just back from Chattanooga, Tenn., where I covered Sunday afternoon's unveiling of new Medal of Honor headstones for two participants in the Union’s Andrews Raid during the Civil War.

The story of the Great Locomotive Chase and the bravery of its volunteers has to be one of the most memorable and moving I have reported on in the Picket’s 15 years.

The sabotage mission along the Western & Atlantic Railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga in 1862 was a tactical failure, but was a boost to the war-weary North and brought the first Medal of Honors.

Descendants of raiders, supporters and loved ones at Tunnel Hill in Georgia (Picket photo)

Eight raiders were hanged in Atlanta as spies after the Great Locomotive Chase, among them Pvt. George D. Wilson and Pvt. Perry Shadrach, who were finally awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously this past summer.

Descendants from all over, mostly Ohio, traveled to the South to take a bus tour Saturday along the Georgia route of the locomotive chase involving the locomotives General and the Texas.

They visited the Coolidge Medal of Honor National Heritage Center on Sunday, where they saw the new Wilson medal and one for fellow raider Jacob Parrott, before traveling to Chattanooga National Cemetery for a moving ceremony at the gravesites. (At left, retired Army Gen. Burwell B. Bell III with photos of Shadrach and Wilson)

I was with descendants over the weekend and posted about 40 (whew) updates on Facebook

I feel so lucky to have been there and be entrusted with these stories – not only the sacrifice of these men, but the long effort by their families and supporters to see that Shadrach and Wilson receive the nation’s top military medal for incredible valor. There were a lot of twists and turns as they tried to right a wrong (or oversight).

I hope to write a longer post but, for now, please see all the updates on the Picket’s Facebook page. These vignettes gave me insight into the families behind these American heroes.

Thanks so much for your interest!

Chickamauga historian Jim Ogden is a font of knowledge on battles

Do you know the reason why Chattanooga and Chickamauga became the sites of the first national military park, or that it contains more monuments than Gettysburg? Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park staff historian Jim Ogden does, and he shared these and other ear-catching facts that are part of his style with the Chattanooga Civitan Club on Friday. -- Article

Chattanooga: Steamboat opened 'Cracker Line' to feed hungry Union troops. Students think they may have found its wreckage

Chattanooga reportedly was made with parts from other vessels

On either side of dark area are wood framing and planks. Sonar image
provided by UTC may show part of paddlewheel (circular area on top right) 

An anthropology professor and his students believe they may have found the wreckage of a steamboat that was a crucial part of the Union’s “Cracker Line,” which provided supplies and food to famished troops near Chattanooga, Tenn., in fall 1863.

Morgan Smith, an assistant anthropology professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and his students used sonar to scour the bottom of the Tennessee River near downtown, according to a press release from the school.

The team believe images it captured are of the Chattanooga, a homemade craft celebrated for its relief of Federal troops who were about to go on the offensive against Confederate forces that had vanquished them weeks earlier at Chickamauga

“It had a big role in American history and it is unrecorded as far as archaeological sites go,” Smith told students as they set out in a pontoon boat in mid-April. Smith believes a circular shape noted in the sonar may be part of the USS Chattanooga’s paddlewheel, according to the release.

UTC says the next step is to compare the sonar imagery with archival data to get an idea of the length and width of the boat. Construction techniques used during the Civil War will be examined to see if the wreck matches.

Officials say the boat sat on the northern side of the river after the war, across from what is now the Tennessee Aquarium and Riverfront. Eventually, it fell apart and sank.

Smith likens the Chattanooga to a "Frankenstein" -- made from parts scavenged from other ships, according to UTC.

When Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant arrived in October 1863, he quickly determined the Army of the Cumberland, which was besieged by the enemy, needed a new supply route.

His forces seized Brown’s Ferry at Moccasin Point, a spot that could be reached by Federal supply boats, which brought food, uniforms and reinforcements. The USS Chattanooga is said to be the first steamboat built by the Federals on the upper Tennessee River, at Bridgeport. It was put together in less than a month.

Assistant quartermaster William Le Duc, who commanded the improvised and flat-bottom USS Chattanooga, later wrote about a successful run down the river in late October:

USS Chattanooga (Wikipedia)

“And in due time we tied the steamboat and barges safely to shore, with 40,000 rations and 39,000 pounds of forage, within five miles of General Hooker's men, who had half a breakfast ration left in haversacks; and within eight or ten miles of Chattanooga, where four cakes of hard bread and a quarter pound of pork made a three days' ration. In Chattanooga there were but four boxes of hard bread left in the commissary warehouses on the morning of the 30th [October].

"About midnight I started an orderly to report to General Hooker the safe arrival of the rations. The orderly returned about sunrise, and reported that the news went through the camps faster than his horse, and the soldiers were jubilant, and cheering "The Cracker line open. Full rations, boys! Three cheers for the Cracker line," as if we had won another victory; and we had.”

A 2014 post in Emerging Civil War by author Frank Varney challenges what he calls the myth of the Cracker Line. He argues descriptions of starving Union troops were exaggerated and that it was in Grant’s interest to depict conditions under deposed Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans as being particularly bad.

Professor Morgan Smith (right) with students on the site (UTC)