Sherman's March to the Sea: Experts weigh myths, realities of morale-busting campaign

(Library of Congress)

(Part 1) -- Nov. 15 (Saturday) marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of a military campaign that remains seared in the memory and consciousness of the South. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began his March to the Sea, splitting 62,500 men into two principal columns marching and foraging through a swath of Georgia, covering 250 miles, and arriving in Savannah a few days before Christmas. The march, which had a large psychological impact on civilians, would continue into South Carolina in early 1865.

The Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Georgia Battlefields Association, will dedicate a marker about the march on Wednesday (Nov. 12) at the Carter Center in Atlanta. Other events are planned later in the month at the site of the Battle of Griswoldville and in Madison, Ga. (More on those in the second installment of this report).

The Picket recently asked Civil War experts, historians, an archaeologist and a living historian/re-enactor about their thoughts on myths and realities of the march, what associated sites should be visited and the episode's legacy today. Today, here are their responses to the first question. The other responses will be published Tuesday and Wednesday.

Q. What are the myths/realities of Sherman's strategy/leadership in the march and the performance of his troops?

CHARLIE CRAWFORD, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association

One myth is that Sherman and his troops burned everything. This is often followed by the visitor’s center or historical society representative asking if you would like to take their antebellum house tour. In fact, very few private homes were burned. Certainly, barns, corn cribs, smokehouses, farm implements or anything of that sort were first looted, then destroyed.

A second myth is that all women were threatened and many were raped.  It’s understandable that any person (woman or man) would feel threatened when thousands of enemy troops are on your land or even passing nearby; but incidents of physical abuse are rare and of rape even more rare.

Sherman can be criticized for not keeping better control over his troops and for sometimes turning a blind eye to their excesses, especially regarding theft; but his attitude is consistent with his belief that the war would end sooner if the people of the South lost the will to fight and wrote to their husbands, sons, and brothers in Virginia to come home.

ANNE SARAH RUBIN, history professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and author of “A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861-1868”

The main myths about Sherman’s March involve its scale and scope: the idea that it cut a swath fifty miles wide of utter destruction, that Sherman was the sole author of a new form of total war, and that the troops were either entirely out of control, or (contradictorily) entirely directed by Sherman himself.  

In actuality, the March covered a vast area, but because it progressed in four columns it ebbed and flowed, missing some spots as it went through others.

Sherman’s March represented an evolution of the broader Union policies of “hard war.”  

DAVID EVANS, historian and author of "Sherman's Horsemen"

At the time, Sherman's decision to abandon his line of communications and cast off for the Georgia coast was looked upon as extremely risky. Sherman, however, had seen Grant to something very similar during the Vicksburg campaign, when he moved his army down the west bank of the Mississippi, crossed the river at Bruinsburg, and then marched inland toward Jackson.

Grant's army had lived off the land and Sherman was confident his troops could do the same thing. Sherman's army was larger, had a longer distance to travel, and the potential for disaster was much greater, but Sherman was confident he could make this march and as he said, "make Georgia howl."

HERB COATS, Georgia living historian/re-enactor

Myth: Sherman destroyed everything from Atlanta to Savannah.

Reality: Sherman’s army group destroyed government warehouses and buildings used to store government goods, railroad related buildings and structures and tore up sections of railroad tracks. The railroad destruction wasn’t impossible to rebuild. The train companies had rudimentary service set up a few months later.

Some homes were burned, but this is by far a minority. However, foodstuffs were “foraged” aka stolen. Many soldiers stated that they did not want to put out the yeomanry of middle Georgia and the fall line areas. These men had less compassion when getting to the coastal plain region where there were larger plantation homes. “Southern Storm” by Noah Andre Trudeau is a great and recent narrative chock full of primary sources of the Savannah Campaign. Major Henry Hitchcock’s journal is a wonderful firsthand account of one of Sherman’s staff officers, without the postwar era “fluff” that clouds more prominent historical figures works.

Sherman's "Necktie": Rails rendered useless

Soldiers did pilfer items like spoons, clothing, blankets, money, etc. during the campaign. I don't want to paint a picture of the army being saints. Also, Wheeler's CS cavalry which was supposed to keep Sherman's armies in check, was bad about taking food and other items from the civilian population as well.

Myth: Sherman wanted his army to rape and murder the civilian population of Georgia.

Reality: Sherman wanted to wage a total war, one of destroying the CS forces means to support their army. So livestock, foodstuffs, and government storage, manufacturing, along with railroad capabilities were targeted. Granted civilians were murdered and raped, but this was a small minority. Not the “EVERYONE” mentality that Lost Causers go with.

Note: Sherman’s Army in South Carolina is a whole other subject, and “all bets were off” in the Cradle of Secession.

Anthony Winegar and his wife, Carlie.

ANTHONY WINEGAR, chief ranger, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

The myths and realities of Sherman's march through Georgia are numerous, but perhaps the biggest myth is that Sherman destroyed much of the property along his army's two-pronged route. The reality is that if you drive either of the routes today, there are still a great deal of antebellum homes remaining. You will not see, however, cotton gins, etc that were used to promote the Confederacy's infrastructure or manufacturing capabilities. This would also include bridges, etc. that allowed for mobility.

Another myth deals with the notion that Sherman had girlfriends and mistresses along the route and spared certain cities, such as Augusta, from destruction because they lived there. Sherman summed that one up best after the war when he addressed the myth of the sparing of Augusta by stating that "If the people of Augusta think I slighted them in the winter of 1864 they are mistaken; or if they think I made a mistake in strategy let them say so and with the President's consent, I can send a detachment of 100,000 or so of Sherman's Bummers and their descendants who will finish up the job without charging Uncle Sam a cent. The truth is these incidents come back to me in a humorous vein."

DAN ELLIOTT, president of the LAMAR Institute, which conducts archaeological research from its base in Georgia

My expertise on Sherman's march boils down to four locations in Georgia (where I have conducted battlefield archaeology surveys), but they are very diverse and epitomize the range of experiences that Sherman's soldiers (and their Confederate opponents) would have experienced.

At all of these sites the Union generals made blunders. At Dug Gap, the Union tried to assault the Confederates up a nearly sheer cliff face, not too bright, and despite being vastly outnumbered the Confederates held the high ground. At Pickett's Mill, many Union troops found themselves as sitting ducks in a ravine and a bloody slaughter ensued. I did not work in that particular part of the battlefield but was on the periphery. At Lovejoy, where there were four battles from July to November 1864, the most remembered one was Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's charge on August 20th. Kilpatrick commanded the 3rd Cavalry Division and, by August, Maj. Gen. Sherman already had suffered defeats of his 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions, so Kilpatrick was not his first pick. Kilpatrick, who was willing to sacrifice many lives to save his own skin, had his troops race directly into the Confederate line and this bold move saved his division. Had Kilpatrick remained boxed in at Lovejoy the March to the Sea, without any cavalry, might have been a very bloody one for the Union. Sherman had faith in the cavalry but his faith was tested in their failures (and Kilpatrick's near failure) south of Atlanta.

At Monteith Swamp on the Monteith Road (and also at Doctor Cuyler's plantation at the junction of the Middleground and Augusta roads) two of Sherman's wings encountered bottlenecks along a narrow causeway. This traffic jam, caused by fewer than 750 Confederates, delayed more than 20,000 Union troops by several hours. That delay allowed Confederate Maj. Gen. Beauregard to escape capture and it gave the Confederates in Savannah more time to prepare for a siege. Given the swampy landscape and transportation problems, Sherman's men were able to surround Savannah and lay siege to the city without major losses. And his capture of Fort McAllister demonstrated what Sherman's infantry could accomplish in 45 minutes that the U.S. Navy could not do in more than two years of bombardment.

The reality is that Sherman had superior number of troops, he and his generals made some serious blunders but managed to keep it together across the state of Georgia.

• Part 2: Places you can visit today
• Part 3: Legacy, 150 years later
• 37 Weeks: Sherman on the March

Updated: Family proud of Cushing's service receives Civil War hero's Medal of Honor

Alonzo Cushing while at West Point

(Updated)

Just a month past his 22nd birthday, 1st. Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing wrote a letter to an aunt from his camp in Virginia, telling her of his new command of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery.

"I ... have been working hard all day, endeavoring to put things in proper shape," he wrote. "I shall have the Battery in superb fighting condition before the Army is ready to move."

His unit indeed was well-prepared four months later when it found itself at ground zero of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, at a spot dubbed "The Angle." It took a severe pounding from Confederate artillery trying to soften Union positions. Cushing suffered two grievous wounds and directed the operation of a field piece during the massive Rebel advance before a bullet to the head killed him instantly.

Thursday afternoon, more than 151 years later, Cushing posthumously received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama for demonstrating conspicuous gallantry, inflicting severe casualties on the enemy and helping to turn back the charge. A descendant living in California accepted it on Cushing's behalf.

"This medal is a reminder that no matter how long it takes it's never too late to do the right thing," Obama said during the brief ceremony at the White House Roosevelt Room.

Cushing refused to leave the field at Gettysburg when he was asked to do so by his first sergeant, who did receive the Medal of Honor in his lifetime.

"His mere presence there, I think, was a tremendous symbolic boost to his men," Mark Bradley, historian for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, said of Cushing during a conference call Wednesday in which the Civil War Picket participated.

1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing (center, back row) in 1862. (Library of Congress)

The ceremony was the culmination of a long campaign for Cushing to receive the honor.

It was rare for a Federal officer during the war to receive a Medal of Honor and historians acknowledge efforts to recognize Cushing at the time probably were sidetracked because others survived the momentous July 1863 battle in Pennsylvania and wrote about their service.

It was largely up to the descendants of Cushing, who like his three brothers had no children or direct descendants, to keep alive his legacy, saving his letters, traveling to Gettysburg and sharing stories around the Thanksgiving table.

Helen Ensign

"I was under 5 years old when I heard about Cushing," said Helen Loring Ensign, 86, of Palm Desert, Calif., who received the medal from President Obama. Ensign is Cushing's first cousin, two generations removed, the closest surviving blood relative and primary next of kin, as confirmed by the Army's Past Conflict Repatriations Branch.

Among those joining the Cushing and Loring families in Washington, D.C. for the White House and U.S. Army ceremonies was Margaret E. Zerwekh, 94, of Delafield, Wisc., where Cushing was born.

Zerwekh lives on property once owned by the Cushing family, did research on him and petitioned a congressman years ago to support the honor. She helped prepare paperwork for the nomination. Efforts involved additional politicians and military experts who studied records of the young artilleryman's stand at Gettysburg.

“Margaret made it happen," said Jessica Loring, Ensign's niece and Cushing's first cousin, three generations removed.

Obama cited 25 years of work by Zerwekh. "She managed to bring Republicans and Democrats together to make this happen. Margaret we may call on you again," he said to laughs.

Cushing late last year received a congressional waiver of a requirement that the medal must be recommended within two years of the event and presented within three years.

The medal, the country's highest military award, is bestowed to American soldiers who display conspicuous "gallantry above and beyond the call of duty."

Cushing sent Confederate currency in letter to his aunt

Descendants told reporters that they plan to lend the medal to West Point, where he graduated; Gettysburg, Delafield; Fredonia, New York, where Cushing grew up; and the McClurg Museum, in Westfield, N.Y.

“It is very much a medal for the nation," said Loring. "It should not sit on someone’s mantle place and stay there.”

The museum's curator, according to news reports, pushed for Ensign to receive the medal after the initial announcement that it would go to two first cousins, three times removed -- rather than two times removed, like Ensign.

Frederic Stevens Sater, of New York City, and Frederic Cushing Stevens III, of Hoschton, Ga., also were expected to be at the White House ceremony Thursday.

The McClurg Museum has the letter Cushing wrote to his Aunt Margaret, said the Post-Journal in Jamestown, N.Y.

The lieutenant and his brothers all served in the Civil War. One sibling, Lt. William B. Cushing, is best known for sinking a Confederate ironclad during an October 1864 raid.

“His whole family was a brave family," said Loring. ''His mother said, ‘Death before dishonor.’”

Loring has a grandson named for Alonzo Cushing.

Cushing's battery -- which consisted of 126 officers and enlisted men -- was at the center of the objective for 13,000 attacking Confederates at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. The battery suffered nearly 40 casualties and was left in shambles during the long, pre-attack bombardment.

The lieutenant was wounded in the stomach and right shoulder. Propped up by Sgt.  Frederick Fuger, he continued to direct his men.

“That’s excellent!” he told his men, according to the Civil War Trust. “Keep that range."

He was killed by a bullet as the battery returned fire. Pickett's Charge failed. Cushing later was named a brevet lieutenant colonel. The full honor came Thursday with the Medal of Honor.

Obama acknowledged those who turned the tide at Gettysburg: "I might not be standing here today as president if not for the courageous sacrifices of these men."

The young hero's grave at West Point.

To conserve and protect: Q&A with USS Monitor Center chief about 'everybody's ship'

David Krop with conserved coat (Image courtesy of Mariners' Museum)

David Krop, 36, is director of the USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Va. The Picket recently spoke with Krop about his five-member staff's ongoing efforts to conserve remains of the USS Monitor and associated artifacts. The ironclad vessel sank Dec. 31, 1862, during a storm while it was being towed from Virginia to Union operations in North Carolina. Sixteen crew members died. Krop gives about 50 talks a year on the project. This Q&A is edited for brevity. 

Q. How did you get involved in the project and whom do you work for?

A. I started out as an intern in 2004 and attended East Carolina University. I grew up in Virginia Beach. We are museum employees in a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They operate the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

Q. When was the last recovery from the wreck site (off Cape Hatteras, N.C.)?

A. NOAA archaeologists' last recovery was in 2004. The majority of what we have here was brought up from 1998 to 2002. There still is significant structure down there, but it is badly degraded. You see a massive armor belt of metal and wood bolted together. It defines the shape of the wreck. The vessel is inverted -- the hull has kind of collapsed in.

Q. How long did it take for the USS Monitor to be built?

A. Just over 100 days -- about 116. It is incredible.

USS Monitor anchor is hoisted (Image courtesy of NOAA)

Conserved anchor on display (Image courtesy of Mariners' Museum)

Q. What's involved in the conservation?

A. We are desalinating the artifacts. They are in a high pH solution, to prevent them from rusting. Electrolysis sends out negative charges to force out the salts.

Q. Can you give us an update on some of the larger recovered pieces?

A. The turret (which weighs about 120 tons) was recovered in 2002. There was about 9 feet of sediment. So far, the external surface has been deconcreted along with most of the roof. We will win the long-term fight. It will need about 15 more years of conservation. The two Dahlgren guns were removed from the turret in 2004. I'd say about ball park estimate of three more years. The gun carriage is completely disassembled and needs four of five more years. And the steam engine needs 20 more years.

Q. Tell me a little more about the main steam engine.

A. We have 11 different material types. There is cast iron, glass, wood, bronze, iron, rubber and other materials, including some of the original oil. We have documented the entire thing. We are now separating all of those components by material type. Brass, plumbing pieces and gauges have been removed for separate, specialized treatment. We want to know how it was built. It was capable of about 400 horsepower. You hear 6 knots or 9 knots. The Monitor was considerably faster and maneuverable than the Virginia. While the engine was finicky.... in essence it did its job. It did what it needed to do. There was this main steam engine, two ventilation engines, two steam-powered bilge pumps, a centrifugal pump, two steam engines to move the turret, donkey engines – a total of eight steam engines. It is an unbelievably complex of things running together.

Q. How did it compare to the Confederates' CSS Virginia?

A. The Virginia had a deep draft and was extremely heavy. The Confederates converted a burned-out hull to an iron vessel and they did the best they could. In the battle in Hampton Roads, both vessels had to contend with very shallow water.

Turret mosaics (exterior, interior) Click to enlarge. Courtesy Mariners' Museum

Q. Can you tell us a little bit more about the famous Monitor turret?

A. We were surprised with something. We discovered a series of Roman numerals. They are everywhere and complex. The best guess it is they were there as a reassembly guide. The turret has 192 plates, 3 feet by 9 feet is dimension. The interior is complex. There are wrought iron floor beams. It has its own floor, but the wooden components are gone. The Monitor had two 11-inch Dahlgren guns made in West Point, N.Y., in 1859. They had pendulum-shaped gun shutters.

Q. What more can you say about the conservation?

A. We are looking for treatment efficiencies by looking at modern industry. We are scaling up some treatment steps that are helping to buy us time. I can't get into details, but we are trying dry ice for certain phases of cleaning and looking at heating certain treatment solutions. We are trying to come up with ways from industry to make it accessible for our treatment here. We have talked with retired petrochemical engineers. This is the largest marine metal conservation project.

Q. This is a long-term process, right?

A. About 200 tons of material showed up in two years. For the longest time, this was triage, getting the neediest things stabilized first. The artifacts are stable when they leave the lab. We are very strict on our controls and humidity levels in the displays. Dry is ideal for a metal artifact, but to have a wool coat or wooden in the same environment would be terrible. They need moisture. It is a forever responsibility to care for these items. NOAA likes it when we loan certain items (away from the museum) and we have multiple loans out at any given time. It gets the story out to the entire audience. The big items will be displayed here. We have place holders, including a reproduction turret and a glass-plate stencil of the engine. You can walk up and touch a piece of the Monitor -- a piece of iron.

Q. Can you tell me how social media is part of the picture?

A. We initially put in huge windows for visitors to see the treatment process. We now have three live webcams and we control those settings. There is a conservation blog, a Facebook page and Twitter.

Conserved wheel aft of boilers (Image courtesy of Mariners' Museum)

Q. What we do we know about the USS Monitor crew members?

A. The remains of two sailors were found in the turret. We still don't know who they were even after lots of collaboration and DNA donations. It is a developing process. There's no match yet; there are five or six possible candidates. Some might think these guys were all from the Northeast. If you look at the crew's list, you see they are from England, Sweden, Wales, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Scotland, with some from the Northeast. We are talking about 10 different countries. It was the ultimate melting pot crew.

Q. Can you tell me about funding for the project? (The wet lab was closed for about five months earlier this year because of a federal funding shortfall. It reopened after receiving $200,000 from NOAA.)

A. Funding still has an unstable long-term picture. We need about $750,000 a year. Congress does not currently fund.... it becomes very tough to easily source those funds. We apply for grants and to the National Park Service. It takes a long time to do this work so we get in-kind support from businesses and university students help us.

Q. Can you look ahead to 2015?

A. We spent a lot of the past year surveying the collection, stabilizing components, a section of beams and copper pipes. We are surveying organic materials, such as wood and leather. We are now targeting small finds, including personal items, the ship bilge, the Worthington pumps. In the coming year we will drain the turret and engine tanks to recalibrate our solutions. Corrosion is being reduced and they are looking better. We want to utilize today’s science to solve these 150-year-old stabilization problems. The ship is not just the Civil War anymore. .... We want people to be part of the story. This is everybody’s ship.

Remains of bottle found in turret (Courtesy of Mariners' Museum)

Q. You said the Monitor has about 1,600 artifacts, 60 percent of which have been treated. What are your personal favorites and the most meaningful work?

A. The turret holds a special place in my heart, especially when I first started. Two fragments of glass were seen in 2010. They are pieces of a small flask made at the Baltimore Glass Works. We don't have the base of the bottle (above) but do have a beautiful image of a phoenix and the word "Resurgam" (I shall rise again). It is probably the most symbolic thing we could have found. We found the symbol of what we are doing: Taking the Monitor, lost off Atlantic Coast, and bringing new life into it. It somehow ended up in the turret. Another favorite is being a part of this project was when the two human remains were buried March 8, 2013, at Arlington National Cemetery. That is a powerful experience and a powerful message and a deserved place for those two crew members.

• Reconstructing USS Monitor sailor's coat

Divers may hit the waters in November to begin CSS Georgia recovery in Savannah

Only known photo of CSS Georgia floating battery (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

With the deepening of Savannah's harbor officially green-lighted, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to award a contract for the long-awaited recovery of the Confederate ironclad CSS Georgia, with dives possibly to begin in late November.

"We are working with our contractors and the Navy to finalize the CSS Georgia recovery plan and obtain final permitting so on-site work on CSS Georgia can begin," said Russell Wicke a spokesman for the Savannah district. "The first phase will consist of mapping, tagging and recovery of small artifacts by archaeological divers. The recovery of the large artifacts and casemate sections is scheduled for initiation in spring 2015."

While dates have not been finalized, field work is expected to last about ninth months and cost about $15 million.

"This figure also includes conservation of the artifacts and casemate sections.  Deepening in the area of the wreck cannot begin until all artifacts and casemate sections have been recovered," Wicke told the Picket.

Lacking much power, the locally built CSS Georgia was destined to become a stationary floating battery and part of the city defensive system. It was scuttled on Dec. 21, 1864, to keep it out of the hands of Federal forces that took the city. It has rested in the Savannah River ever since, damaged by dredging many years ago.

Recovery last fall of CSS Georgia casemate section (USACE)

The CSS Georgia, resting on a slope about 40 feet deep below the surface of the Savannah River, must be removed so that an additional 5 feet of river bottom can be dredged. With the expansion of the Panama Canal, even larger ships will be able to travel to U.S. cities. That requires deeper channels.

Federal and Georgia officials earlier this month signed the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) agreement. Recovery of the CSS Georgia will be the first major project in the deepening of the Savannah River. Its wreckage is close to downtown Savannah, just off Old Fort Jackson.

Debris includes four of the CSS Georgia’s original 10 cannons, parts of the propeller and propulsion system, a boiler and the two casemates. The wooden hull is believed to have largely disintegrated over the years.

The signature pieces are the casemates -- the compartments where artillery pieces were housed.

Wicke said all conservation will be done at Texas A&M University and will take about two years to complete. Officials are working with the U.S. Navy, which owns the vessel's remains.

Details on when and where pieces of the CSS Georgia will be exhibited have not been determined.

The Georgia Historical Society will dedicate a CSS Georgia marker entitled "The 'Ladies' Gunboat" at Old Fort Jackson at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 12.

'Tis as still as death': Family donates soldier's diary to Kennesaw Mountain park

(Courtesy of Kennesaw Mountain NBP)

Amanda Corman, park ranger and curator at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in suburban Atlanta, has learned you never know what treasure may emerge from someone's attic, basement or closet.

Last week, the great-great-granddaughter of an Ohio Civil War artilleryman donated a pocket-sized diary she had kept in a closet to protect it from harmful light.

While Corman hasn't had the opportunity yet to read much of the diary because of time constraints and the need to handle it as little as possible until it is preserved and its contents transcribed and digitized, she's excited about the new addition to the park's collection.

Personal accounts, including this one inscribed with pencil, help bring battle histories to life.

"They were people just like us," she said of the soldiers. "That makes the story richer."

Pvt. J.B. "Jerry" Creighton's diary covers parts of June and July 1864, right in the thick of the Atlanta Campaign. The first entry is dated June 29, two days after the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. While Corman does not yet know for sure whether it was written in Georgia, the dates match the unit's timeline in the area.

Battery A of the 1st Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery participated in the battle. "There is a strong possibility he was here," said Corman.

Debi Merchant, who coincidentally lives not far from the park in Marietta, Ga., made the donation on behalf of her father Jerry Creighton Barrington, who died Jan. 1, 2013.

"Daddy got the diary because he was named for Jeroboam," said Merchant. Some records show his name spelled as Jereboam.

Her father, who had thought about giving the journal to a museum, put it in her care about 10 years ago.

While Merchant kept the diary in the darkest recesses of a closet, the 15 or so pages of entries lost some of their readability over 150 years -- not an unusual occurrence. "It is very difficult to make out anything," she told the Picket.

Merchant hasn't read it in more than 20 years and cannot recall many specifics. So the upcoming transcription will help unlock Creighton's story to the public.

"It is in very, very good condition," said Corman. Preserving the work will take some time and money, whether it is done through the National Park Service or a contractor. She didn't have a timeline for the transcription.

Merchant said she recalls one reference in the diary, something to the effect of: "Father forgive, us. What we are doing is wrong. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ."

A photograph taken by the park of one interior page is dated July 1, 1864: "Tis as still as death this morning -- had another row last night one similar to the one of night before last, which was nothing but a waste of ammunition and a disturbance of peace."

It's not known whether the Ohio soldier kept other diaries lost over time.

Creighton didn't fit the profile of the typical young Civil War soldier. The native of Stark County, Ohio, was about 36 when the war broke out and he had apparently served in the Mexican-American War nearly 15 years before.

He fought with the 1st Ohio Light Artillery until he mustered out at the end of July 1865. He had one child, died in 1890 and is buried at Glendale Cemetery in Akron.

Battery A's engagements included Stones River, Tenn., Chickamauga, Ga., Chattanooga, Tenn., Dalton and Resaca, Georgia, Kennesaw, Peachtree Creek and Atlanta.

Rather than continuing on to the March to the Sea in late 1864, the battery was sent to tangle with Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood's Army of the Tennessee at Columbia, Spring Hill and Franklin, Tenn., said official Ohio records.

According to family history, Creighton may also have served in the Federal Navy during the Civil War and later helped develop a design for a railroad sleeping car.

Merchant said another ancestor, Charles Springer, fought for an Ohio unit and was killed at Pickett's Mill in May 1864, also during the Atlanta Campaign.

Depending on what preservation experts say, it's possible the diary could be exhibited one day at the Kennesaw battlefield, said Corman.

Documents and other diaries aren't currently available online, but researchers can contact the park to do research at its library.

Corman said she rarely sees such works join the park's collection.

"There is always something you never expect," she said. "Small tidbits can add more to our story."