Northwestern Georgia

Last Update: 19/APRIL/2008

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2008 American Forts Network

Roswell Earthworks
(1864), near Roswell
Union trenchworks were located on high ground on the south-side of the Chattahoochee River, between both bends south of town, protecting the river crossing towards Atlanta.

On the south bank of the Chattahoochee River within the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (East Palisades Unit), in the area between I-75 and I-285 below Power's Ferry, are several extant Union gun pits and rifle pits in the wooded areas off the trails.

Camp Hobson
(1898), Lithia Springs
A Spanish-American War training camp located at the Chautaqua Grounds. Also known as Camp at Lithia Springs. It was a subpost of Fort McPherson.

Gen. Johnston's River Line
(Johnston's River Line Historic Site)
(1864), near Oakdale
A formidable five-mile crescent-shaped line of CSA artillery redoubts and two-gun redans interspersed between 36 arrowhead-shaped infantry forts called "shoupades", built above ground level, behind an advanced line of palisades and rifle pits, located along the north bank of the Chattahoochee River from above the railroad bridge near the mouth of Peachtree Creek (Howell's Ferry) to the mouth of Nickajack Creek (Mason and Turner's Ferry). Additional works were also located on the south bank of the river at Turner's Ferry. The line was pre-built in June 1864 by conscripted slave labor, under the supervision of CSA Col. Francis Shoup, chief of artillery for the Army of Tennessee. Only ten (?) shoupades still exist, most on private property. One is located in a small park within a private gated development on Log Cabin Drive off of South Atlanta Road. Another possibly located on Fort Drive off of Oakdale Road. About 100 acres containing 1500 feet of earthworks, including one shoupade and a seven-gun redoubt, still remain at the south-end of the line near the mouth of Nickajack Creek, across from the Fulton County Airport, acquired by the state in 2001 for a future state park (info as of 2002).

Union trenchworks were built opposed to the CSA line. A small Union artillery redoubt is located across Nickajack Creek from the extant shoupade described above.

CSA works were also located further downstream on the south bank at Green and Howell's Ferry, now the modern I-20 bridge at Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park.

Vinings Mountain Fort
(1864), Vinings
A Union fort and signal station were located atop Mt. Wilkinson (aka Vinings Mountain) to protect the Pace's Ferry crossing across the Chattahoochee River.

Smyrna Earthworks
(1864), Smyrna
A two-mile double line of CSA fieldworks were located from present I-75 southwest through the central part of town towards Mill Grove on Nickajack Creek (generally following present-day Concord Road), built to slow down the Union advance to allow the Confederates to withdraw safely across the Chattahoochee River (July 1864). No notable remains.

Kennesaw Mountain (National Battlefield Park)
(1864), Marietta
The CSA Kennesaw Mountain Line was built after the Brush Mountain Line (see below), extending from Black Jack Mountain near present I-75 at Westoak, southwest to Cheatham Hill. There are miles of extensive preserved trenchworks and cannon emplacements in several locations throughout the park, including the Kolb Farm, Cheatham Hill, Pigeon Hill, Little Kennesaw Mountain, and Kennesaw Mountain. This is the most preserved battlefield of the Atlanta Campaign (June 1864). The mountain was later garrisoned by Union troops until November 1864.

Gen. John Bell Hood's Fort (1)
(1864), Kennesaw
A well-preserved Confederate artillery redoubt located just south of Brush Mountain, near the junction of Barrett Parkway / US 41. Also known as Fort Maxson. It was captured by the Union in June 1864, the last position of the line to fall, and possibly reworked afterwards.

This was the eastern anchor of the CSA Brush Mountain Line, which extended west to Pine Mountain (north of Due West) and Lost Mountain (southwest of Due West) (see below), then southwest to Hiram. Most of the line has been lost to development. Some now detached sections still exist on the low Brush Mountain ridge (private property) near the junction of I-75 and I-575. Additional works are located at the Barrett Lakes Apartments complex near Town Center; on the Marietta Country Club golf course (16th and 17th holes); and on French's Hill in an adjacent housing development (Hardee's Salient).

Camp McDonald
(1861 - 1863), Kennesaw
A CSA training camp located at Big Shanty Depot, the original name of the town until 1870. The original 60-acre site is now the city hall complex.

Kennesaw Blockhouse
(1864), Kennesaw
Originally a two-story framed building, known as the Lacy Hotel, across from the railroad station. Fortified with a stockade and served as barracks for Union troops. Captured by the CSA in October 1864. The post was burned down in November 1864 when all Union troops left for the "March to the Sea".

Of interest here is the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (formerly the Kennesaw Civil War Museum) (admission fee).

Post at Moon's Station
(1864), near Kennesaw
A Union stockade located 50 yards from Moon's Station on the railroad two miles north of town.

Post at Ackworth
(1864), Ackworth
A 400-man Union garrison was located here, probably with a blockhouse defense, to protect the railroad. Attacked by CSA forces in October 1864.

Gilgal Church Battlefield (park)
(1864), near Due West
Remnants of Union trenchworks are located in this small park operated by the Atlanta History Center, located on Kennesaw-Due West Road. A reconstructed log and earthwall trenchwork is also located here. Remnants of CSA trenchworks (Brush Mountain - Lost Mountain Line) are located on private property nearby. Scene of battle June 1864, a prelude to Kennesaw Mountain.

Nearby to the north on Pine Mountain are located remnants of CSA and Union trenchworks (private property). A monument to CSA General Leonidas Polk is located here, where he was killed. Nearby to the southwest is Lost Mountain, near the junction of GA 176 and GA 120, part of the CSA line from Brush Mountain. Remnants of CSA trenchworks still exist here.

Dallas Earthworks
(1864), Dallas
Union troops entrenched here against a Confederate attack in May 1864. Union trenchworks along Old US 278 (Bus. GA 6) were still extant until 1995 when bulldozed for development. CSA trenchworks are still located northeast of town along Ray Mountain and Elsberry Mountain towards New Hope, Pickett's Mill and Golgotha (Red Rock). CSA trenches also still exist at New Hope Church, located behind the present-day church.

Pickett's Mill Battlefield (State Historic Site)
(1864), near New Hope
Nicely preserved extensive Confederate and Union trenchworks still remain from the May 1864 battle. This was one of the few Confederate victories during the Atlanta Campaign. Admission fee.

Allatoona Creek Blockhouse
(1864), near Allatoona
A Union blockhouse protecting the railroad bridge across Allatoona Creek, south of town. CSA troops captured the post in October 1864. Site is near the modern right-of-way of GA 293 (Old US 41). The railroad was moved north in 1949, and Allatoona Creek was impounded as part of Allatoona Lake in 1950.

Fort Allatoona
(Allatoona Pass Battlefield)
(1864), Allatoona
A collection of three Union works built to protect the old railroad pass through town. The main work is the extant Star Fort on the west-side of the deep railroad cut, with Rowett's Redoubt to the west of it. Another extant redoubt is located on the east-side of the cut. The first effective use of the Signal Corps to save a beseiged fort occurred here in October 1864, as CSA troops attacked hoping to draw General Sherman's forces out of Atlanta. The troops at the fort recieved flag signals from the garrison on Kennesaw Mountain to hold out for the relief column. This event inspired the religious song "Hold the Fort, for I am Coming".

The Confederates earlier fortified the pass in May 1864 with Fort Hammond (2). The Union took it over and reworked it.

Cartersville Earthworks
(1864), Cartersville
CSA trenchworks were once located along the north bank of the Etowah River along River Road towards town, destroyed when the railroad and US 41 were later re-routed. A strong CSA work was located on the south bank of the river at the old railroad bridge. A CSA work was also located west of town on the north bank of the river at Milam's Bridge, across from Euharlee.

Union redoubts or blockhouses (reworked CSA positions) were located on the south bank of the river at the old railroad bridge.

Fort Bartow (2)
(1864), Cartersville
A Union redoubt built to protect the old railroad bridge over the Etowah River. A state marker locates the site east of town, east of the present US 41-GA 3 bridge.

Etowah Indian Mounds (State Historic Site)
(1000 - 1550), Cartersville
The 54-acre site contains six extant mounds, plaza, and defensive ditch - the most intact site of the Mississippian Culture in the southeastern U.S.. The museum contains many artifacts, although only nine percent of the site has been excavated. Admission fee.

Cassville Earthworks
(1864), Cassville
Union trenchworks (formerly the CSA first defense line) were located along a ridge north of the former town, and CSA trenchworks (second line) were located south of the town in a four-mile line. The town was destroyed in the war, and never recovered.

Fort Means
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1830's), Kingston
Used for the Cherokee Removals. No remains.

Fort Cedartown
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1838), Cedartown
A stockade used for the Cherokee Removals. No remains.

King Archaeological Site
(1400 - 1570 ?), Foster Bend
A Late Mississippian Period palisaded Coosa Indian town located on the south (or west) bank of the Coosa River, on the north-side of the Foster Bend, west of Livingston. The palisade was surrounded by a ditch or moat. Site excavated by the University of Georgia in 1971-73. This town may have been visited by Hernando DeSoto in August 1540.

Fort Rome
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1830's), Rome
Used for the Cherokee Removals. No remains.

Civil War Defenses of Rome
(1863 - 1864), Rome
Confederate defenses built after the first Union raid in May 1863 were:
Fort Norton (2), on the east bank of the Oostanaula River just north of downtown (Jackson Hill) behind the city visitor center. Still intact.
Fort Attaway, on the west bank of the Oostanaula River. No remains.
Fort Stovall, on the south bank of the Etowah River (Myrtle Hill). Monument on site, adjacent to Myrtle Hill Cemetery. No remains.
An unnamed redoubt was on Reservoir Hill, destroyed in 1935 for a water tower.
Fort Gambia, one mile east of town. No remains.
They were all captured by the Union in May 1864. The city was burned in November 1864 when Sherman left for Atlanta.

Adairsville Earthworks
(1864), Adairsville
CSA trenchworks were once located north of town along Oothkalooga Creek against the advancing Union army (May 1864).

Fort New Echota
(New Echota State Historic Site)
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1835 - 1838), New Town
A log blockhouse used for the Cherokee Removals. Also known as Fort Wool. No remains. New Echota was the Cherokee capital from 1825 until their removal during the "Trail of Tears". Twenty-five forts/stockades were built in the Cherokee Nation, including several in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Resaca Battlefield (State Park)
(1864), Resaca
Confederates entrenched the high ground north and west of town across present-day US 41 and the railroad, east of Camp Creek, in May 1864 against Union forces under General Sherman. The state purchased 500 acres of the battlefield in 2000, including most of the extant CSA and Union earthworks, with future plans for a state park (info as of 2002). Several positions still remain on private property, including the Chitwood Farm.

Resaca Fort
(1864), Resaca
The remnants of a strong Union work are located on the ridge east of the railroad bridge across the Oostanaula River. CSA forces under General Hood declined to attack this post in October 1864.

Tilton Blockhouse
(1864), Tilton
A Union blockhouse on the railroad just north of town. Garrisoned by 300 men. Attacked and captured by Confederates in October 1864.

Dalton CSA Winter Encampment
(1863 - 1864), Dalton
The CSA Army of Tennessee encamped in the immediate area for the winter after the Chattanooga Campaign (December 1863 - May 1864). CSA defensive trenchworks and artillery positions were located along the north and south ridges of Rocky Face Mountain at Mill Creek Gap (Buzzard Roost) at Rocky Face, north into Crow Creek Valley and back south along Hamilton Mountain, with an artillery position on Potato Top. Several positions on the north slope of Rocky Face at Mill Creek Gap have been recently protected by Whitfield County. A small CSA redoubt is located at the end of the Dalton Municipal Airport runway southeast of town. Union forces probed the defenses in February 1864, and attacked in force in May 1864.

Nearby to the west, about two miles south of Mill Creek Gap, on Dug Gap Battle Road is Dug Gap Battlefield Park, with extant CSA breastworks (over 1000 feet of rock walls).

Fort A. S. Miller (2)
(1864), Dalton
A Union blockhouse on Fort Hill with supporting batteries protecting the railroad junction in town, built after the town was abandoned by the CSA in May 1864. The 600-man garrison was composed mostly of Negro troops. Attacked and captured by CSA troops under General Hood in October 1864. The original railroad depot was renovated in the 1990's and is now a restaurant.

Prater's Mill Encampment
(1864), Prater Mill
Located west of Varnell, the historic grist mill (1855) was used as a temporary Union encampment in February 1864 after probing action in Dalton; and as a temporary CSA encampment in April 1864 prior to the action at Tunnel Hill.

Tunnel Hill
(Tunnel Hill Heritage Center)
(1864), near Tunnel Hill
CSA earthworks were located atop Tunnel Hill (Chetoogeta) Mountain overlooking the town. Union forces seized the tunnel in May 1864, beginning in earnest the Atlanta Campaign. The railroad tunnel was built in 1850. This area was also part of the CSA winter encampment of 1863 - 1864.

Fort Cumming
(Cherokee Removal Forts)
(1835 or 1836 - 1838), LaFayette
A log stockade used for the Cherokee Removals. No remains. Popularly known as the Old Indian Stockade. A state marker locates the site at Big Spring Park on Indiana Street.

Chickamauga Battlefield
(Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park)
(1863), near Lytle
Union and CSA trenchworks and other earthworks are located throughout the park, scene of battle in September 1863.

Chickamauga Creek Redoubt
(1863), Lee and Gordon Mill
A Union redoubt was located on the north-side of West Chickamauga Creek, across from the historic mill (1836).

Chickamauga Battlefield Encampments
(Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park)
(1898 - 1919), near Lytle
Several Spanish-American War (1898) training camps were located within Chickamauga National Military Park. The main camp was named Camp George H. Thomas, also known as Camp Chickamauga. Satellite camps were named Camp Alger, Camp Boynton, Camp Leiter Army General Hospital (formerly the Park Hotel), and Sternberg Army General Hospital.

Camp Thomas was re-established north of the original site as a summer encampment during 1902 - 1904 until Fort Oglethorpe (2) was established (see below). Camp William H. Taft (1908 - 1910) was a summertime camp of instruction located within the park, for various infantry, cavalry, field artillery, hospital corps and signal corps units. Camp Forrest (1917 - 1919), a Regular Army and Corps of Engineers mobilization and training camp, was also located within the park, and was later combined with Fort Oglethorpe (2) (see below).

Fort Oglethorpe (2)
(1904 - 1947), Fort Oglethorpe
Established to train cavalry units for the western states. Camp Thomas, located within Chickamauga National Military Park (see above), was the fort's precursor. Camp Greenleaf (1917 - 1919) was an Army Medical Corps training camp on post. The Captain's Quarters Bed & Breakfast Inn is a restored Officers' quarters on the former post.

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