Tag Archives: National Battlefield

MONUMENTAL DASH – DAY’S RUN TO UNCOVER ALL MONUMENTS IN A NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD

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Monument glut deep in the forests on the slopes above Cravens House on Lookout Mountain.
Monument glut deep in the forests on the slopes above Cravens House on Lookout Mountain – complexity inserted into a monumental dash.

The number of monuments and marker you can find in some of the National Battlefield Parks preserving American Civil War battlefields can simply numb you.  Granite monuments form literal forests inside some National Battlefield Parks from the American Civil War.   Each monument does have a story, even those not as fancy, expensive and artistic as others.  If you want to see all of them, say in a day or so – a true monumental dash, you will need to put on your running shoes – boots, in some cases, depending on the weather. 

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KENNESAW MOUNTAIN – A MORNING DASH IN GEORGIA

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Cannon sits in an emplacement atop Big Kennesaw Mountain.
Cannon sits in an emplacement atop Big Kennesaw Mountain.

Kennesaw Mountain saw the third time during the American Civil War in which William T. Sherman employed a direct assault upon entrenched Confederate positions.  The attack failed as much as his previous two attempts.  All through the Atlanta campaign, Sherman had gotten around the Confederate positions set out by Joseph E. Johnston through flanking maneuvers.  Sherman wrote to Washington, “The whole country is one vast fort, and Johnston must have at least 50 miles (80 km) of connected trenches with abatis and finished batteries. We gain ground daily, fighting all the time. … Our lines are now in close contact and the fighting incessant, with a good deal of artillery. As fast as we gain one position the enemy has another all ready. … Kennesaw … is the key to the whole country.”  For the key, Sherman decided to open it with a direct frontal assault.

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