[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              BATTLE OF KENNESAW MOUNTAIN SESQUICENTENNIAL

 Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the 
sesquicentennial of Georgia's Battle of Kennesaw Mountain that took 
place on June 27, 1864, and was an important moment in the Civil War's 
Atlanta campaign.
  The Civil War had been underway for more than 3 years when GEN 
William T. Sherman began his movement south of Chattanooga, TN. 
Sherman's troops moved south following the general path of the Western 
and Atlantic Railroad. By mid-June, both the Union and Confederate 
armies were in the vicinity of Kennesaw Mountain. Both sides had to 
struggle with a common enemy--rain--that continued for 2\1/2\ weeks. 
From June 4 through June 18, 1864, southern GEN Joseph E. Johnston 
surprised Sherman by defending a line running from Lost Mountain to 
Brushy Mountain. A series of attacks on this line forced Johnston to 
draw back to the Kennesaw line on June 19, 1864. Using Kennesaw 
Mountain as the anchor for his line, Johnston's forces prepared a 
strong defensive position blocking the likely avenues of approach 
Sherman would use to continue his advance toward Marietta and 
subsequently to Atlanta.
  Following a tactical approach that had been successful throughout the 
spring, the Union army moved some of its forces to the Confederates' 
left flank. The Confederates countered and moved one of their corps 
from the right to the left of their line. Acting without orders from 
Johnston, John Bell Hood ordered his forces to attack the Union troops. 
Charging across Valentine Kolb's fields, the Confederates met a 
devastating combination of artillery and infantry fire from entrenched 
Union troops. This caused the Confederates to retreat and dig in. 
Although the attack led to costly casualties for the Confederates it 
prevented the Union from advancing toward Marietta. It also forced 
Sherman to change tactics and order a frontal assault on June 27, 1864.
  Sherman's troops bombarded the Confederate positions on the morning 
of June 27 and then advanced along the base of Kennesaw Mountain. The 
Confederates repulsed this diversionary attack. Rough terrain and a 
stubborn defense obstructed the Union assault at Pigeon Hill that 
subsequently fell apart after a couple of hours. At Cheatham Hill, the 
heaviest fighting occurred along a stretch in the Confederate line 
dubbed ``Dead Angle'' by Confederate defenders. Union troops made a 
desperate effort to storm the Confederate trenches. However, the rough 
terrain and intense Confederate fire combined to defeat the Union army. 
Within hours, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was over. Union 
casualties numbered some 3,000 men while the Confederates lost 1,000, 
making it one of the bloodiest single days in the campaign for Atlanta.
  In 1899, a lieutenant of the 86th Illinois Infantry purchased 60 
acres at Cheatham Hill, the site of the most deadly encounter at 
Kennesaw Mountain. The land was later transferred to the Kennesaw 
Memorial Association, which received $20,000 from the State of Illinois 
to construct a monument on Cheatham Hill to honor the soldiers of the 
86th Illinois Regiment who died there. On June 27, 1914, the 50th 
anniversary of the battle, a marble monument was unveiled and dedicated 
to those fallen men. In 1917, the land was deeded to the United States 
government and 9 years later, in 1926, the U.S. Congress passed a law 
that placed the area under the protection of the War Department.
  In 1935, legislation was passed creating Kennesaw Mountain National 
Battlefield Park on the original 60 acres purchased by the lieutenant 
of the 86th Illinois Infantry. Today, the Kennesaw Mountain National 
Battlefield Park consists of nearly 3,000 acres where visitors enjoy 
19.7 miles of trails and can see historic earthworks, cannon 
emplacements, interpretive signs, and three monuments representing 
States that fought in this momentous battle.

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