Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia

The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19 & 20, 1863, was one of the bloodiest battles ever witnessed on the American continent.
Fought in the woods and small fields along the west side of Chickamauga Creek near the modern community of Fort Oglethorpe, the battle resulted in losses of 34,000 killed, wounded and missing from the two armies. It was described by many as a "soldier's fight," because in many cases soldiers stumbled and struggled through overgrown woods with little direction and surrounded by the smoke and confusion of battle.

Chickamauga was also one of the most dramatic Confederate victories of the Civil War. General James Longstreet's Corps attacked just as a gap was accidentally opened in the Union lines. Southern troops pierced the Union line of battle and the Federal army of General William S. Rosecrans collapsed in panic, with only the men under General George H. Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," holding their ground on Snodgrass Hill.

The scene of Braxton Bragg's great victory is now preserved as a unit of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. Other units include Point Park on Lookout Mountain, small reserves on Missionary Ridge and several other areas in and around Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chickamauga unit is the largest section of the park, however, and features tour roads, monuments, a magnificent visitor center and interpretive markers that help visitors explore the miles of battlefield. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/chickamauga. You might also enjoy the new film on the battle which is now available on DVD:

A Georgia Connection to "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

It is a little known fact that the English evangelist Charles Wesley, who penned the beautiful Christmas hymn "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" spent time on the coast of Georgia.

He and his brother, Rev. John Wesley, came to Georgia with General James Oglethorpe in the early days of the Georgia colony. Then a young man, Charles Wesley served as Secretary for Indian Affairs and chaplain for General Oglethorpe, and worked hard with his brother to minister to the early settlers of the colony. Both were closely associated with both Savannah and the military settlement of Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island.

After he left Georgia, Charles Wesley went on to pen many Christian hymns and poems. One of the best known, especially at this season, is "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

The efforts of the Wesley brothers are memorialized today on St. Simons Island at the Wesley Memorial Gardens. Surrounded by magnificent trees, the beautiful gardens compliment a stunning monument dedicated to the ministry of the two brothers.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/wesleymemorial.

The Nancy Harts - Georgia's Female Civil War Soldiers

One of the most unique stories of the Civil War in Georgia is that of the famed Nancy Harts, LaGrange's all-female militia company.

Named for Nancy Hart, a Georgia heroine of the the American Revolution, the LaGrange company was formed in 1862 after many of the regular Confederate troops were pulled from the area. Concerned over the fate of their community and the safety of their families, the ladies of LaGrange organized into a volunteer company for the purpose of local defense. Electing Nancy Morgan as their captain, the soldiers began drilling twice weekly in a grove owned by Senator Benjamin Harvey Hill.

The women also served as nurses in the local military hospitals, which overflowed with wounded during the Atlanta Campaign. But in 1865, it appeared that they might actually face their baptism of fire. The column of Union Colonel O.H. LaGrange approached LaGrange (the city is not named for him) after taking Fort Tyler at nearby West Point. Learning that the Federals were approaching, the Nancy Harts formed ranks and marched out to meet him.

To learn the rest of the story, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nancyharts.

Ocmulgee National Monument - Macon, Georgia

One of the most remarkable archaeological sites in America can be found just minutes from downtown Macon.

Ocmulgee National Monument preserves a massive collection of ceremonial mounds and other Native American sites dating from the Mississippian era (900-1450 A.D.). The Ocmulgee site reached its height 900 to 1100 years ago, when it was the center of a massive chiefdom that covered hundreds of square miles in the central part of Georgia.

Now a national park that is open to the public daily, the Ocmulgee site features both self-guided walking and driving tours, a visitor center, the mounds and a restored earth lodge where high status leaders once conducted important councils centuries ago. The top of the great temple mound can be accessed by stairs and provides a spectacular view of the entire site, as well as the city of Macon itself.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ocmulgeemounds1.