The Gallant Women of Kennesaw Mountain – by Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.

Happy Birthday America!

Kennesaw is a name that comes from the Cherokee Indian "Gah-nee-sah" that means cemetery or burial ground.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007, will mark our nation's 231st birthday. This is a time for celebration and reflection of how we became a nation.

God bless the men and women of the United States Armed Forces who help keep this nation free. Please share this story with family, friends and those who help protect our freedom.

The good people of Chicago, Illinois helped raise funds to erect a monument at Oakwoods Cemetery to 6,000 Confederate soldiers who died from 1862-1865 at Camp Douglas Union Prison Camp in Chicago.

Southern women also cared for the graves of Union soldiers buried in Dixie.

Atop Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia you can see for miles in all directions. The mountain is the centerpiece of the Kennesaw National Battlefield Park located near Marietta, Georgia, just north of Atlanta.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists have come to Kennesaw, Georgia to hear the story of the battlefields and walk the many paths of history. When the north wind blows, you can almost see the soldiers of blue and gray and the summer thunder storms bring sounds much like the cannons of old. There are ghosts here with a story to tell. Do you have the time to listen?

People who visit Kennesaw, Georgia go back home with a deeper respect for America's history of those who fought for the Confederacy and Union. Their armies clashed on and around the mountain during June 1864. The deaths were many with 3,000 Union and 1,000 Confederate's killed in one day.

After the battle, the women of Kennesaw helped bury the dead as their sisters would later do in Atlanta. These women would form organizations to see that their loved ones were not forgotten. They made sure that the truth of the War Between the States was taught in public schools and that monuments were erected in memory of the brave soldiers.

Forty-four years later in 1908, America was at peace. The first Ford Model T came off the assembly line that year. Joel Chandler Harris, famed author of the Uncle Remus stories, died on July 3, 1908, in Atlanta, Georgia.

The USA was 132 years young on July 4, 1908. Three days later, on Tuesday, July 7, 1908, the Kennesaw Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Ladies Memorial Association, of Marietta, Georgia, unveiled a new Confederate Monument at the local cemetery. Marietta Confederate Cemetery, is the final resting place for 3,000 Southern soldiers from 14 Southern states.

Fourteen young girls were selected by the two ladies' groups to represent each state. They were selected from Marietta families who knew and appreciated their heritage. Emma Hedges was among those young ladies honored. She would become a loved and respected school teacher.

All businesses closed and people began to make their way to the cemetery on that hot July 7th afternoon. They came in horse drawn carriages which raised clouds of dust on those dry unpaved roads.

The men and women were attired in their Sunday best and many of the ex-Confederate soldiers wore their uniforms of gray. The Ladies of the United Daughters of the Confederacy began the program which included the playing of patriotic tunes. The Gem City Band inspired the crowd by playing "Dixie."

Speeches were given by such notable people as Georgia's Governor Hoke Smith, and former Preacher and Confederate General Clement A. Evans.

The Marietta newspaper reported, "The white shaft reflecting the sun, the newly erected Confederate Monument represents an imposing spectacle and attracts the attention and admiration of all passersby. It is a beautiful piece of work, twenty feet high with a base of ten square feet, of the well known Elbert County granite."

Fourteen young ladies had their picture taken with General Clement A. Evans and Mrs. R.T. Nesbitt, President of the Kennesaw Chapter UDC. Their names were:

• Aimee G. Glover for Maryland
• Ruth McCulloch for South Carolina
• Page Anderson for Louisiana
• Julia Anderson for Florida
• Emma Hedges for Virginia
• Linda Anderson for Kentucky
• Jeanette Black for Georgia
• Carrie Phillips for Arkansas
• Augusta Cohen for Texas
• Cora Brown for Tennessee
• Pauline Manning for North Carolina
• Sue Green for Mississippi
• Lois Gardner for Alabama and
• Sara Patton for Missouri

When the veil fell from the monument and it was revealed for the first time, the crowd became silent. You could hear the birds and a light whisper of leaves as the wind moved through the trees.

July 7, 2008, will mark the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the soldier's monument at Marietta, Ga. Confederate Cemetery. The United Daughters of the Confederacy still holds annual Memorial Day services for the gallant men buried here.

Walk the paths and teach your children the history of our nation!!!!

A native of Georgia, Calvin Johnson lives near the historic town of Kennesaw, home of the locomotive "The General" from the War Between the States. He's the author of the new book, When America Stood for God, Family and Country. His email is: cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net.

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