Remembering the Fallen

Remembering the Fallen. Cheatham Hill. In December 1899, Civil War veteran Lansing J. Dawdy of the 86th Illinois regiment purchased 60 acres of land in Marietta, Georgia. He was moved to purchase the land after the Colonel Dan McCook Brigade Association, named after the commander who was killed at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, resolved to purchase the land where the brigade fought and McCook was mortally wounded. In 1901, Dawdy gave the land to the Kennesaw Memorial Association whose goal was to place a monument at Cheatham Hill to honor McCook Brigade troops. The land had a new owner in 1917, as the 60 acres were transferred to the War Department. President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order transferring War Department military and historical parks to the National Park Service, the 60 acres amongst them., Lansing Dawdy's 60 acre purchase here at Cheatham Hill was the beginning of what has grown into the 2,965 acre site known today as the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Because of Dawdy's and the McCook Brigade Association's foresight, Kennesaw Mountain's historic and natural significance will be preserved, unimpaired, for future generations to come., (captions) , Lansing J. Dawdy, purchaser of the original 60-acres of land that began Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park., "The Crest of Kennesaw," by Sidney King , Depicting Confederate defenses on Cheatham Hill and Union Colonel Dan McCook (officer on left with arm raised) rallying his troops during the Union assault shortly before he was mortally wounded.