Marietta in Cobb County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Field Fortifications

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

Photographed by Brandon Fletcher, October 11, 2008

1. Field Fortifications Marker

Inscription. Confederate engineers and work crews started digging earthworks around Kennesaw Mountain a few days before their army fell back to this position on June 19. For the next week Southern soldiers improved their earthwork defenses despite constant rain.

The Southerners dug deep, throwing the dirt toward the Union side of the trenches. The earthen wall — called a parapet — was topped with a braced log, leaving an open space beneath it for soldiers to shoot through. Fighting from behind these defenses, the Confederates held a great advantage over the attacking Federals during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864.

Today within Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, 11 miles of shallow ditches remain from those formidable earthworks. Help preserve these fragile resources by staying on the park’s trails.

Caption:
“Fortifying the Lines at New Hope, at Night, and in Rain,” drawn by Alfred R. Waud, illustrates Civil War trenching techniques.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1855.

Location. 33° 56.167′ N, 84° 35.833′ W. Marker is in Marietta, Georgia, in Cobb County.

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It can be reached from Cheatam Hill Drive SW 0.7 miles south of Whitlock Avenue NW (Georgia Route 120), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Marietta GA 30064, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont

and in Metro Atlanta.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Camouflaged Cannons (a few steps from this marker); Climax at Cheatham Hill (within shouting distance of this marker); Remembering the Fallen (within shouting distance of this marker); C. H. Coffey (within shouting distance of this marker); They Who Fell Here (within shouting distance of this marker); The Dead Angle (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Colonel Dan (about 600 feet away); Union Tunnel (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Marietta.

Also see . . . Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. (Submitted on November 10, 2013.)

Photographed by Don Morfe, September 19, 2013

2. Field Fortifications Marker

Photographed by Don Morfe, September 19, 2013

3. Field Fortifications Marker

Photographed by Duane Hall, May 25, 2015

4. Field Fortifications Marker

View to southwest from parking area

Credits. This page was last revised on May 28, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 975 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 19, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. 2, 3. submitted on November 9, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 4. submitted on June 16, 2015, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.