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Join us in the park's Visitor Center for the fourth in a series of lectures in our lead up to the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.The lecture is FREE but park admission is required.
Visit our webpage for more information and series schedule:
https://www.nps.gov/kemo/planyourvisit/160th-battle-anniversary-lecture-series.htm
Synopsis:
William T. Sherman faced the daunting task of maneuvering three armies and a determined opponent from North Georgia toward Atlanta in 1864. Although sharp fighting occasionally marked the advance at stages, threatening the flanks of Joseph Johnston’s Army of Tennessee most often compelled the Confederates to give ground steadily. In June, this progress appeared stymied by strong defenses at and around Kennesaw Mountain. Frustrated by the “Red Clay Minuet” and anxious to bring the campaign to a swifter conclusion, if possible, Sherman decided to attempt to break the extended Confederate line at Kennesaw. He turned to Virginia-born George Henry Thomas and elements of the Army of the Cumberland, primarily, to achieve this task. “The Rock of Chickamauga” selected the ground for this portion of the assault and the effort added the names “Cheatham Hill” and “Dead Angle” to the lexicon of the Atlanta Campaign.
Brian Steel Wills is the Director of the Center for the Study of the Civil War Era and Professor of History at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga. In addition to leading tours, offering lectures, and conducting programs, Dr. Wills is the award-winning author of numerous works relating to the American Civil War, including biographies of Confederate generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and William Dorsey Pender and Union general George Henry Thomas. He has also written about the Civil War in Virginia and in the movies, as well as a volume that focuses on noncombat deaths in the Civil War. His latest work is Running the Race: The ‘Public Face’ of Charlton Heston, published through Savas Beatie. A graduate of the University of Richmond, Va., and the University of Georgia, he spends time on his farm in Virginia when not teaching and working in Kennesaw.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Parking Lot, Kennesaw, GA 30152, United States,Marietta, Georgia
