Union Civil War road type question

maxxkatt

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North Atlanta, GA
I have a new permission of about 3 acres along a creek that through my research indicate several Union divisions went through this area of Georgia.
It runs along a creek for about 700 yards where Union forces traveled.

The owner showed me three terraces in his back yard starting about 20 feet from the creek. 1st terrace is about what you would expect for a single wagon road. the 2nd terrace about 15 feet higher is another wagon road the same width and the third terrace is about 10 feet and the owner said that it was for soldier's foot traffic.

The owner has lived in the house since 1955 and has never been detected. He had the famous Atlanta historian Frank M. Garrett visit his property and he said they were Union Civil War roads. Mr. Garrett was the only official historian of the City of Atlanta and the Coca Cola company historian for 28 years. The man published his 648 page history book of Atlanta.

Frank came to my permission's property and surveyed it and told him that it was a Union civil war road and they made these terraces to separate the heavy traffic created by the extensive logistics used in supporting Sherman's armies.

The three terraces are very distinct and well preserved, not like earth works that have been eroded over 150 years.

This road is hemmed in by the creek and a rather steep 60 foot hill rising up from the creek.

Does any of this ring a bell of this type of Union civil war road being built in other areas of the country? Or would you think it is unique to this location due to the terrain of the creek and necessity of routing the road through this area?
 
The union army most definitely built roads. We have one in our area that is called Yankee road. Be sure you hunt it good and since it's getting warm, hunt the water also. Back in those days in was not uncommon for the area to have two road, one was often called the summer road. When they traveled they would use any and all roads available to them. But for Atlanta they would be bringing a lot of troops and support into a smaller location. So making multiple roads doesn't sound to unlikely. Let us know what you come up with.
 
The union army most definitely built roads. We have one in our area that is called Yankee road. Be sure you hunt it good and since it's getting warm, hunt the water also. Back in those days in was not uncommon for the area to have two road, one was often called the summer road. When they traveled they would use any and all roads available to them. But for Atlanta they would be bringing a lot of troops and support into a smaller location. So making multiple roads doesn't sound to unlikely. Let us know what you come up with.

Thanks dug, forgot to even think about hunting the creek. Also on his property is the old stone bridge supports on the side of each creek bank. Of course the bridge is long gone with out a trace.
 
Sounds like a great location, with lots of potential for finding some relics. Hope you do well , keep us posted on your finds. HH
 
Sounds like a great location, with lots of potential for finding some relics. Hope you do well , keep us posted on your finds. HH

Thanks Bob, lots of research resulted in this and one other site. Been looking for a civil war era mill on a creek in Atlanta. Someone on this forum sent me a private message with the Google Earth GPS location. He used to hunt the area but moved out of state. I will probably be hunting both sites all summer.

Lots of help on this forum if you just ask.

John
 
Yuup, lots of good members on this forum. Wish you the best of luck on your adventures to those locations.
 
Where I live US Rt 50 (Northwestern Pike) runs right through my town, Romney, WV. It was a major route for troops traveling between Winchester, VA and Romney and then on to Moorefield and Petersburg, WV and north to Cumberland, MD and beyond. There are sections of what look like road bed that you can see off to the side of the current road, some 25-50 yards off the current road...makes me wonder if it's the original road that would have been used during the CW. The highway was constructed in 1830 so it was there during the war for sure. Just need to get some permissions and try detecting those sections and see what comes up.
 
I have an old Federal road(s) behind my house.. Looks like evidence of three one on either side of a creek and the other further up the hill on a ridge. This is along the Chattahoochee in Atlanta .
 
Lots of possibilities from where Peachtree Creek runs into the Chattahoochee up to old MacAfee Bridge in Roswell (now Holcomb bridge) on Holcomb bridge road. The union was supplied with thousands of wagons of supplies for their 100,000 man army. Sherman was smart, his invasion route from Chattanooga followed the rail road which parallels modern day I-75 and then his main objectives was to cut off the 3-4 railroads supplying the confederate army in Atlanta.

Millions of bullets were fired in the Peachtree Creek Battle of July 20, 1864. You would think I would be able to find one of them. Well I did find one, a carved one over in the Decatur area.
 
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