Civil War Battlefield Conservation in Georgia

Rocky Face Ridge

U. S. Major General William Tecumseh Sherman with his 110,100-man army group opened the Atlanta Campaign on May 8 with an attack on General Joseph E. Johnston’s 54,500 Confederates on the precipitous Rocky Face Ridge where they were protected by artillery and earthworks. Unable to take the ridge, Sherman sent a force west and south toward Resaca, Johnston moved south, and the U. S. IV Corps occupied Dalton. The Campaign ended in September with the fall of Atlanta.

The Conservation Fund led a multi-year effort that protected 625 acres on the long, wooded ridge that lies east of the interstate. The owners of adjacent land carried the preservation of the ridge forward by donating 35 acres.

The outstanding partnership included the city of Dalton, the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia, the Dalton/Whitfield Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Community Greenspace Program, the Looper Family, The Gilder Foundation, the National Park Service, Rex Investments, the Turner Foundation, and Whitfield County.

Download a PDF about Rocky Face Ridge