Tag: Allatoona Pass GA

Wikipedia says: Allatoona is an unincorporated community in Bartow County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The community is located along Allatoona Creek, 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Cartersville. It was once a small mining community until a dam was erected at the base of the Etowah river, completely flooding the town of Allatoona.

Allatoona was first founded in 1838. One of the first official buildings was a small post office that was active until 1918. Before the emergence of the civil war, the town became increasingly popular, people started coming to the town in search of gold and other resources; a silver mine was also located nearby that also brought miners to the small town. As well as a blacksmith, a small depot and a dry goods store. A small Universalist church was built in 1910 which also functioned as a schoolhouse. The town later expanded and added a new school house site which would be located just a half mile southeast of the railroad that ran through town. John Clayton was among the first settlers to the town of Allatoona he was a rich slave owner and owned several plantations around the area. Several of the founders including John Clayton are buried in the cemetery adjacent to the church. The graves of founders and other town folk can still be visited to this day. Allatoona was also considered both an agricultural community and transportation crossroads established along Allatoona Creek at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains and best known for the battle of Allatoona Pass.

Battle of Allatoona

After the Battle of Atlanta Southern Confederates wanted to stop General Sherman and his army of Northern troops. General Sherman aimed to finish his march to the sea; conquering every town that his army encountered. The leader of the Confederate army, General Hood, and his soldiers were ordered to destroy the railroad that ran through the town of Allatoona. Doing so would weaken any chance of the Union army to finish taking control of other southern towns. On the morning of October 5, 1864, a battle in the town of Allatoona took place, as Confederate troops approached Allatoona pass they were outnumbered by union troops at 2,000 to 1,944. Confederate soldiers in an attempt to fight off the larger number of Union troops resorted to rocks and hand-to-hand combat to secure the town of Allatoona for the south. John Claytons plantation home, known as the Clayton-Mooney house was used as a union headquarters as well as a makeshift hospital during the battle. During the battle, the Confederate Army had received a tip that the Union army would have more reinforcements and that they would be overtaken by the Union army. General Hood had made the decision to pull his troops from battle, and thus ended up defeated. The confederate army lost to the union because of false information they had received. It is known as one of the civil wars bloodiest battle due to the duration of the battle which approximately lasted 6–8 hours. Also making it one of the civil wars shortest battles. The Clayton-Mooney home, circa 1836, is the only structure still standing. Bloodstains and bullet holes are still able to be seen today and serve as a reminder of the events that took place in Allatoona.