Tag: Kennesaw GA

Wikipedia says: Kennesaw is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its 1887 charter. Kennesaw has an important place in railroad history. During the Civil War, Kennesaw was the staging ground for the Great Locomotive Chase on April 12, 1862.

As the Western and Atlantic Railroad were being built in the late 1830s, shanty towns arose to house the workers. These were near a big spring. A grade up from the Etowah River became known as “the big grade to the shanties”, then “Big Shanty Grade”, and finally “Big Shanty”.

Civil War

Camp MacDonald, a training camp, was located there from 1861 to 1863.

During the Civil War, Big Shanty was the site of major fighting in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, part of the larger Atlanta Campaign. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, located southeast of the city limits, now contains many of these historic areas. Much of the surrounding land has been developed, and many of the buried artifacts have been searched for and taken by people with metal detectors. Some artifacts of the Civil War are still on display in the visitor center of Kennesaw Mountain.