Long Description:Illinois Monument at Cheatham Hill
1914 On June 27, the Illinois Monument was unveiled during the
50th anniversary observance of the battle. It had been constructed
by McNeel Marble Company of Marietta for $25,000. The ceremony was
attended by the governor of Illinois and a large number of
veterans.
As the standoff continued, the federals started a tunnel here,
intending to blow up the Southern earthworks on July the 4th. But
during the night of July 2nd the Confederates quietly slipped away.
Remains of earthworks defended by the Confederate Army of Tennessee
CHEATHAM HILL
The main assault was made at what would become know as Cheatham
Hill. Newton's Division (2nd Div, 4th Army Corps and Davis'
Division (2nd Div., 14th Army Corps) were chosen for the assault.
The Union and Confederate lines were closest at this point and a
large assembly area on the Union side was screened from view by
trees. Union troops in column (one regiment behind another) marched
at the double quick with fixed bayonets up the hill. The intention
was to charge up the hill and punch though the thin defensive line.
Unfortunately, the attack started late and there was a delay
between the preceding artillery bombardment and the infantry
assault. In addition, the defenders at the point of assault were
among the toughest fighters in Johnston's army (the divisions of
Cleburne and Cheatham). Union troops fought their way up the hill
but were repulsed at the crest by artillery positions that had been
hidden. Brigade Commanders Harker and McCook (of Illinois) were
killed in the attack that cost 3000 casualties in less than an hour
with no penetration of the defenses.
"...After the war, survivors of the brigade established the Colonel
Dan McCook Brigade Association in memory of their fallen commander.
To honor the sacrifice that he and other fellow soldiers had made,
the association decided to acquire the land at Cheatham Hill where
Colonel McCook had fallen. In December 1899, Lansing J. Dawdy, a
veteran of the 86th Illinois who had fought at Cheatham Hill,
returned to Cobb County and on December 26 he purchased from Virgil
Channell a 60 acre tract which included the Federal and Confederate
trenches and the intervening land over which the Federals had
fought.
On February 15, 1900, Dawdy conveyed the land to Martin Kingman
and John McGinnis who, in turn, transferred the 60 acre tract to
the Colonel Dan McCook. Brigade Association on August 13, 1904.
According to the deed, Kingman and McGinnis had been acting on
behalf of the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Association, a
non-profit organization, chartered under the laws of the State of
Illinois, that had been established for the purpose of erecting a
monument or monuments on the property in memory of those who had
fought and died there.
With this goal, the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Association began
a fundraising campaign. A letter, sent to surviving veterans of the
85th, 86th, and 125th Regiments, Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
Company I, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, the 22nd Indiana Regiment
Volunteer Infantry and the 52nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, asked them
to contribute at least one dollar in memory of their fallen
comrades. It soon became apparent that the amount of money required
for a monument was beyond the Association's means, so it enlisted
the aid of the State of Illinois.
ASSAULT ON CHEATHAM HILL
27th Illinois Infantry
34th Illinois Infantry
36th Illinois Infantry
42nd Illinois Infantry
44th Illinois Infantry
51st Illinois Infantry
73rd Illinois Infantry
74th Illinois Infantry
78th Illinois Infantry
79th Illinois Infantry
85th Illinois Infantry
86th Illinois Infantry
88th Illinois Infantry
100th Illinois Infantry
125th Illinois Infantry