Resaca Confederate Cemetery
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N 34° 36.335 W 084° 56.649
16S E 688509 N 3831226
The Resaca Confederate Cemetery located in Resaca, Georgia is the final resting place for more then 500 Confederate soldiers. The unknown soldiers number 424 with at least another 100 known or partially identified.
Waymark Code: WM293V
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 09/25/2007
Views: 65
The Battle of Resaca is considered the first major battle of The Atlanta Campaign. On May 14-15, 1864 the forces of Union Gen. W.T. Sherman and C.S. Gen. Joseph Johnston clashed. The two day battle resulted in an estimated 3,500 Union casualties and 2,600 for the Confederates. Some of the heaviest fighting occurred on the plantation of Col. John Green.
Many of the dead were buried in shallow graves right where they had fallen. Mr. Green's daughters Miss Mary J. Green and her sister Pyatt, appalled at what they had seen, took it upon themselves to see that the soldiers were given proper burials. Mr Green gave them two and a half acres for the cemetery. Money was in short supply so they wrote letters to everyone they knew asking for help in raising the funds. People from around the state sent what money they could.
A memorial service was held October 25, 1866 dedicating Georgia's first Confederate Cemetery. It also shares the honor, with Winchester, Virginia as being the first Confederate Cemetery in the nation. Unknown to each other, both were dedicated on the same day.
One grave is not that of a soldier, but of Mrs. Elizabeth J. Simmons dated April 6, 1836-September 9, 1907. Mrs. Simmons helped obtain a monument to honor the men who had fought and died. She made many improvements to the cemetery throughout her years, such as the stone walls and arched entrance. She was laid to rest here per her request.
Service is held on Confederate Memorial Day and during the reenactment of The Battle of Resaca held each May at the nearby Chitwood Farm, a 650 acre section of the original battlefield.
When you take the return trip after your visit, just to the left of 41 and Confederate Cemetery Rd, is a roadside park. A map of the battle is displayed at the pavilion.
Type of site: Cemetery
Admission Charged: No Charge
Website: [Web Link]
Driving Directions:
From I-75 take exit 133; travel east on Highway 136. Turn left (north) on Highway 41, proceeding 1.7 miles. Turn right on Confederate Cemetery Rd and follow. Just before the road ends at the railroad tracks turn right into the cemetery parking area.
Address: Not listed
Phone Number: Not listed
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