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