Georgia Marker Notes Johnston's Brushy Mountain Line
By Joe Kirby
MARIETTA, Ga. - A marker was erected Feb. 10 to
commemorate a recently preserved segment of Gen. Joe Johnston's
"Brushy Mountain Line" near Kennesaw.
The marker, which resembles the historic markers erected along
highways, is on a spur of Lost Mountain about eight miles due
west of Marietta. The portion of trenches in question were part
of the western anchor of the Brushy Mountain Line, an 11-mile
long length of interconnected trenches and forts commanding
the high ground on the approaches to Marietta and Atlanta.
That line stretched from Brushy Mountain, just northeast of
Kennesaw Mountain, westward to Lost Mountain, taking in Pine
Mountain along the way. It proved to be too long for Johnston's
smaller army to defend from Sherman, however, so he pulled back
the westernmost portion of it after just four days.
Most of the Brushy Mountain Line is now long gone, the victim
of farming, road-building, shopping centers and subdivisions.
The marker was erected by Morrison Homes, an Atlanta builder
which recently completed the Madison Woods subdivision along
that part of the line and which incorporated some 250 feet of
earthworks into the project rather than destroying them. The
family that had farmed the property for generations had, in
fact, stipulated that the trenches be preserved when the land
was sold recently for the subdivision.
The trenches vary from knee- to shoulder-deep and are in reasonably
good condition.
The marker cost about $2,000 and was erected after the builder
was contacted by representatives of the McDonald Camp of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans in Kennesaw. The camp had not known
about that section of trench until after the subdivision was
built, but acted quickly once learning of it.
"We said [the trenches and marker] would be a tremendous
amenity to that neighborhood," said Jeff Wright, camp commander.
"A lot of people, especially those who are moving into
this area from around the country, are clueless about what went
on in their own backyards."
"This is a pretty strategic point from which you can see
Pine Mountain and Kennesaw Mountain. It's a nice place to stand
and get an idea of the overall strategy."
The SCV hired the same Ohio-based company that manufactures
historic markers for the state to craft the trench marker. The
bronze-colored, cast-aluminum marker has gold lettering and
is mounted on a post.
The marker also features the state seal. There are tentative
plans for a walking path and/or benches near the trenches, but
they will remain otherwise undisturbed.
"We don't want to see it turned into a park with swing
sets and picnic tables," Wright said.
The marker recounts the local tactical situation, the decision
to fortify the mountain on June 11, 1864, and the order to evacuate
that part of the line four days later after Confederate Gen.
Leonidas Polk was killed by artillery fire on Pine Mountain.
The Confederates pulled back two miles to what was known as
the Mud Creek Line and then three days later fell back into
the Kennesaw Mountain Line, which is where the fighting now
known as the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain took place.
The segment of trenches where the marker was erected was not
the scene of heavy fighting, but of frequent skirmishing between
the Confederates and Union forces probing the line.
That part of the line was manned by dismounted Rebel cavalry
under the command of Brig. Gen. William "Red" Jackson.
His men were opposed by similarly dismounted Union cavalry under
the command of Gen. George Stoneman.
