Georgia's Civil War Heritage Trails Is Funded
Steven W. Longcrier
ATLANTA, Ga

The Georgia Department of Transportation has announced an award of $688,240 in "transpor-tation enhancement" TEA-21 funds to Georgia's Civil War Heritage Trails Inc. (GCWHT) in order to create "The Atlanta Campaign Heritage Trail" and "The March to the Sea Heritage Trail."

The successful TEA-21 application was sponsored by the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners. Matching funds from Whitfield County plus dozens of other local Georgia jurisdictions and civic organizations swell the award to a total in excess of $860,000.

GCWHT, a non-profit tax-exempt corporation, will create, promote and maintain a series of interpretive historic markers along and near many of the actual routes used by Union and Confederate armies during two of Georgia's largest military campaigns of the Civil War.

Patterned after the highly successful Virginia Civil War Trails Inc. program, GCWHT involves hundreds of citizen volunteers serving on local, regional and statewide committees to interpret, market and manage historic "driving trails." All work is performed in cooperation with numerous civic organizations and government agencies. Similar historic driving trails have been proven a perfect combination of education and tourism. They also provide a major financial incentive for related historic preservation efforts at trail locations. Other states realize hundreds of millions in new tourism dollars by saving their Civil War era historic sites.

Beginning in Catoosa County above Ringgold, GCWHT will enable motorists to "follow the trail" of the two warring armies throughout the entire Atlanta Campaign, ending near Jonesboro, the battle that sealed Atlanta's fate. Hundreds of colorful GCWHT "trail blazer" signs will provide directional information along the entire route.

At dozens of locations throughout the trail's route, informative historic markers, complete with interpretive text, maps, photographs and/or drawings, will enable both tourists and school groups to learn exactly what history was made at each specific location. Several markers will also connect visitors with the war's social, economic and/or political impact.
Both well-known and lesser visited existing Civil War-era sites, including state and national parks, numerous mu-seums and other locations, will greatly enhance the trail's interpretive capabilities.

The D.O.T. funds will also provide for construction of parking at each GCWHT marker location currently without such facilities. Finally, upon completion of the trails, attractive brochures will be printed and distributed nationwide via numerous tourist centers, a website, and toll-free access number.

Upon leaving Atlanta in mid-November 1864, Union General William T. Sherman divided his army into two ma-jor "wings." Thus, the March to the Sea Heritage Trail will trace two routes, one following each half of Sherman's army from Atlanta to Savannah and the Atlantic Coast. It is here the civilian aspects of Georgia's Civil War era will truly come to light, for just because there were few battles along the March to the Sea doesn't mean history wasn't made.

Georgia's Civil War Heritage Trails will present many aspects of the war's military and civilian history, affecting both its black and white population, the rich and the poor, regardless whether its soldiers wore blue or gray.

This initial project should require approximately two years to complete. GCWHT's long-range plans, as additional funds become available, call for more interpretive markers along these trails, plus other Civil War heritage trails and sub-trails to be created across the state.

Many important stories along these trails have waited more than 136 years to be told. Thanks now to hundreds of caring Georgians coming together to create Georgia's Civil War Heritage Trails Inc., this history will finally be told, while reaping millions in new tourism dollars for Georgia's economy.