Battle of Smyrna

For someone who takes pride in his writing, I don't write very much. As you can see from this blog, my last post was in 2017. Since then, Ripken has passed on and I don't travel to Civil War sites as much as I used to. Don't get me wrong: The CW bug is as strong as ever, but I spend more time reading and taking classes about the war then getting out and seeing the battlefields. 

In fact, I'm reading a great book by Daniel Sutherland titled 'A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerillas in the American Civil War.' It details various guerilla actions during the war, including an Atlanta native who formed a company of 'mounted riflemen' early in the war to protect the Georgia 'frontier.' Also, there were the Cherokee Rangers, who could be anywhere in Georgia or bordering counties in North Carolina or Tennessee with five hours' notice. However, the emphasis of all guerilla units was local defense. Georgia's various groups of partisan rangers needed to take care of farms and local affairs just as urgently as protect against Union influences from outside or within. Of the various Georgia groups I've read about so far, my favorite name is the Camden Chasseurs, who roamed the coast north of Florida for enemy small boats. 

As you can guess, I live in the Atlanta area, in a little city named Smyrna, just down the road from Marietta and Kennesaw Mountain. During the Atlanta Campaign, this city saw some action on the 4th of July, both near the Smyrna campground that gave the city its name and Ruff's Mill, a small area on Nickajack Creek. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll give you more details on this small battle that occurred during the Union Army's trek toward Atlanta. See you soon.