Rome & Lafayette
Because of Rome's location at the head of the Coosa River (where the Etowah
and Oostanaula rivers meet) and rail connection to the main line between Atlanta
and Chattanooga, the town was a rising center for manufacturing and transportation
in northwest Georgia. The city became a major location for troop movements from
1862 through 1864. Rome's farms in the surrounding countryside supplied food
for the Confederacy, the Noble Brothers foundry
manufactured cannons and other military goods, and the city's hospitals treated
thousands of wounded and sick. Because of its value to the Confederacy, Rome
became a target of several Union military campaigns. In May 1863, Union Col.
Abel Streight led a raid toward Rome, which was thwarted by Gen. Nathan Bedford
Forrest. This raid led to the building of earthen fortifications around the
city. In mid-May, while the Battle of Resaca of the Atlanta Campaign was underway,
Union Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, with his 2nd Infantry Division, was looking for
a bridge that didn't exist to cross the Oostenaula south of the Confederates
in Resaca. Without orders, Davis decided 
to
push on to Rome, where he took the city on May 18, 1864. Davis told Sherman
that Rome was "the strongest fortified place I have seen in Dixie."
Union forces garrisoned the city during the Atlanta Campaign and strengthened
fortifications after Gen. John
Bell Hood moved north to strike at Sherman's supply lines after the fall
of Atlanta. Sherman made Rome his headquarters in October and November 1864.
From Rome, Sherman telegraphed U.S. Grant with his plan to "March to the
Sea," and when it was approved, he burned Rome Nov. 10-11, 1864, then did
the same to Atlanta four days later. Leaving Rome, he wired Gen. George Thomas
in Nashville, "Last night we burned Rome, and in two or more days will
burn Atlanta." Rome was the first to feel Sherman's wrath. Encampment and
reenactment are held annually to commemorate the Siege of Rome.
Fort Norton
Jackson Hill, Rome
Fort Norton, with intact earthworks and interlocking
trenches, is located near the visitors center in Rome on Jackson Hill. After
U.S. Col. Abel Streight's defeated raid on Rome in May of 1863 — stopped
just west of the city in Alabama near the Lawrence Plantation — local residents
were spurred to fortify the city. Later, their efforts came under the command
of C.S. Gen. Braxton Bragg and his successor Joseph Johnston. Fort Norton, named
for a local Confederate soldier who died in the War, saw action when troops
in the fort fired cannon and shoulder arms on Union Gen. Jefferson C. Davis
as he attacked the city. Union troops, who controlled the city and feared an
attack from Confederate troops moving north under
Gen. John Bell Hood after the fall of Atlanta, worked to improve the fortifications
in 1864. A local effort is underway to study and conserve the fort.
- Fort Norton is located near the Rome Visitors Center on a dirt road
behind the building.
First Presbyterian Church, Saint Paul
A.M.E. Church
First Presbyterian: 101 East Third Ave., Rome
Saint Paul A.M.E.: E. 6th Ave. and W. 2nd St. Rome
First Presbyterian Church, dedicated in 1856, was
used by Union troops for food storage and reportedly as a hospital during the
Civil War. The pews were removed and used for the construction of a pontoon
bridge across one of Rome's rivers and for the construction of horse stalls.
Saint Paul A.M.E. Church was built in 1852 and used
by occupying Union forces as a stable for their horses.
- From the Rome Visitors Center, take Turner McCall Blvd. to Broad St.
Turn right on Broad to historic downtown.
Myrtle Hill Cemetery Confederate Monument, Nathan
B. Forrest Statue, C.S. Women's Monument
South Broad St. and Myrtle St., Rome
During the Civil War, Myrtle Hill was the site of Fort Stovall.
Today, there stands an impressive Confederate monument
marking the spot and commemorating the Floyd countians who gave their lives
for the Confederacy. Near the base of the Myrtle Hill Cemetery, established
as the second city cemetery in 1857, is a Confederate
cemetery containing 363 Confederate and two Union soldiers. Close to the
Confederate cemetery are two distinctive monuments: one to Confederate Gen.
Nathan Bedford Forrest for saving Rome and the other
to the Women of the Confederacy. In one of the greatest
deceptions of the war, Forrest, with only 425 men, stopped U.S. Col. A.D. Streight
and his 1,500 men in nearby Alabama on May 3, 1863. Forrest tricked Streight
into believing he was outnumbered after a running battle of three days. (In
an unusual innovation of the war, Streight's men were infantry mounted on mules.)
Forrest was subsequently the toast of the town and presented with a fine horse
and $1,000 to care for his sick and wounded. The monument was erected on the
anniversary of the event in 1908. The women's monument
is believed to be the first monument dedicated to women in the Western hemisphere.
Erected in 1910, it honors the women who cared for the wounded and sick of both
sides in the Civil War and is one of three major women's monuments in Georgia.
Woodrow Wilson wrote one of the inscriptions. Notice the historical
marker telling the story of John Wisdom, "Georgia's Paul
Revere," a native of Rome who rode more than 60 miles from Gadsen,
Alabama, to warn that the "Yankees are coming, the Yankees are coming!"
- South on Broad St. Cemetery is on the right after crossing the Coosa
River.
Lafayette
John B. Gordon Hall
304 N. Main St., LaFayette 706-638-1272 (City Manager's Office)
Built in 1836, this two-story red-brick academy on the National Register of
Historic Places was Gen. Braxton Bragg's headquarters of the Army of Tennessee,
from September 10 to 17, 1863, while he planned the Battle of Chickamauga. A
stack of cannonballs honors him. Later, the building was in the line of fire
during the Battle of LaFayette. On June 18, 1864,
Union forces of approximately 450 men occupied the town to "endeavor to
rid the country of several guerilla bands." On June 24 at 3 a.m., Union
forces were attacked by Confederate Brig. Gen Gideon J. Pillow and his 1,600
cavalry. The next morning, Union reinforcements arrived after being alerted
by an escaped Federal picket and drove off the Confederate attackers, leaving
a total of 219 casualties from the battle. Tours are allowed by appointment
only. The LaFayette Presbyterian Church was used as
a field hospital by both armies during the Civil War.
- Follow U.S. 27 Business into LaFayette.
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