Georgia's forgotten battlefields

Abstract

Although not entirely neglected by scholars, the American Revolution in Georgia has essentially remained a footnote to the state’s Civil War history. Several Federally- and state-owned sites both interpret and commemorate Civil War battles fought on Georgia soil. Despite active and important military participation in the Revolution, Georgia contains only one state-owned site related to the Revolution, and it provides only a broad interpretation of military events occurring there. The portions of some additional sites are held by local municipal governments, but resources are not currently available to appropriately protect, commemorate, or interpret the sites. Under direction of the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program and the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, researcher Matt McDaniel was able to research, visit, and document eleven Revolutionary War-era sites in Georgia. He found a variety of site conditions, most of which lean towards neglect. However, opportunities exist to continue to research and investigate some of these sites, and, in the future, more appropriately protect and commemorate them.