Civil War battle at Pickett’s Mill reenactment scheduled for June

Pickett’s Mill Civil War battlefield will be re-inhabited with soldiers the first week in June and returned to the events of May 1864. Or, at least, re-enactors will be there to participate in the events of the battle that happened in the final year of the Civil War and delayed General Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.
On May 27, 1864, the Federal Army, having been stopped in its advance on Atlanta two days earlier by the Battle of New Hope Church, attempted to outflank the Confederate position. Some 14,000 Federal troops were selected for the task, and General Howard was given command. After a 5-hour march, Howard’s force reached the vicinity of Pickett’s Mill and prepared to attack.
Waiting were 10,000 Confederate troops under the command of General Cleburne. The Federal assault began at 5 p.m. and continued into the night. Daybreak found the Confederates still in possession of the field. The Federals had lost 1,700 men compared to the Confederate loss of about 450. The Confederate victory resulted in a one-week delay of the Federal advance on Atlanta.
Pickett’s Mill is one of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields in the nation.
Paulding’s Chamber of Commerce wants to be more proactive in broadening the county’s tourism opportunities. The historical site of the county has been foundational to that local tourism profile. Park Ranger Bobby James, as part of an April Chamber program on tourism in Paulding, was promoting visits to the park.
“We have one of the original cannons fired during the battle and we have a lot of artifacts found on the grounds,” James told Paulding Chamber members.
The battle at Pickett’s Mill was one of the few night battles fought during the civil war, James said, and was part of “the Atlanta Campaign.” The resistance encountered there is considered one of the last confederate victories.
“We have some of the best-preserved earthen works trenches at Pickett’s Mill,” James said, and he added that this year the event has been moved up a few days to conflict less with Memorial Day. “We moved it to June 4th. We’ll fire the cannon, muskets will be fired, and a force-on-force demonstration will be done to show how the battle might have progressed,” James said.
And, according to James, since last year a night tour has been added to the event that takes place at about the same time of day that the original battle took place.
Pickett`s Mill is now open 7 days per week, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. The museum is open Friday – Sunday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Access to the trails on these days is through the museum with paid historic site admission or with the historic sites annual pass. For more info visit online, gastateparks.org/PickettsMillBattlefield.