Resaca, Georgia
289 Confederate Cemetery Rd.
GPS coordinates: 34.60549,-84.94409
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In Spring of 1864 the Civil War was raging in and around Chattanooga, and points south in the area of Chickamauga and Resaca. The Union Army was in the midst of it's Atlanta Campaign. As Federal troops pushed their campaign south from Chattanooga towards Atlanta, Confederate troops, in a series of defensive lines, resisted and challenged every step of the Federal advance. But each time the Confederates set up a defensive line, the line was flanked by the advancing Federal Army, thus forcing the Confederates to withdraw further and further into Georgia.

One of the major battles occurred in Resaca. As in most Civil War battles there were hundreds upon hundreds of dead and wounded left behind after the battle moved on. The dead were typically buried in shallow graves where the soldiers fell. In the aftermath of the Resaca battle there were over four hundred of these shallow Confederate graves scattered about. Located about two miles north of Resaca, in a shady grove of trees, is the Resaca Confederate Cemetery, final resting place for those fallen Confederate soldiers.

Here is the story behind this cemetery:

After the battle of Resaca, local residents Miss Mary Green and her sister, Pyatt were so upset and full of grief by the fallen Confederate soldiers and the manner in which they were hastily buried, that they started the Resaca Cemetery dedicated to the Confederate war dead. Land for the cemetery was donated by John Green, the sisters' father. Now with a dedicated place to bury the Confederate war dead, Mary and Pyatt, with the help of their household servants went about collecting the Confederate remains from their shallow and random graves and re-interned them all together in the Resaca Confederate Cemetery. Mary and Pyatt re-interned 450 soldiers who died in the battle completing their loving and difficult work in October 1866. The Resaca Confederate Cemetery is the first Confederate cemetery in Georgia.

When approaching the entrance, as you circle the cemetery grounds, it feels like stepping back in time. One is struck by the number of graves in this small cemetery. In the parking area there is an information board, take a look at the photos of the devastation in Resaca after the battle. Next walk through the entry portal and take in the scene of all the graves, then take a walk through the cemetery and notice the vast majority of the gravestones marked “Unknown Confederate Soldier.”

Resaca Confederate Cemetery is not huge, like Shiloh's Civil War cemetery, nor is it as nicely maintained as the many National Civil War Cemeteries around the country. This is a simple place, an honorable place and indeed a peaceful place, and well worth the visit because of the story of how this humble cemetery came into being.

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*If motorcycle, rally flag and above image can't be in the same photo, submit two photos: one with rally flag and above image, and another with rally flag and motorcycle nearby. If the site is CLOSED or inaccessible, submit a photo with rally flag and motorcycle nearby, along with an explanation.

Tour of Honor-Georgia is sponsored by Wes McCann.