Must Sees
It would take weeks to visit all the Civil War locations in Georgia, but if time is limited, here are some of the “best” Civil War sites. Included in the list are a wide variety of attractions; from major battlefields to national cemeteries, great museums to Antebellum mansions and the best routes that include the most history along the way! You may choose to travel through Georgia the way the armies did, following the marked and interpreted Atlanta Campaign Heritage Trail® from Chickamauga into Atlanta and the March to the Sea Heritage Trail® from Atlanta to Savannah.
Atlanta Metro Historic South
Southern Rivers Coast Mountains
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ATLANTA METRO Atlanta History Center
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-814-4000
http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com The Atlanta History Center's exceptional museum collection includes thousands of items that tell the story of Atlanta, The state of Georgia, and the South. Explore the stories of both Confederate and Federal soldiers, along with the heartache and hope of loved ones at home, from the beginnings of the crisis through the time of rebuilding.
Oakland Cemetery
248 Oakland Avenue, SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30312
404-688-2107
A 20-acre portion of Oakland is home to the Civil War dead. This central area of Oakland inters nearly 3,000 Confederate and 16 Union soldiers. Generals John B. Gordon, Alfred Everson, Jr., and Clement A. Evans are buried in the Confederate Section. Lucuis J. Gartrell and William S. Walker are buried at Oakland on family lots. The Lion of Atlanta rests over an undetermined number of unknown soldiers buried beneath.
Atlanta Cyclorama
800-C Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30315
404-658-7625
Atlanta Cyclorama boasts the world’s largest painting of the Battle of Atlanta. Accompanied by music, lighting, sound effects and narration, the painting brings to life the story of the famous battle. This is the longest-running cyclorama in the country.
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
1074 Cobb Place Blvd NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144
800-257-3000
http://www.nps.gov/kemo Visit the most complete Civil War battlefield of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. Hiking trails, recreation areas and picnicking areas are available. Tours and a short film are also provided.
Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
2829 Cherokee Street
Kennesaw, GA 30144
770-427-2117
http://www.southernmuseum.org Take a trip back in time to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia! With three impressive permanent collections and a membership in the prestigious Smithsonian Affiliations Program, the Museum offers a wide range of exhibits, including a glimpse into the daily lives of Americans during the Civil War; a reproduction of a turn-of-the-century locomotive factory; and an exciting depiction of the Civil War’s Great Locomotive Chase.
HISTORIC SOUTH Milledgeville - The Antebellum Capital
From 1803 to 1868 Milledgeville was the State capital of Georgia. It is one of two planned capital cities in the United States, the other being Washington D.C. The Old Governor's Mansion (reopening after extensive renovation in Feb 05) and the Old Capitol are available for touring. The historic district boasts more than 200 architectural landmarks, with more than a dozen identified on the National Registry of Historic Places.
A.H. Stephens State Park
456 Alexander
P.O. Box 310
Crawfordville, GA30631
706)456-2602
http://www.gastateparks.org This quiet site combines the recreational fun of a state park with the educational resources of a historic site. Named after the vice president of the Confederacy and governor of Georgia, A.H. Stephens State Historic Park features a Confederate museum with one of the finest collections of Civil War artifacts in Georgia, including uniforms and documents. Stephens home, Liberty Hall, is renovated to its 1875 style, fully furnished and open for tours. Beautiful outdoor facilities make this park a treat for both nature lovers and history buffs.
Robert Toombs House State Historic Site
216 E. Robert Toombs Ave.
Washington, GA 30673
706-678-2226
http://gastateparks.org/info/rtoombs/ Restored antebellum home with family furnishings and artifacts. Visitors are welcome to tour the ho Restored antebellum home with family furnishings and artifacts. Visitors are welcome to tour the house and grounds, view exhibits and displays, and enjoy a dramatic film portraying an elderly Toombs relating his story to a young reporter.
SOUTHERN RIVERS Port Columbus National Civil War Museum
1002 Victory Drive
Columbus, GA 31901
706-327-9798
http://www.portcolumbus.org Features 40,000 sf of exhibits dealing with the Civil War at sea. Remains of two original Civil War Confederate Navy ships anchor the displays along with full sized reconstructions of parts of three other famous ships including the USS Monitor. Visitors get to enter a full sized ironclad ship and experience a combat scene from the inside, the nation's only Civil War ironclad combat simulator.
Andersonville National Historic Site
496 Cemetery Road
Andersonville, GA 31711
229-924-0343
http://www.nps.gov/ande Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was officially known, was one of the largest of many Confederate military prisons established during the Civil War. It was built early in 1864 after Confederate officials decided to move the large number of Federal prisoners kept in and around Richmond, Virginia, to a place of greater security and a more abundant food supply. During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined here. Of these, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements.
Jefferson Davis Memorial State Historic Site
338 Jeff Davis Park Road
Fitzgerald, GA 31750
229-831-2335
http://members.surfsouth.com/~jdhs/ On May 10, 1865, about a mile from the little town of Irwinville, Georgia, federal troops captured Jefferson Davis. For four years, Jefferson Davis had led the Confederacy as its president. But on that spring morning, with his arrest, the government of the Confederate States of America ceased to exist. Today, a monument marks the spot where Jefferson Davis was arrested. Visitors can tour the 13-acre historic site that includes a museum built by the WPA in 1939, a quarter mile nature trail, picnic tables and a group shelter. The site staff offers guided tours of the capture site along with special presentations by site volunteers and period re-enactors.
Blue & Gray Museum
116 North Johnston Street
Fitzgerald, GA 31750
800-386-4642
http://www.fitzgeraldga.org Recently re-designed to tell the heart-warming story of how Yankee and Confederate Veterans created Georgia's City of Harmony, mirrors the history of Fitzgerald and showcases a rare collection of Civil War relics and artifacts. The revised Blue and Gray offers a unique way to honor America's Veterans from 1860 to the present.
COAST
Fort Pulaski National Monument
U.S. Highway 80 East
Savannah, GA 31401
912-786-5787
http://www.nps.gov/fopu Named for that gallant Pole, Gen. Casimir Pulaski who lost his life in the unsuccessful siege of Savannah in 1779, Fort Pulaski was built between 1829 and the mid-1840's on Cockspur Island to guard the sea-approach to Savannah. Occupied by Confederate troops in 1861, the fort fell to Union forces in April, 1862, when they overcame it with rifled cannon, the first used in warfare.
Fort McAllister State Park
3894 Ft. McAllister Rd.
Richmond Hill, GA 31324
800-864-7275
http://www.gastateparks.org This park is the home of the best preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy. The sand and mud earthworks were attacked seven times by Union ironclads, but did not fall until captured in 1864 by Gen. William T. Sherman during his infamous March to the Sea. Home of the best preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy.
MOUNTAINS Chickamauga Battlefield Park
3370 LaFayette Rd
Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
706-866-9241
More than 1,000 monuments pay silent homage to one of the most epochal struggles in the War Between the States. Take a self-guided tour of the 5,000 acre battlefield and hear an audio-tape tell of the three-day conflict that claimed 34,000 Union and Confederate casualties.
Pickett's Mill Battlefield State Historic Site
2640 Mt. Tabor Rd.
Dallas, GA 30132
770-443-7850
http://www.gastateparks.org Pickett's Mill is one of the best preserved Civil War battlefields in the nation. Visitors can travel roads used by Federal and Confederate troops, see earthworks constructed by these men, and walk through the same ravine where hundreds died.