Walking the Battle of Atlanta

We had a (hot) but rewarding shoot on Saturday in Kirkwood/East Atlanta Village re-tracing the steps of the July 1864 Battle of Atlanta. It's the annual B*ATL Festival marking the Battle of Atlanta. Shots from two Civil War-era muskets fired off the day's events and the 5K "Doublequick" running/walking race that began and wrapped up at Bessie Branham Park in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta. Next, we headed down Hosea Williams Avenue to Gillian Park where Federal re-enactors were "camped and ready for battle." They demonstrated how to fire a cannon, and we learned the hard way that cannon fire is louder than it looks. There was a medical tent demonstrating arm and leg amputations, as well as cooking and musket-cleaning. Next, we headed about two miles west to East Atlanta Village to meet our Battle of Atlanta Walking Tour guide. After nearly two hours on foot, we knew not only the main strategic locations and events of the battle, but understood just how hot it likely was to be a Civil War soldier wearing a woolen uniform and 40 pounds of gear on a July day in Georgia. Find out what else we learned by tuning in to Georgia Traveler Season Four, premiering October 2010!