The largest Civil War military training camp in Georgia, Camp McDonald, served as home for several thousand soldiers at various times during the first three years of the conflict. Located in Big Shanty (modern-day Kennesaw), the installation opened on June 11, 1861, when troops stationed at Camp Brown in nearby Smyrna relocated to the new 60-acre installation. Brigadier General William Phillips, founder of the Phillips Legion, named the camp in honor of his former law mentor and twenty-ninth governor of Georgia – Charles J. McDonald.
Date:
Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 10am
Admission:
$2-$4
Address:
Pickett’s Mill Battlefield
4432 Mt. Tabor Church Road
Dallas, GA 30157
Parking:
free parking
For more information, please call 770-443-7850
My great-great grandfather James M. McCollum received his training at Camp McDonald from August 1861 to September 1861. He was assigned to company G, 23rd Georgia Infantry Regiment. Captain J.J. Sharp company commander, Colonel Thomas Hutchinson regiment commander.
I have just finished a book about his service….Titled…..”A Place at the Table.”
By William McDaniel McCollum