September 2004

Battle Report

7th Edition

Boundary of Fort Attaway to be professionally determined

Our preservation lawyer, Jonathon Schwartz, has been coordinating an effort to properly identify Fort Attaway's boundary according to the National Register of Historic Places guidelines, which we believe our boundary follows, and that the GDOT's does not. The boundary determines where what is left of the fort officially starts and stops. Our research shows and Rome's historical circles firmly believe through physical evidence that has been found over the years at Fort Attaway, on both sides of Highway 27, and in numerous other places that depicts a much larger fort that, in its day, connected to other fortifications on the same ridgeline from DeSoto Hill around to Shorter Hill. There is one ditch line that is directly beneath the railroad tracks; the tracks, that were built 20 years after the Civil War, the tracks flow perfectly around the lower crest of DeSoto Hill just as the ditch once ran. With that in mind, evidence of the rest of the features remaining are very consistent stopping exactly at the tree line and the railroad right-of-way. The patch of woods remarkably has remained untouched over the last 140 years. Only erosion and modern-day trash mask a true picture of what once existed. Professional archaeologists in the area of Civil War earthen forts should have no trouble identifying what the features are part of the fort and what features are not. We expect to have these answers on paper for all to see by October as well as answers to the many other discrepancies that have occurred in this project . Our professional report will be posted as soon as it gets into our hands in its entirety.

Condemnation proceedings started

In the first week of August we were served our condemnation papers by the Georgia DOT via the Rome Sheriff's Department. We have hired Wright Gammon of Cedartown to represent us. He will also be representing David Fowler, Sr. and Kirk and Deborah Rickman in their proceedings.