Officials will soon conduct an archeological investigation to uncover more information about a Civil War battle that took place in and around Smyrna, Ga.
In August, the National Park Service awarded the LAMAR Institute more than $95,000 for the Ruff’s Mill Battlefield Project. The grant will help provide more details about the battle in a bid to help with education and preservation efforts.
The 1864 Ruff’s Mill battlefield took place in what is today the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. The fighting was an “important linchpin battle resulting in the fall of Atlanta,” Cobb County said in a news release.
“While Cobb County residents appreciate and preserve their history, they cannot preserve something until it becomes tangible and locatable,” Cobb County Commissioner Lisa Cupid said in a news release. “This project fulfills the need to locate and identify the battlefield and its related resources, and share the information about its significance with the community so that residents and policymakers can address the battlefield’s preservation and interpretation for the public.”
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialists will overlay historical maps, aerial photographs, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) images to determine potential tracts and areas within tracts to conduct fieldwork.
Battlefield archeologists will conduct controlled metal detector surveys in the area, while ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey will be used in select areas to assist in the locating of subsurface remains of earthworks such as trenches, rifle pits and artillery impact craters. Archeologists also will conduct a survey of collectors and metal detectorists to gather information on where various battle artifacts have been discovered.
