This account of some of the historic African American places in the Chattanooga area was made possible through the earlier work of numerous researchers and the assistance of many individuals, and I would like to take this time to acknowledge their help and express my thanks for all that they did.
In the early morning hours of December 2, 1983, a man lay dying on the floor of the infamous Chattanooga Jail. This is the story of that man, his life, his death, his family, and how the struggle for justice has led to a series of victories and defeats in Chattanooga. Few people know the true story behind this struggle, because the story is at once intensely private and publicly misinterpreted. This is my attempt to tell the real story from my perspective and from the perspective of those closest to me who contributed to the fight. What has been accomplished? Where do we go from here? Who defines that direction? And what is lost or won in that definition?
Once storyteller’s tales were repeated for generations. Folks called her Granny Mac. Mildred MacMahon was her name. Could she tell a story! Granny; had one for every occasion. They were usually about the William Bean family, who moved into Tennessee in 1768. You see, Granny Mac was a Bean Sprout. That expression describes that this person is kin to the Bean family of Tennessee. The Beans here are descendants of folks who came to the United States from Scotland by way of Ireland. They are called Scotch-Irish in Appalachia.
This volume begins with his move against the Confederate Army at Dalton, Georgia in the spring of 1864.Then, in a brilliant series of flanking movements, he slowly pushed the Confederates further south, with much less loss of life than Grant suffered in his head on attack policies in Virginia.Due to his failure to stop Sherman, General Joseph E. Johnston was replaced by John B. Hood, who did no better against Cump Sherman.The Confederates were forced out of Atlanta and Sherman occupied the city in time to swing the presidential election in Lincoln’s favor.When Hood attempted to relieve the pressure on Georgia by turning back to invade Tennessee, Sherman followed him back into Alabama, and then left his destruction to General George Thomas at Nashville, while he turned south for his famous march to the sea.
The photographs used to illustrate this volume were taken by George N. Barnard, who was the official photographer for Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.
This book deals with the battle of Davis Crossroads which led up to the better known Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. Written by E. Raymond Evans.
"The little town of Dalton, nestled among the rocky hills and rugged mountains of north Georgia, was the county seat of Whitfield County. In 1860, the Federal census showed the entire population of the county to be only 10,047 persons. In late November, 1864, the town became filled and overflowing with people. The roads and streets of Dalton were jammed with thousands of wagons, cutting the brick-red clay to knee-deep mud. Men swarmed everywhere. The Army of Tennessee, eventually to grow to around 65,000 men, had come to Dalton. (1)" to quote the introduction.
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