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OUR UNKNOWN HERO
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OUR UNKNOWN HERO
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Allatoona Pass, Bartow County Georgia |
| There are several stories about who is buried here. He is
most likely a Confederate Soldier, although there is one story that says
he is a Yankee. An article in the September 1894 issue of The Confederate Veteran says in part: “Reginald Roland, Washington, D.C., writes from the offices of the Southern Railroad Company: Near Allatoona, GA, in what is known as Allatoona Pass, is a lone grave of an unknown soldier, which is of considerable interest to people along the Western and Atlantic railroad through that region of battlefields, and which is protected and cared for as sacred by the train men whenever their duty brings them in that vicinity. As you approach the northwestern end of the Pass, immediately on the west side of the track may be seen this solitary grave. At the head of the mound is a marble slab inscribed thus: “An Unknown Hero He died for the Cause He thought was right“ Here rests the precious son of one of the many mothers whose darling “went forth never to return,” but whose son he was and who watched for his return, only to be doomed to disappointment, is a question that will probably remain untold through eternity.” A follow up article almost a year later in the August, 1895 issue of The Confederate Veteran contains the most popular and frequently quoted story about this soldier. This story is attributed to Mr. O. S. Crandall who served the Union cause in a Minnesota regiment. “On the day of the fight, Mr. Crandall was stationed in the trenches on Allatoona Mountain, with 2,000 other Union soldiers. Across the track at the foot of the mountain was located a large railroad wood-shed filled with provisions for the federal army. About three o’clock, after the battle was over, a soldier was seen emerging from the Confederate lines. In his hand he bore aloft a blazing pine knot torch. He started for the provision house with the intention of firing it. He hardly got in sight when 2,000 Union soldiers opened fire on him, as he was in full view of them. On, he went with his flaming torch, until he had traversed about 1,500 feet, and was within a few rods of the provision house, when he fell dead beside the track. He was a member of General French’s command. He was about thirty or thirty five years of age. The second day after the battle, Mr. Crandall assisted in making the box coffin and in burying him on the spot where he fell. The bravery and daring of this soldier in facing death in order to burn the provision house commanded the attention and respect of the thousands of Union soldiers who saw him and they gave him a special burial.” “This Soldier, far from home and family, gave his life protecting Bartow County, asking in return that he be remembered.“ Following the tradition of the countless folks who have cared for this Soldier’s grave for the past 135 years, this site is maintained with reverence and respect by members of The Stiles-Akins Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans- Cartersville, GA and by local resident Dick Hesseling. |
Stiles Akin Camp #670