Exhibit To Showcase Cherokee Life During the Civil War

Staff Report

The Cherokee County History Museum is hosting a temporary exhibit called “Cherokee Voices from the Civil War” from Aug. 13 to Dec. 31.

The exhibit focuses on life at home, on the battleground and from the African-American perspective. The story of Cherokee County during the Civil War is told using quotes and first-hand accounts gleaned from original letters, court documents and publications.

A cornerstone of the exhibit will be the series of original letters sent from Pvt. John T. Beavers of the McAfee and Donaldson Guards to his family back in Macedonia. The McAfee and Donaldson Guard Company also take center stage when each visitor will be handed the description of one of the Guard recruits. At the end of the exhibit, the visitor will find out if their soldier survived the war.

Other items on display will be a collection of military artifacts including bullets, shells and cannonballs, gun tools, an artillery bucket, a Confederate cutlass, a Union officer’s sword, rifles and bayonet. Possessions from the soldiers such as canteens, belts, medals, and stirrups will also be displayed; some of the artifacts were found near Pickett’s Mill and Allatoona Pass.

Other items include a surgical kit and doctor’s textbooks, and the original speech from 1861 as presented to the Cherokee Brown Riflemen from the Ladies of Canton as they marched off to war.

“This exhibit is a great way to hear about how the Civil War impacted Cherokee County, directly from the residents themselves,” said Cherokee County Historical Society Executive Director Stefanie Joyner. “We’ve all heard that there were no major battles fought in the county, but in fact, Union and Confederate forces were skirmishing and foraging all through the area, especially in 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign.”

Historical society archivist Lisa Tressler added preparing the exhibit “really brought home how the war affected everyone in the county.”

“Of course the men who marched off to battle and their women left to fend for themselves, but also the 16 year old daughter of a Unionist bringing food to men hiding in the woods, or the slaves who left to join the U.S. colored troops,” she added. “The individual experiences are so unique and compelling.”

The exhibit is one of the events planned by the Cherokee County Sesquicentennial Committee to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War and the Battle of Atlanta. For more information about the events and the exhibit, please visit the historical society’s website.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, is located in Suite 140 of the historic marble courthouse, located at 100 North Street in downtown Canton.

The operating hours are Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.