Inscription:
"An Unknown Soldier. Following the Civil War in 1866, nearly all Union dead were removed from the Atlanta campaign battlefields and hospital sites to Marietta National Cemetery. This grave was undiscovered until 1938. The Confederate earthworks in this vicinity were unsuccessfully assaulted by the Union brigade of Col. John G. Mitchell. This soldier - "known but to God" - was killed in action and buried where he fell."
Civil War Union veteran, formerly known as the "Unknown Soldier of Cheatham Hill" at Kennewsaw Mountain. Born in Indiana, he later moved to Washington township in Carroll County, Illinois, where he was living at the time he enlisted. He enlisted at the age of 21 and was described as 5'6" tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was single and had been working as a farm laborer prior to the war. On September 7, 1861, he mustered in to Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. The men in the regiment came from the valley of Rock River in northern Illinois, so the regiment became known as the "Rock River Rifles." After being organized at Camp Butler in Springfield, Illinois, the regiment made its way to the Niolin River in Kentucky, where they set up quarters for the winter at Camp Nevin. The cold, rainy weather and change in diet took its toll on the men, many of whom became very ill with disease, but Pvt. Carr continued to be able to perform his duties. He spent his time drilling with the rest of his regiment in the use of arms, how to use his bayonet, how to skirmish and fulfill his daily duties. In April 1862, he was ready when the regiment participated in its first heavy action at Pittsburgh Landing in the Battle of Shiloh. He survived the battle and continued to see heavy action with the rest of his regiment throughout 1862 and 1863 in the siege of Corinth and battles at Lavergne, Knob Gap (Nolensville), Stone's River (Murfreesboro), Tiune and Liberty Gap, Graysville, and Chickamauga, Tennessee.
While in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he re-enlisted as a veteran on December 3, 1863. Then came the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Rome, Dallas, and Lost Mountain. He survived them all. On the morning of June 27, 1863, he prepared to fight in the battle of Kennesaw Mountain with the rest of his regiment. At 9 a.m. that morning, General Sherman's troops bombarded the Confederate positions and the 34th Illinois Infantry charged up Cheatham hill to overtake the Confederate troops. They reached the top of the Confederate earthworks and in brutal hand-to-hand combat, they tried in vain to overtake the enemy. However, they were outnumbered and the Confederate troops were firmly dug in. They were forced to fall back and when they had to leave some of their fallen comrades behind on the hill, one of them was Private Carr. He was an experienced veteran and an outstanding soldier whose records showed that during his entire time of service, he was never absent from duty for illness, or any other reason. But during the next roll call, he did not answer to his name. He was buried where he fell on Kennesaw mountain. Nearly 3,000 Union soldiers had died that day and when they were later re-interred at Marietta National Cemetery, somehow, his remains were missed.
For nearly 75 years, he would lay in an unknown grave. Then, in 1938, his remains were unearthed by workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps. His identify was a mystery, so Kennesaw battlefield park officials installed a headstone which simply said he was the "Unknown Soldier" of Cheatham Hill. The solitary grave, which was covered with rocks and surrounded by a split-rail fence, became a local landmark. Located along a jogging trail, many who visited the site or passed by would wonder for years who the unknown soldier could be. Then a local historian and Kennesaw battlefield park volunteer named Brad Quinlan took matters into his own hands. He pored through the re-internment records for the Marietta National Cemetery and the battle histories for the regiments who were at Kennesaw mountain. He determined that the 34th Illinois Infantry was the only regiment that fought in the exact spot where the unknown soldier was buried. From there, he isolated the potential soldiers to three men who had served with the Rock River Rifles. More research resulted in eliminating two of them. Then all of the cemeteries in northern Illinois were searched for the third, but no grave for him was found anywhere. After five years of detective work, during an event commemorating the battle of Kennesaw mountain, Quinlan revealed the name of the unknown soldier: Pvt. Mark Carr from Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. For 145 years, he had rested in an unknown grave.
"I hate unknowns...these men fought and they died. Don't we at least owe them a name?"
-Brad Quinlan, Historian and Kennewsaw Battlefield Park Volunteer
"An Unknown Soldier. Following the Civil War in 1866, nearly all Union dead were removed from the Atlanta campaign battlefields and hospital sites to Marietta National Cemetery. This grave was undiscovered until 1938. The Confederate earthworks in this vicinity were unsuccessfully assaulted by the Union brigade of Col. John G. Mitchell. This soldier - "known but to God" - was killed in action and buried where he fell."
Civil War Union veteran, formerly known as the "Unknown Soldier of Cheatham Hill" at Kennewsaw Mountain. Born in Indiana, he later moved to Washington township in Carroll County, Illinois, where he was living at the time he enlisted. He enlisted at the age of 21 and was described as 5'6" tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was single and had been working as a farm laborer prior to the war. On September 7, 1861, he mustered in to Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. The men in the regiment came from the valley of Rock River in northern Illinois, so the regiment became known as the "Rock River Rifles." After being organized at Camp Butler in Springfield, Illinois, the regiment made its way to the Niolin River in Kentucky, where they set up quarters for the winter at Camp Nevin. The cold, rainy weather and change in diet took its toll on the men, many of whom became very ill with disease, but Pvt. Carr continued to be able to perform his duties. He spent his time drilling with the rest of his regiment in the use of arms, how to use his bayonet, how to skirmish and fulfill his daily duties. In April 1862, he was ready when the regiment participated in its first heavy action at Pittsburgh Landing in the Battle of Shiloh. He survived the battle and continued to see heavy action with the rest of his regiment throughout 1862 and 1863 in the siege of Corinth and battles at Lavergne, Knob Gap (Nolensville), Stone's River (Murfreesboro), Tiune and Liberty Gap, Graysville, and Chickamauga, Tennessee.
While in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he re-enlisted as a veteran on December 3, 1863. Then came the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Rome, Dallas, and Lost Mountain. He survived them all. On the morning of June 27, 1863, he prepared to fight in the battle of Kennesaw Mountain with the rest of his regiment. At 9 a.m. that morning, General Sherman's troops bombarded the Confederate positions and the 34th Illinois Infantry charged up Cheatham hill to overtake the Confederate troops. They reached the top of the Confederate earthworks and in brutal hand-to-hand combat, they tried in vain to overtake the enemy. However, they were outnumbered and the Confederate troops were firmly dug in. They were forced to fall back and when they had to leave some of their fallen comrades behind on the hill, one of them was Private Carr. He was an experienced veteran and an outstanding soldier whose records showed that during his entire time of service, he was never absent from duty for illness, or any other reason. But during the next roll call, he did not answer to his name. He was buried where he fell on Kennesaw mountain. Nearly 3,000 Union soldiers had died that day and when they were later re-interred at Marietta National Cemetery, somehow, his remains were missed.
For nearly 75 years, he would lay in an unknown grave. Then, in 1938, his remains were unearthed by workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps. His identify was a mystery, so Kennesaw battlefield park officials installed a headstone which simply said he was the "Unknown Soldier" of Cheatham Hill. The solitary grave, which was covered with rocks and surrounded by a split-rail fence, became a local landmark. Located along a jogging trail, many who visited the site or passed by would wonder for years who the unknown soldier could be. Then a local historian and Kennesaw battlefield park volunteer named Brad Quinlan took matters into his own hands. He pored through the re-internment records for the Marietta National Cemetery and the battle histories for the regiments who were at Kennesaw mountain. He determined that the 34th Illinois Infantry was the only regiment that fought in the exact spot where the unknown soldier was buried. From there, he isolated the potential soldiers to three men who had served with the Rock River Rifles. More research resulted in eliminating two of them. Then all of the cemeteries in northern Illinois were searched for the third, but no grave for him was found anywhere. After five years of detective work, during an event commemorating the battle of Kennesaw mountain, Quinlan revealed the name of the unknown soldier: Pvt. Mark Carr from Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. For 145 years, he had rested in an unknown grave.
"I hate unknowns...these men fought and they died. Don't we at least owe them a name?"
-Brad Quinlan, Historian and Kennewsaw Battlefield Park Volunteer
Inscription:
"An Unknown Soldier. Following the Civil War in 1866, nearly all Union dead were removed from the Atlanta campaign battlefields and hospital sites to Marietta National Cemetery. This grave was undiscovered until 1938. The Confederate earthworks in this vicinity were unsuccessfully assaulted by the Union brigade of Col. John G. Mitchell. This soldier - "known but to God" - was killed in action and buried where he fell."
Civil War Union veteran, formerly known as the "Unknown Soldier of Cheatham Hill" at Kennewsaw Mountain. Born in Indiana, he later moved to Washington township in Carroll County, Illinois, where he was living at the time he enlisted. He enlisted at the age of 21 and was described as 5'6" tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was single and had been working as a farm laborer prior to the war. On September 7, 1861, he mustered in to Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. The men in the regiment came from the valley of Rock River in northern Illinois, so the regiment became known as the "Rock River Rifles." After being organized at Camp Butler in Springfield, Illinois, the regiment made its way to the Niolin River in Kentucky, where they set up quarters for the winter at Camp Nevin. The cold, rainy weather and change in diet took its toll on the men, many of whom became very ill with disease, but Pvt. Carr continued to be able to perform his duties. He spent his time drilling with the rest of his regiment in the use of arms, how to use his bayonet, how to skirmish and fulfill his daily duties. In April 1862, he was ready when the regiment participated in its first heavy action at Pittsburgh Landing in the Battle of Shiloh. He survived the battle and continued to see heavy action with the rest of his regiment throughout 1862 and 1863 in the siege of Corinth and battles at Lavergne, Knob Gap (Nolensville), Stone's River (Murfreesboro), Tiune and Liberty Gap, Graysville, and Chickamauga, Tennessee.
While in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he re-enlisted as a veteran on December 3, 1863. Then came the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Rome, Dallas, and Lost Mountain. He survived them all. On the morning of June 27, 1863, he prepared to fight in the battle of Kennesaw Mountain with the rest of his regiment. At 9 a.m. that morning, General Sherman's troops bombarded the Confederate positions and the 34th Illinois Infantry charged up Cheatham hill to overtake the Confederate troops. They reached the top of the Confederate earthworks and in brutal hand-to-hand combat, they tried in vain to overtake the enemy. However, they were outnumbered and the Confederate troops were firmly dug in. They were forced to fall back and when they had to leave some of their fallen comrades behind on the hill, one of them was Private Carr. He was an experienced veteran and an outstanding soldier whose records showed that during his entire time of service, he was never absent from duty for illness, or any other reason. But during the next roll call, he did not answer to his name. He was buried where he fell on Kennesaw mountain. Nearly 3,000 Union soldiers had died that day and when they were later re-interred at Marietta National Cemetery, somehow, his remains were missed.
For nearly 75 years, he would lay in an unknown grave. Then, in 1938, his remains were unearthed by workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps. His identify was a mystery, so Kennesaw battlefield park officials installed a headstone which simply said he was the "Unknown Soldier" of Cheatham Hill. The solitary grave, which was covered with rocks and surrounded by a split-rail fence, became a local landmark. Located along a jogging trail, many who visited the site or passed by would wonder for years who the unknown soldier could be. Then a local historian and Kennesaw battlefield park volunteer named Brad Quinlan took matters into his own hands. He pored through the re-internment records for the Marietta National Cemetery and the battle histories for the regiments who were at Kennesaw mountain. He determined that the 34th Illinois Infantry was the only regiment that fought in the exact spot where the unknown soldier was buried. From there, he isolated the potential soldiers to three men who had served with the Rock River Rifles. More research resulted in eliminating two of them. Then all of the cemeteries in northern Illinois were searched for the third, but no grave for him was found anywhere. After five years of detective work, during an event commemorating the battle of Kennesaw mountain, Quinlan revealed the name of the unknown soldier: Pvt. Mark Carr from Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. For 145 years, he had rested in an unknown grave.
"I hate unknowns...these men fought and they died. Don't we at least owe them a name?"
-Brad Quinlan, Historian and Kennewsaw Battlefield Park Volunteer
"An Unknown Soldier. Following the Civil War in 1866, nearly all Union dead were removed from the Atlanta campaign battlefields and hospital sites to Marietta National Cemetery. This grave was undiscovered until 1938. The Confederate earthworks in this vicinity were unsuccessfully assaulted by the Union brigade of Col. John G. Mitchell. This soldier - "known but to God" - was killed in action and buried where he fell."
Civil War Union veteran, formerly known as the "Unknown Soldier of Cheatham Hill" at Kennewsaw Mountain. Born in Indiana, he later moved to Washington township in Carroll County, Illinois, where he was living at the time he enlisted. He enlisted at the age of 21 and was described as 5'6" tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was single and had been working as a farm laborer prior to the war. On September 7, 1861, he mustered in to Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. The men in the regiment came from the valley of Rock River in northern Illinois, so the regiment became known as the "Rock River Rifles." After being organized at Camp Butler in Springfield, Illinois, the regiment made its way to the Niolin River in Kentucky, where they set up quarters for the winter at Camp Nevin. The cold, rainy weather and change in diet took its toll on the men, many of whom became very ill with disease, but Pvt. Carr continued to be able to perform his duties. He spent his time drilling with the rest of his regiment in the use of arms, how to use his bayonet, how to skirmish and fulfill his daily duties. In April 1862, he was ready when the regiment participated in its first heavy action at Pittsburgh Landing in the Battle of Shiloh. He survived the battle and continued to see heavy action with the rest of his regiment throughout 1862 and 1863 in the siege of Corinth and battles at Lavergne, Knob Gap (Nolensville), Stone's River (Murfreesboro), Tiune and Liberty Gap, Graysville, and Chickamauga, Tennessee.
While in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he re-enlisted as a veteran on December 3, 1863. Then came the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Rome, Dallas, and Lost Mountain. He survived them all. On the morning of June 27, 1863, he prepared to fight in the battle of Kennesaw Mountain with the rest of his regiment. At 9 a.m. that morning, General Sherman's troops bombarded the Confederate positions and the 34th Illinois Infantry charged up Cheatham hill to overtake the Confederate troops. They reached the top of the Confederate earthworks and in brutal hand-to-hand combat, they tried in vain to overtake the enemy. However, they were outnumbered and the Confederate troops were firmly dug in. They were forced to fall back and when they had to leave some of their fallen comrades behind on the hill, one of them was Private Carr. He was an experienced veteran and an outstanding soldier whose records showed that during his entire time of service, he was never absent from duty for illness, or any other reason. But during the next roll call, he did not answer to his name. He was buried where he fell on Kennesaw mountain. Nearly 3,000 Union soldiers had died that day and when they were later re-interred at Marietta National Cemetery, somehow, his remains were missed.
For nearly 75 years, he would lay in an unknown grave. Then, in 1938, his remains were unearthed by workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps. His identify was a mystery, so Kennesaw battlefield park officials installed a headstone which simply said he was the "Unknown Soldier" of Cheatham Hill. The solitary grave, which was covered with rocks and surrounded by a split-rail fence, became a local landmark. Located along a jogging trail, many who visited the site or passed by would wonder for years who the unknown soldier could be. Then a local historian and Kennesaw battlefield park volunteer named Brad Quinlan took matters into his own hands. He pored through the re-internment records for the Marietta National Cemetery and the battle histories for the regiments who were at Kennesaw mountain. He determined that the 34th Illinois Infantry was the only regiment that fought in the exact spot where the unknown soldier was buried. From there, he isolated the potential soldiers to three men who had served with the Rock River Rifles. More research resulted in eliminating two of them. Then all of the cemeteries in northern Illinois were searched for the third, but no grave for him was found anywhere. After five years of detective work, during an event commemorating the battle of Kennesaw mountain, Quinlan revealed the name of the unknown soldier: Pvt. Mark Carr from Company I of the 34th Illinois Infantry. For 145 years, he had rested in an unknown grave.
"I hate unknowns...these men fought and they died. Don't we at least owe them a name?"
-Brad Quinlan, Historian and Kennewsaw Battlefield Park Volunteer
Bio by: Cindy K. Coffin
Advertisement
Advertisement
