Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Atlanta. 108 Spectacular Outings in North-Central Georgia онлайн

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The battle began on September 19 and raged into the next day, with the Confederates and Union soldiers launching a series of attacks and counterattacks in dense forest that was occasionally broken by farm fields. It was a chaotic scene as the tangled woods limited the visibility of the fighting men, causing great confusion.

The Confederates made several unsuccessful attempts to break the Union lines. Then, on September 20, Rosecrans inadvertently created a gap in his line of men, and forces under Confederate Gen. James Longstreet took advantage by plowing through the hole and driving a large portion of the Union army out of the area. That evening, the entire Union army withdrew to positions near Chattanooga.

Benton MacKaye Trail

Named for the man who first proposed the construction of the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) stretches 300 miles from the top of Springer Mountain in Georgia to Davenport Gap on the northern fringe of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. MacKaye not only envisioned what is now the AT, but he also hoped that a series of side trails would link the AT to other green spaces along the route, including a path along the Blue Ridge in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The surge in backpacking in the 1970s increased traffic on the AT, and the U.S. Forest Service worked with trail clubs to construct a series of alternate trails that would be less developed and have no established campsites or shelters. Employees of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources pushed the idea forward, working with the U.S. Forest Service and trail clubs. Formed in 1980, the Benton MacKaye Trail Association began plotting the course for this new trail system, and by 1989 the 80 miles of the BMT that run through Georgia were completed. Work continued to construct the BMT’s northern course, and on July 16, 2005, the plan was completed and the entire trail was officially opened.