Mapping the past with the present

Charlie Crawford has been giving Civil War tours of Atlanta for nearly a decade. He finds the city’s lack of vestiges helpful in his efforts to save historic battlefields around the state.

“I tell people, ‘This is what it looks like when you don’t do preservation,’” says Crawford, president of the non-profit Georgia Battlefield Association. “That in itself really helps raise people’s awareness. There’s a stark contrast between battlefields that can be saved and the ones that were not.”

Even if Atlanta’s battlefields were bulldozed away decades ago, what happened here can never be erased. This map brings together the important events and areas of destruction from 1864. Additionally, the Downtown area shows the specific main businesses, facilities and homes, based on the research of Ken Denney.

The modern-day layer allows you to see where they occurred relative to today's streets and neighborhoods.

We hope you've enjoyed this interactive experience.