Pigeon Hill and the New Salem Community

The New Salem Church site was a central gathering spot for the community in the 19th century

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

South of Burnt Hickory Rd and Pigeon Hill

Significance:

Site of historic New Salem Community

Designation:

National Battlefield Park

Amenities

7 listed

Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Trailhead, Water - Bottle-Filling Station, Water - Drinking/Potable

According to local tradition, Pigeon Hill was given its name because it served as a roosting site for migrating flocks of passenger pigeons before their destruction in the late Nineteenth Century. Most wartime military reports simply refer to it as the Kennesaw Spur. By 1860 the New Salem community, with its several small farms, Baptist church, saw mill and small school house, stood along the Burnt Hickory Road at the base of Pigeon Hill. The Hardage, York, Wallis, and Kirk families lived, worked, studied and worshipped in this peaceful and thriving agrarian neighborhood. They grew wheat, maize, sweet potatoes, cotton, peas, beans and oats. Generally the livestock consisted of oxen to pull the wagon or plow, a milking cow, some hens to lay eggs, a sheep or two for wool and a few hogs. Most of the families had 40 to 80 acres of land cleared to farm. Wood-frame houses or log cabins provided shelter for the family while various out buildings stood conveniently near within the farm itself. Rough-hewn worm-rail fences snaked around the fields, preventing free-ranging animals from invading crops. Farm life was difficult. The constant labor was physically and mentally exhausting. Sunday, a day for attending services at New Salem Baptist Church, socializing, and resting, offered hard-working families a welcome respite from farm chores. In the summer of 1864 this peaceful way of life was disrupted by the arrival of the two competing armies. The crest and western slope of Pigeon Hill were occupied by Confederate forces under the overall command of General Joseph E. Johnston. Arrayed against the Confederates were elements of the Union army commanded by Major General William T. Sherman. On June 27^th, 1864, roughly 4,500 Union soldiers would attack the area that you are about to visit.