Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.: City Profile

photo Adairsville High School's JROTC unarmed squad marches after completing an exhibition at Barnhardt Circle near the 6th Cavalry Musem in Fort Oglethorpe.

"German World War II prisoners who escaped from Fort Oglethorpe wanted to blend in, because they didn't want to go back to Germany. We must have treated them well."

- 6th Cavalry Museum employee Ron Davis

Location: About nine miles south of Chattanooga in Catoosa County, Ga.

Size: 13 square miles

Population: 9,263

Founded: Incorporated in 1949; the U.S. Army established the Chickamauga Post in 1902, which later was renamed Fort Oglethorpe.

Government: Lynn Long is mayor. City Council members are Earl Gray, Louis H. Hamm, Charles Sharrock, Johnnie Smith and Eddie Stinnett.

Schools: Battlefield Primary, Battlefield Elementary, Cloud Springs Elementary, Lakeview Middle, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High

Attraction: The 6th Cavalry Museum preserves the military history of the "Fighting 6th" Cavalry, stationed at Fort Oglethorpe from 1919 to 1942. Located on Barnhardt Circle, one block north of Chickamauga National Battlefield, it's open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday though Saturday. Admission is $3 adults; $2 students and seniors, free for children 12 and under.

Historical note: Fort Oglethorpe was the largest U.S. camp for German prisoners during World War II.

Famous landmark: Barnhardt Circle is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It features officers' homes, band barracks and guardhouses that surrounded the Army post's parade ground.

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