The Battle of LaFayette exhibit inside John B. Gordon Hall is open to the public in May and June.
Tours provided by the Walker County Historical Society are offered on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
“In the spring of 1864, Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign,” society vice president Connie Forester said, telling the story behind the battle. “Not wanting to leave his supply lines vulnerable to Confederate raiders, he left several military units in the Chattanooga area.”
During the siege of Chattanooga, the men and animals of the Federal Army experienced severe food shortages, she continued. Many of the animals died during the winter of 1863-1864. Those that survived were in poor condition by the spring of 1864.
“Therefore, the high command of the Union Army at Chattanooga issued orders stating that the animals be taken to surrounding areas where there was better grazing,” Forester said. “In order to provide better grazing for the animals and try to control Confederate guerrilla bands operating in North Georgia, Col. Louis D. Watkins, a native of Georgia, was sent to LaFayette with 450 men and a herd of horses. These men were elements of the 4th, 6th and 7th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment. The men were quartered in tents and vacant buildings. Watkins set up his headquarters in the Goree Hotel.”