Afoot and Afield: Atlanta. MARCUS WOOLF

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      Helm monument

      At 2 miles, turn right onto Brotherton Road and walk down this tranquil lane to Alexander Road. Turn left (southeast) onto Alexander Road and continue to a spot where cannons sit on each side of the road (Waypoint 2). Turn right and go into the forest to take the Green Trail. At a clearing in tall pines sits the monument for Confederate Brig. Gen. Preston Smith, who died the same hour as Baldwin. Also, note the striking metal mural on the side of the monument for the Pennsylvania 77th Regiment. One of the more interesting aspects of the battlefield is the great number of elaborate and detailed memorials. Facing Preston’s monument, turn right (west) and take the Green Trail, and at 2.5 miles cross Brotherton Road.

      Enter the Yellow Trail and go north on a wide, grassy path for a good stretch, passing the monument for Brig. Gen. James Deshler, who fell at noon on September 20, 1863. Two years earlier, Deshler had been shot in both thighs during the battle of Allegheny Mountain in West Virginia, but he recovered. It took an artillery shell to kill him at Chickamauga, and he was hit while inspecting his brigade before an attack.

      From Deshler’s monument, continue north, cross Battle Line Road and look northwest for the cannonball monument resting at the near edge of Kelly Field (Waypoint 3). Here, Union Col. Edward A. King, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the Union’s 4th Division, was wounded, and he died two days later. From King’s monument, go back to Battle Line Road, turn right (south), and enter the White Trail. You will reach a four-way trail junction, and go straight to take the Blue Trail.

      At 5 miles, turn right onto Viniard Road, traveling northwest, and cross LaFayette Road. Some of the fiercest fighting took place in this area on September 19—Union Col. John T. Wilder said that men “fell in heaps.” From here, turn right and walk north on Lafayette Road. Immediately to the left downhill is the monument for Union Col. Hans C. Heg, who was born in Norway and immigrated to America with his family in 1840. He died here after he was shot in the abdomen (Waypoint 4). From Heg’s monument, walk back toward the road and turn left onto the Yellow Trail.

      At 5.5 miles turn left at a T intersection onto the Red Trail and take this across Glenn-Kelly Road. You will pass the monument for Union Brig. Gen. William H. Lytle, a lawyer and poet who died while leading an attack on horseback. Ahead you’ll walk between two large fields and pass the monument marking the headquarters for Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans, leader of the Union army of the Cumberland (Waypoint 5). Cross Dyer Road, ascend the low hill, and at 6.9 miles you’ll reach a four-way intersection. Turn right onto a dirt road and go northeast.

      At 7.5 miles, turn left onto a gravel road and go northwest. Look left for an open field and cabin, which housed the Snodgrass family who lived on this land during the war. From here you’ll take an easy walk along small roads heading back to the visitor center.

      At 7.9 miles, turn left onto an old paved road and go north. At 8.3 miles, turn right and go northeast. Cross the field to the cannons marking Slocum’s Louisiana Battery. From the cannons, turn left and return to the visitor center.

      WAYPOINTS

      1. N34º 56.361' W85º 15.599'

      2. N34º 55.318' W85º 14.763'

      3. N34º 55.654' W85º 15.445'

      4. N34º 54.231' W85º 15.731'

      5. N34º 54.952' W85º 16.313'