Date of Visit: July 5, 2014
Location:
Dalton, Whitfield, Georgia
Lat
34.644501
Long -84.389847
This grave is located near the end of the George Disney
Trail in Dalton, Georgia. This trail ascends Rocky Face Mountain to a location
referred to as Buzzard Roost. The trailhead for this trail is behind the State
Trooper Post on Highway 41. This is an awesome hiking trail. It is also step in
some places. My GPS had the altitude in the parking lot as 913 feet above sea
level. The grave at 1492 feet. I am not sure of the distance of the hike. We
missed the grave going up and we hike quite a ways out Rocky Face Ridge. We were very tired when we returned to
the truck.
Inscription:
In Memory of George Disney
Co K 4 KY Inft
Killed
Feb 24 1864
Erected By
Dalton Boy Scouts
1912
George’s Story was well documented in 1898 by Ed Thomson
Porter in The History of the Orphan
Brigade. The following is taken verbatim from pages 238 and 239
A Singular Death.
In February, 1864, Rocky Face Ridge was occupied by Johnston as a
signal station. The Fourth Kentucky was so deployed as to form a living
telegraph line from the valley next
to Dalton to the top and front face of the Ridge at a point where, next
to the Federals, the ascent was perpendicular. From the top of this ridge the
Federal army was in full view. The next day after the formation of this line,
there was a collision of the Federal and Con
federate forces on the right of our line, and when the Federals would move,
word was passed from man to man of the living telegraph, as, " Two more
brigades advancing on such and such a point." The first night after the
formation of the telegraph, the men slept at their posts. The next morning
George Disney, a private of Company B, arose to a sitting posture, after a
nights sleep on the top of this height in the open air, and was in the act of
gaping, as many men are wont to do on first awaking. He was seen suddenly to
resume his recumbent position, as though resolved to take another nap ; but
after he had
been so lying for an hour or two, men who tried to wake him found that
life had departed. A careful examination at the time disclosed no wound, and it
was conjectured that he had died from failure of the heart or other disease.
Later, another examination was made, and
while washing the face of the corpse, the hair on the back of his head was
found stiff from clotted blood ; and it was then clear that while gaping a
minie ball from a Federal musket in the valley in front had entered the open
mouth and crashed through the back of the head of the unfortunate soldier. He
was a native of England. Virginius
Hutcfien, (Fourth Kentucky).
