Griswoldville Battlefield is located east of Griswoldville in middle Georgia, 10 miles east of Macon via U.S. 80 and Highway 57 towards Gordon on Baker Road. There are signs to direct visitors from U.S. 80.
- Open only during daylight hours.
- No fee and no facilities.
- Monument, historic marker, flagpole, kiosk and parking area available.
The Battle of Griswoldville happened on November 22, 1864 and was the only infantry battle opposing General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah. Just east of the industrial town of Griswoldville, where there was a Confederate pistol factory and other mills, about 4300 Georgia Militia under Brig. Gen. Pleasant Philips fought 3000 Union soldiers under Brig. Gen. Charles Walcutt and Col. Robert Catterson after Walcutt was wounded. The battle ended at sundown without a surrender, but the Union army held its ground and the Militia retired with about 51 soldiers killed and at least 422 wounded. About 13 Union soldiers died, 79 wounded, 2 missing. The battle is considered a Union victory, but the bravery of the Georgia militiamen who charged repeatedly into heavy fire, many of them youth and elderly men, is not forgotten.
Battleline Branch is now a quiet wooded stream and the scene of battle now old fields and woods. A small monument and parking area, historic marker, flagpole and kiosk are all that would let a passerby know what had happened there. This seventeen acre portion of the battlefield is now owned by the state of Georgia and administered by Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site, Juliette, for the Parks and Historic Sites Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
An official website of the State of Georgia.
