June 2025’s Cover Photo: Kolb’s Farm

On June 22, 1864, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston sent approximately 13,000 troops under the command of Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood down the Powder Springs Road in Kennesaw, Georgia, in an attempt to halt the Federal army threat on his left flank. As a result, Confederate skirmishers encountered 11,000 enemy soldiers under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s command.

At around 4 p.m., Hood ordered two of his three divisions toward the Federals, who began digging in after Hooker learned of Hood’s plans from Confederate prisoners. After several unsuccessful charges, and 1,000 Confederate casualties, the battered Rebels withdrew. The Union lost less than 300 men. Despite the Confederate losses, the assault temporarily stalled Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s flanking move and contributed to his decision to attack Kennesaw Mountain on June 27.

The Kolb Farm is the only surviving Civil War structure within the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. The 600-acre rural farm plantation once belonged to the widow of Peter Valentine Kolb. In this small, wooden dog-trot house, Mrs. Kolb resided with her family until the approaching Federal army forced the family to flee to Madison, Georgia. Like many of the residents of the local Kennesaw area, the Kolb’s returned to find the family farm in ruins from the deadly deed that had taken place on the grounds of their property.

Earlier this year, I took the opportunity to walk the grounds of the property. The Kolb family home was a harsh reminder of the toll of the American Civil War. The war not only took the lives of so many men who wore blue and grey but also altered the lives of millions of American families. Everything that the family worked for was lost in an instant, a poignant reminder of how short life can be and how everything can change in one, small instant. In honor of all the families that endured the effects of the American Civil War, this photo that I took while visiting the property is a reminder of how great the cost of the war was for so many.