{"nrhp_refnum":"80000996","name":"Camp McDonald","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Off U.S. 41","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kennesaw","county":"Cobb County","state":"GA","lat":34.02110317250006,"lon":-84.61741914283198,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Camp McDonald Historic Site is a 60-acre site in Kennesaw, Cobb County, Georgia, that served as a Civil War military training camp from 1861 to 1863, built by the State of Georgia.","why_significant":"It was one of three camps designated by Gov. Joseph E. Brown in 1861 for training Georgia soldiers, and one of four military-training camps established in Georgia during the war. Thousands of Confederate soldiers trained here, including Phillips Legion, and Andrews' Raid was staged at its gates in 1862. The camp was destroyed by Union troops in 1864.","narrative":"Camp McDonald was a Civil War training ground on about 60 acres in Kennesaw, Cobb County, Georgia. Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown designated it in 1861 as one of three camps for training the state's soldiers, and it operated until 1863. The site was chosen for its spring and creek, its high ground for facilities and maneuvers, and its position beside the state-owned Western and Atlantic Railroad. Thousands of Confederate soldiers trained here, among them the 3,000-man unit known as Phillips Legion, officially the Fourth Brigade of Georgia Volunteers. In 1862 Andrews' Raid, the episode later popularized in a film as the Great Locomotive Chase, was staged at the camp's gates. Union troops destroyed the camp, the nearby depot and a hotel in 1864, and General Sherman had targeted it. Today the land is mostly undeveloped, with a city park, school, cemetery, small houses and two banks on or near its edges.","period_of_significance":"1861-1863","architect_builder":"State of Georgia","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Current use is mixed: commercial, residential, educational, religious and park uses, with the rest largely undeveloped. Natural features include a spring and creek.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.487163-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/80000996.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93205938","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/cobb-county/camp-mcdonald-80000996/"}