High atop the craggy spine of Rocky Face Ridge in Whitfield County, Georgia, lies a single grave. The marble marker is simple, but the story behind it is anything but ordinary. Buried here is Private George Disney, a young English-born Kentuckian of the Confederate Orphan Brigade, who died in February 1864 under circumstances as haunting as they are poignant.
By the winter of 1863–64, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee had settled around Dalton, Georgia, after retreating from Missionary Ridge. Rocky Face Ridge, with its sheer cliffs and commanding views, became a defensive stronghold. From its heights Confederate soldiers could watch Union forces gathering in the valley below, even as everyone knew Sherman was preparing his drive toward Atlanta.
Below is the Atlanta Campaign May-September 1864 overview map, with Rocky Face Ridge marked. This map was published by the Western and Atlantic Railroad published in 1887…