03415 - Confederate Palisades & chevaux-de-frise near Ponder House, Atlanta, GA 1864
“I heard repeatedly that the Yankee gents can’t get their men to charge our works” – Texas color bearer
On August 9, 1864, more than 5,000 shells were shot into Atlanta, Ga. by U.S. Gen. Tecumseh Sherman’s troops. The widow’s walk atop of Ephraim Ponder’s stone home on the outskirts of Atlanta, gave Confederate snipers a convenient perch to fire at U.S. Gen. John Geary’s artillery. The Federals in turn, targeted, “The Sniper’s Nest”. It is estimated that the Ponder house endured more than 100 shells and absorbed more than a ton of shrapnel.
A sandbag redoubt and the spiked logs called chevaux-de-frise that were a part of Atlanta’s northern defense perimeter seem to “guard” the remains of Ponder’s two story home and outbuildings.
