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Establishing the Monument On June 27, 1864, the bloodiest fighting at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain took place at Cheatham Hill. One of the Union casualties was Col. Dan McCook, the beloved commander of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Fourteenth Army Corps. After the war, the Colonel Dan McCook Brigade Association was established by the survivors who wanted to honor their leader. In December 1899, a veteran of the 86th Illinois named Lansing Dawdy purchased 60 acres of land from Virgil Channell. The area included both Federal and Confederate trenches as well as Cheatham Hill. The land exchanged hands in February 1900, to Martin Kingman and John McGinnis who were acting on behalf of the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Association, a non-profit organization who was chartered by the State of Illinois to erect a monument or monuments to honor the memory of those who fought and died. The land was later given to the Colonel Dan McCook Brigade Associate on August 13, 1904. Fundraising and the Dedication Although a fundraising campaign had been established, a letter was sent to the surviving veterans of the Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio regiments that had fought at Cheatham Hill. The veterans were asked if they would send at least a dollar toward the monument. The Association was not able to raise the needed amount. In 1913, the State of Illinois provided the remaining $20,000 to pay for what would become the Illinois Monument. On June 27, 1914, fifty years after the battle had taken place, the monument was unveiled. The ceremony was attended by Governor of Illinois Edward Dunne and his staff, the Marietta Chamber of Commerce, many prominent citizens, various civic and patriotic organizations, several thousand spectators, as well as a large number of veterans. The monument was unveiled by Sarah Fadely, an 11 year old girl whose grandfather was a drummer boy at the battle. After the unveiling, various dedication speeches were given in addition to the day's festivities. Creation of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Two years after the dedication, the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Association wrote to the Secretary of War and offered to deed the land to the United States government. On February 8, 1917, Congress passed the bill which established the 60 acres as the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Site; however, the property transfer was delayed until 1926 due to clarification of the land title. In 1926, a three man commission was establish to determine the location of a national memorial military park. A unanimous decision was made in favor of Kennesaw Mountain. Shortly after the War Department transferred administration of the site to the National Park Service, arrangements began to make the site a military park. On June 26, 1935, the site became an official military park and was renamed Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. With this new designation the park was expanded to include Big Kennesaw and Little Kennesaw Mountains in addition to other portions of the original battlefield. However, on October 25, 1947, the secretary of the Interior declared the park to be officially established.