PHOTOS FROM POLK OBSERVANCES

Bishop-General Leonidas Polk Memorial Services this Saturday

ABOVE: Soldiers of Bishop Polk's corps, with his personally designed corps flag, prepare to repel Yankee invaders.

The Memorial services for Bishop-General Leonidas Polk will be held in Marietta and Atlanta this Saturday, June 18, 2011.

At 10:00 a.m. atop Pine Mountain, a memorial service will be held at the location where Lt. General Leonidas Polk was killed by an artillery shell. Polk was the highest ranking Confederate officer to die in combat in the Western Theater.

The guest speaker this year is the Hon. Richard T. Hines, former member of the South Carolina legislature, and deputy administrator of the General Services Agency during the Reagan administration. Richard has been a tireless defender of the right of Southerners to honor their war dead, and has organized the annual memorial services for the Confederate dead held annually in Arlington National Cemetery since 1981. Richard is the owner and CEO of RTH Consulting Services located in Alexandria, Virginia. A leader in the Sons of Confederate Veterans for over 40 years he is a powerful speaker in the mold of the old Southern orators.

Volunteers for a firing party are encouraged.

How to get to the Pine Mountain site:

If you use GPS, the closest address is: 1437 Beaumont Drive, Kennesaw, Georgia.

The site can be reached by taking I-75 to Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw. Turn west and cross Cobb Parkway (US Highway 41) proceeding onto Stilesboro Road. Turn right on Stilesboro and head north.

Beaumont Drive is a "T" intersection with Stilesboro to the south. It comes off between the intersections of Pine Mountain Circle (to the east) and Duxbury Lane (to the west).

Proceed on Beaumont Drive to the historical marker on the right side of the road. Park and walk into the site. The site is about 300 feet from the road. Watch out for poison ivy!

At 6:00 p.m., services for the Bishop-General will be held in Atlanta at St. Hilda’s Anglican Catholic Church.

The service will be conducted in the style of the Church in 1864 when Bishop Polk was living.

Relics of the Bishop-General are at St. Hilda’s.

If you use a GPS, the address for St. Hilda’s is: 414 No. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30307, which is about two miles east of downtown Atlanta.

To reach the Church by automobile:

From the North or South, take Interstate 75/85 to exit 248C, Freedom Parkway. Follow the signs to the Carter Center. Take the first exit on Freedom Parkway after passing the "Peace" mosaic bridge. Passing the Carter Center on your left, take a right on N. Highland Ave. at the next traffic light. Church is two blocks down on the right at the corner of N. Highland Ave. and Washita Ave.

From the East or West, take Interstate 20 to the Moreland Avenue North exit, following Moreland Avenue north approximately two miles to Freedom Parkway. Turn left on Freedom Parkway, then turn left on N. Highland Ave. Church is two blocks down on the right, corner of N. Highland Ave. and Washita Ave.

To reach the Church by MARTA:

Atlanta has a mass transit system which serves the Church. Catch a MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) train to the "Five Points" station. At Five Points, catch a "16 Noble" bus to the Carter Library. Church is just south of the bus stop, away from the Carter Center, down Washita Ave., only one block.

Period dress encouraged at both events.

Martin K. O'Toole
Lt. General Leonidas Polk Camp #1446
Smyrna, Georgia