The monument honors the soldiers from Illinois who fought in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War.

On June 27, 1864, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain took place in north Georgia as part of the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War.

[1] That day, Lansing Dawdy, a Mason and adjutant in the 86th Illinois Infantry Regiment, was shot and severely wounded during a charge on the Dead Angle (Cheatham Hill).

[2] By 1899, 65 acres (26 hectares) of land encompassing all of Cheatham's Hill was owned by a person named Channell, and it was a popular tourist attraction.

At the time, there was a growing push for historic preservation of the area, especially among veterans of Daniel McCook Jr.'s brigade, which had participated in the battle.

[5] According to that month's issue of Stone magazine, "sixty acres of ground [had] been secured" by the association, which intended to erect memorials on the site, including those honoring Union Army troops from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

[3][4] According to author Sean P. Graham, the monument and surrounding 60 acres (24 hectares) would go on to form the basis for the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, with the property coming under the ownership of the U.S. government in 1926.

[note 2] The statue depicts a Union soldier at parade rest with two Greek figures on either side of him representing "peace" and either "victory" or the state of Illinois.

/ COMMANDED BY LT. COL. A. L. FAHNESTOCK.Additionally, an inscription in the bottom corner on the rear of the monument bears the name of the Illinois governor, architect, sculptor, commissioners, and contractors for the project.