The 13 block stroll is a free self-guided tour through the Old Decatur Historic District. Similar to markers at national parks, the plaques on the Decatur tour carry the reader through important events of the four day battle and in the overall history of the community. The city of Decatur provided a grant for the historical markers. Visitors have always been impressed with Decatur's rich history and its wealth of attractions and special events. She noted that the September Skirmish, a Civil War Reenactment., is held each Labor Day weekend at Point Mallard, a municipal park on the Tennessee River.
Admission is free to the living history event.
During the Civil War, Decatur was a strategic location for the South because here the Memphis and Charleston railroad crossed the Tennessee River. While Sherman's juggernaut was driving deep into Georgia in 1864 its lifeline ran back to Nashville, Tenn., where a Union depot supplied all of the ammunition, food, reinforcements and medical supplies for his army. Confederate General John Bell Hood, known as a hard fighter because of the devastating attacks he delivered, had held Sherman's troops out of the gates of Atlanta for three months before being forced back in September. Hood now felt a strike at Sherman's supply lines would force the federals into retreat. In a bold plan, the gallant Southern commander believed a quick victory at Nashville could reverse the course of the war for the Confederacy.