Congressman Jody Hice says the Kettle Creek Battlefield, a Revolutionary War site in Wilkes County, has been designated as an affiliated area of the US National Parks Service. Republican Hice says the designation will enhance efforts to preserve the site. The Battle at Kettle Creek took place on Valentines Day in 1779.
From the office of US Representative Jody Hice…
“I am thrilled to announce that Kettle Creek Battlefield is now an affiliated site of the National Park System,” said Congressman Hice. “The American Revolutionary War battle at Kettle Creek on February 14, 1779, was the first major victory for Patriot forces in Georgia and had a critical impact on the course of the war, demonstrating conclusively that the British forces could never pacify the South’s frontier backcountry. With this designation, the NPS recognizes the national significance of the Kettle Creek victory and makes a commitment to preserve this important history for future generations. As we approach the anniversary of the battle, I hope this news will help spark renewed interest in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution.
“This is an enormous win for all of us who have spent years working towards this goal, and I want to extend a special ‘thank you’ to the many organizations who helped make this happen, including Wilkes County, the Kettle Creek Battlefield Association, the American Battlefield Trust, the Georgia Battlefields Association, the Georgia Piedmont Land Trust, and the Watson-Brown Foundation. Their years of hard work and the tremendous way in which the community came together to host NPS Acting Director Dan Smith in May 2019 made it possible for Kettle Creek Battlefield to finally receive the recognition it deserves.”
Efforts to have Kettle Creek Battlefield made into a national park date back nearly 100 years. On multiple occasions, U.S. Senator Richard Russell pushed for acquisition of the property. Throughout the 1970s, Georgia Representative Robert Grier Stephens, Jr. and Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge introduced bills to establish Kettle Creek as a national monument. More recently, Rep. Hice introduced legislation (H.R. 306) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the battlefield. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on December 3, 2020.
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