In December 1899, Civil War veteran Lansing J. Dawdy of the 86th Illinois regiment purchased 60 acres of land in Marietta, Georgia, moved by a resolution of the Colonel Dan McCook Brigade Association to buy the ground where the brigade fought and McCook was mortally wounded at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. In 1901, Dawdy gave the land to the Kennesaw Memorial Association, whose goal was to place a monument at Cheatham Hill honoring McCook Brigade troops. In 1917, the 60 acres were transferred to the War Department, and later President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order transferring War Department military and historical parks, including these 60 acres, to the National Park Service. Dawdy's purchase at Cheatham Hill became the beginning of what grew into the 2,965 acre Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, preserving the area's historic and natural significance for future generations.