Battle of The Narrows

During The Civil War, after The Battle of Atlanta, General Sherman sent out raiding parties to confiscate or destroy property and supplies that could be of any use to The Confederacy. As a result of one of these raiding parties, on October 12, 1864, a battle took place in an area which is now in the northeast corner of Banks County, southeast corner of Habersham County and southwest corner of Stephens County. This battle was "The Battle of the Narrows" and is sometimes referred to as "The Battle of Currahee", due to being fought within sight of Currahee Mountain. Something happened in this battle that Sherman had not planned on. In some way, the residents in this area of Habersham and Banks County found out that a raiding party was headed their way. The route of the raiding party would take them through a narrow mountain pass and south of Currahee Mountain into the rich Tugaloo Valley. My Grandfather told me, as he had been told by his Father, that a group made up of old men and young boys lay in wait on both sides of this narrow pass and when the raiding party entered the pass they were soundly defeated. This group not only had the advantage  of being concealed on both sides of the pass they also were excellent marksman. This was their way of life, for in this area that they were raised in, their rifles where their way of killing game for the table. They didn't have the luxury of an unlimited supply of ammunition for their rifles so they knew that each shot had to be on target. I can imagine that it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Only a small number of the defending group were wounded and they were cared for by their neighbors. This was a very important battle for the area because it prevented the pillaging and destruction that Atlanta had been subjected to.
    Why do I think that our ancestors were there? The battle was fought in their backyard and for the fact that the story was passed down to descendants by those that could have been there. It also stands to reason that our ancestors would have stood up to resist any attempt of the "Yankees" to take or destroy anything that belonged to them.

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