Atlanta marks burning of city during Civil War - WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 - Charleston News, Sports, Weather

Atlanta marks burning of city during Civil War

ATLANTA (AP) -- Atlanta has unveiled a new marker commemorating the 1864 burning of the city after its capture by Union forces, although the local NAACP chapter wants it moved.

The marker unveiled Monday stands at the old city center, where the fires began after Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman captured the Confederacy's railroad hub.

Authorities in Georgia earlier placed about 1,000 markers across the state to identify sites with Civil War history. But no one had previously commemorated the burning of the city on Nov. 15, 1864. Modern historians estimate the blazes burned about 40 percent of Atlanta.

Atlanta NAACP President R.L. White Jr. said his organization objects to placing the plaque on a plaza facing Martin Luther King Drive. He said he wants it moved elsewhere.