Joseph Oliver Freeman was born March 25, 1839, and was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19, 1863, at the age of twenty three. He left behind his wife, Indiana and a son, his other two children having died as infants.

The Battle of Chickamauga, which occurred September 17-20, 1863, was the largest battle fought in Georgia during the Civil War. Union general William S. Rosecrans devised a campaign aiming to force the Confederate troops out of Chattanooga. In early September, Rosecrans consolidated his forces in Tennessee and Georgia and forced Confederate general Braxton Bragg’s army out of Chattanooga and into Georgia. Bragg was determined to reoccupy Chattanooga and decided to engage part of Rosecrans’ army near Chickamauga Creek, and retake the city. On the September 17, he headed north, and fighting broke out at the crossing points of Chickamauga Creek. The next day Bragg continued north where the two opposing cavalry forces met. Fighting continued on the morning of the 19th, but Bragg’s failed to break the Union line. Early the next day, Bragg repelled a Union assault and managed to drive one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, from the field. The Union army returned to Chattanooga while the Confederate forces occupied the surrounding heights.