In the second Battle of Chattanooga, the northerners are attacking from the south.

In 1818, the state of Georgia hired a mathematician named James Camak to survey the border with Tennessee, which had been decreed in 1796 as the 35^th parallel. Georgia wouldn’t provide Camak with any modern equipment, so he completed the job with a naval sextant. And screwed it up. Camak placed the border 1.1 miles too far south, giving Tennessee a little extra territory. The mistake was soon discovered, but was never fixed. For years, folks have paid school taxes in one state while their kids attend school across the border. Gas companies from one state service customers in the other, even when they have no license to operate there. Everyone just dealt with it.

But then Georgia dried up. So many Yankees have recently settled in Atlanta that they’ve sucked up all water. In the midst of this man-made drought, Georgia State Senator David Shafer realized that, if the border were pushed back to its “rightful” place, Georgia’s territory would include an ever-so-tiny-but-so-cool-and-refreshing slice of the Tennessee River, just south of Chattanooga. Boy howdy, instant water! Last week Shafer introduced Georgia State Resolution 822, requiring a retro-re-drawing of the border along the 35^th parallel.

Does Tennessee mind the idea of a few water pumps along their river? Well, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen was “a little surprised” when he heard about it. House Majority Leader Gary Odom said, “I think we need to have our militia down there.” Justin Wilson, a Nashville attorney and former deputy governor, was slightly more agitated: “Us good Tennesseeans will take our long rifles up to Lookout Mountain and fire when ready.”

Almost all of Georgia’s legislature has signed the Resolution. Which means nothing if Tennessee and Congress don’t agree. Georgia could take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. And failing that? Guns along the Tennessee.