Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 20

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294

USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I > Part 20

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Loring succeeded to the command of Polk's corps, and the general dispo- sitions were soon changed, for Johnston found that his line of separate moun- tains was untenable, and giving up Lost mountain as well as Pine moun- tain, he defined a shorter and stronger line of battle about Kennesaw, which baffled every assault. The Federal forces were promptly moved up to meet the situation, fortified themselves afresh, and disposing infantry and artillery to great advantage, were ready, June 27, for the terrible venture made by Mc- Pherson and Thomas to crush the Confederates under Loring and Hardee. With terrific cannonading and impetuous infantry assaults, the Union forces rolled in billows of fire against the Confederate entrenchments, and as often ebbed in broken battalions to cover of their trenches. The veteran division of Cheatham and Cleburne, in Hardee's corps, and those of French and Featherstone, in Loring's corps, bore the brunt of the furious attacks made by men equally

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MILITARY HISTORY.

veteran and equally brave. They had met before on many fields and knew each other's mettle. The trained troops of Thomas, who had stood their ground at Chickamauga against the fiercest Confederate charges, here met with a valor as stubbornly firm as their own. McPherson led his men to the fight, animating them by his own chivalric spirit, only to see them recoil in bloody, broken regiments. The storm of battle only subsided with the sinking of the sun, and the day's deeds satisfied both armies of the intrepid courage of each and gave to history an illustrious example of the fighting qualities of American soldiers.

As the sequel of these efforts for three weeks to batter down the living wall of Confederates, interposed between the state and a sweeping desolation, the direct attack in front was abandoned and Sherman began an adroit march toward the Chattahoochee river, intending, as he states in his reports, to "avoid the Kennesaw hill." In anticipation of this maneuver, Johnston had caused forti- fications to be constructed near the river, and the governor of Georgia co-operat- ing with the Confederate commander had forwarded to this line the state troops commanded by Gen. G. W. Smith. It has been understood in the current story of the continuous fighting from Chattanooga to Kennesaw that the governor of the state and its people manifested deeply their interest in all military opera- tions. Every department of state government was practically on military duty and the intense strain of popular concern can scarcely be conceived. The dread of invasion with all its horrors darkened nearly every home. The boom of the hostile cannon now swelled along the hills below Marietta and rolled gloomily away south of the Chattahoochee. All along that river from Roswell to West Point the Georgia militia division had been picketed under Johnston's orders to guard the crossings until called to the support of the cavalry on the left wing at Kennesaw, where they were engaged in the fighting of the final days. "When the army fell back they were the last infantry withdrawn to the fortified position," and were assigned a place in Hood's corps. Clearly baffling pursuit and suc- cessfully repelling the minor attacks made during the withdrawal, Johnston moved his army across the Chattahoochee, July 9, and threw it on guard at Atlanta. Sherman moving eastward from his position at Marietta, crossed above Peachtree creek, and advancing parallel with that stream, marched left in front until Schofield and McPherson reached Decatur, leaving the right of the Federal army commanded by Thomas well up against the left bank of the Chattahoochee. According to Gen. Wheeler's report, made to Confederate headquarters, the entire Federal army was crossing the river July 17, and moving against Atlanta.

HOOD SUPERSEDES JOHNSTON.

Just before noon of the same day Gen. Johnston received orders from the Confederate secretary of war, relieving him and assigning the command of the army to Gen. Hood. On receiving the orders assigning to him the great trust at this critical emergency, Hood earnestly urged Johnston to retain the com- mand and joined with other officers in telegrams to President Davis, entreating the recall of the untimely order. The Confederate president declined the request with courteous replies, assigning reasons which he regarded as his entire justi- fication, and nothing remained to be done but the acceptance of the situation. Two days, including July 17 and 18, were wasted by the Confederates. Johnston remained with the army for nearly that time, and during these important hours the southern force appears to have been without an active directing head. Hood writes of the confusion incident to this change of commanders, announces his want of information and states that he consumed the greater part of the day in

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vain endeavors to adjust the existing difficulties. But in the meanwhile Sherman was marching his great armies directly across the front of Atlanta, only a few miles distant, and even exposing them to serious and dangerous assaults if made by an alert organized foe. The Federal "armies," as Sherman properly calls his command, were active on July 18, each moving separately into position. Thomas covered Buckhead and faced Peachtree creek, Schofield turned into Decatur and McPherson marched far down to Clarkston on the Georgia railroad and then turned toward Atlanta, tearing up the railroad as he came, and reaching Decatur at night, where he formed the contemplated juncture with Schofield. It thus appears that Sherman ran a great and needless risk in moving his three army corps separately within almost immediate sight and easy striking distance of his enemy, and he was perhaps saved a disastrous assault by the confusion and consequent inaction of the Confederate army. The removal of Johnston one week earlier or one week later might have entirely changed the history of all the battles around Atlanta.

Hood formally assumed command on the afternoon of July 18, and actively spent the night in getting himself in full connection with all parts of his brave little army of 50,000 men. With these he was to defend "the heart of the south," as Atlanta was officially called, against 106,000 splendid troops. Can they save the day in this last extremity of the southern Confederacy? During the night Hood began to form his line of battle fronting Peachtree creek. Throwing his right wing eastward as far as possible, so as to cover Atlanta against McPherson, he rested his left across the Pace ferry road toward the northward, and trusting largely in the Chattahoochee river to protect his left flank, employed his cavalry mainly on the right. On the morning of July 19 Cheatham's corps occupied the breastworks of the right wing, Hardee filled the center with his fine corps, and Stewart was assigned to the extreme left. The artillery was carefully posted at intervals along the hills and Maj .- Gen. G. W. Smith's Georgia state troops were put in position on Cheatham's right. While the Confederate dispositions were in progress Thomas was rapidly building a number of bridges over Peachtree creek, and purposing to cross his army to the south side where he would entrench a position with the Chattahoochee on his right flank and the creek in his rear. The army under Schofield was also moving from Buckhead for the purpose of crossing Peachtree creek east of the Buckhead road. Away on Sherman's left and southeast of the creek, McPherson was aligned near Decatur. It was the evident purpose of these movements to establish a connected line near the city from which an assault could be made without the disadvantage of the interven- ing creek. Hood determined boldly to attack his enemy while in motion and attempting to cross the stream. Thomas was to be the first object of assault, and after crushing that corps back against the river, the Confederates would turn upon Schofield. Explaining his plan of battle to his generals, Hood chose one o'clock in the afternoon, next day, July 20, as the hour when his attack would begin. He expected to find his enemy partially under cover of hastily con- structed breastworks, but the larger body engaged either in rapid entrenching or crossing the bridges of the creek. He reckoned on the disorder of Thomas, and expected to fall with the crushing weight of Stewart and Hardee, first upon Thomas and then turn his whole force upon the remainder of Sherman's army. Sherman had the long and difficult and he had the short and easy line of com- munications, so that the general situation aided in his plan of battle. By this plan the battle was to begin on the right by divisions attacking in echelon at short intervals of space, and, driving Thomas back, to continue the movement down the left bank of the stream until his army would be packed in the pocket

I39

MILITARY HISTORY.

formed by the creek and the river. The orders were that where entrenchments were encountered they were to be carried with the bayonet, and every opposing division as it was met should be forced back by assault. His bold, but appar- ently feasible plan of battle met with the approval of his generals and accordingly they separated to prepare for the action. The hour of one o'clock arrived and the impetuous Hood was made to chafe by a delay, which postponed the begin- ning of the fight until four, but even at that hour the Federals were taken by surprise. Stewart after addressing his troops, while riding along the line, and arousing their enthusiastic hope of a great victory, moved out his splendid corps in the order as designated and drove line after line back with intrepid courage. But the charge from his right was not so impetuous. By a fatal error these divisions missed the points of attack, and while Stewart's corps was executing orders in a gallant style, their supporters were able to do little more than skir- mish with the unbroken lines of their enemy. Gen. Sherman was not on the lookout for any assault, as he states in regard to this battle. "On July 20 I was met by Gen. Schofield near the center and soon after noon I heard heavy firing in front of Thomas' right. I soon learned that the enemy had made a furious sally, the blow falling on Hooker's corps and partially in Johnston's division of the Fourteenth and Newton's of the Fourth. The troops had crossed Peachtree creek, were deployed, but at the same time were resting for noon, when without notice the enemy came pouring out of their trenches down upon them. They became commingled and fought in many places hand to hand. Gen. Thomas happened to be near the rear of Newton's division and got some field batteries in good position on the north side of Peachtree creek, from which he directed a furious fire upon a mass of the enemy which was passing around Newton's left and exposed flank. After a couple of hours of hard and close conflict the enemy slowly retired within his trenches, leaving the dead and many wounded on the field."

These facts show a well ordered battle which should have met with distin- guished success. The ground favored the assailants, the distance was short and the advance was covered from view. The assailed were slightly entrenched and to the discredit of their officers were taken by surprise in open day. "There was quite a gap," as Gen. Sherman states, ""between Thomas and Schofield," into which the returning victors might have poured. The battle was a misadventure as many battles are for which there is no explanation. The sullen Confederates resumed their trenches, disappointed indeed by the issue of the day and it was felt that some vigorous movement must be made or Atlanta could not be defended. Gen. Wheeler had been active on July 20 in securing information which he imparted fully to Hood at night. He had discovered that Sherman had left a flank of McPherson unsupported, just as he had left a gap between the armies of Schofield and Thomas. McPherson's flank was thus left "standing out in air,' between Decatur and Atlanta, permitting a vigilant enemy to move in the opening at night and make a successful attack at break of day.

Preparing for another sally at this exposed point, Hood ordered a new line of breastworks to be rapidly constructed, using nearly his whole force in the labor with such energy that they were ready for occupation on the night of July 21. Hoping now to gain an advantage of what he supposed to be a serious military blunder, committed by his adversary, Hood developed his plan to the corps of commanders and with remarkable energy began its fulfillment. That Gen. Sherman saw the hazardous position of his command appears at this junc- ture from his note of caution to McPherson, July 21, concerning which he says: "Finding that McPherson was stretching too much on his left flank, I wrote

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him a note early in the morning not to extend so much by the left, for we had not troops enough to invest the place, and I intended to destroy utterly all parts of the Augusta railroad to the east of Atlanta, then to withdraw from the left flank and add to the right."

Very early on the morning of July 22, Sherman saw in person that the old entrenchments of the Confederates had been abandoned the night before, and for some moments supposed that Hood was preparing to evacuate the city. He at once placed Schofield's corps in motion to discover the real meaning of the movement, and riding in advance himself he soon came in view of the new line, "strongly manned with guns in position at all intervals." At precisely the same hour Hood rode on the high hill near the right of Cheatham's corps and surveyed the Federal lines which he was preparing to storm. It was the morn- ing of the eventful battle of July 22. Daylight revealed extraordinary move- ments which called the non-combatant citizens to the tops of the houses. Ladies in some numbers anxiously looked for suitable positions and watched for the coming events foreshadowed by the actions of the armies. Confederate troops had been moving all night into new positions. Hardee's corps had passed along the city's edge toward the Confederate right as if escaping southward. Gen. McPherson approaching in full view of the city from the high eastern hills saw the commotion of southern troops as well as the excitement of citizens and rashly concluded that Hood was in full retreat. At the same moment Sherman heard with some uneasiness "the sound of artillery back toward Decatur." It was Wheeler who had swept with his cavalry round the Federal right quite to the rear. Immediately afterward, heavy skirmishing broke out near to the rear of McPherson, followed almost instantly by rapid volleys of musketry and the shouts of charging men. The battle was on. The moving troops which the brave McPherson thought were in hasty retreat had turned upon his flank and were mowing their way over the field. Hardee had swung round on the McDonough road in accordance with Hood's plan of battle, and was making the first drive which was designed to double the Federal divisions on each other in confusion toward their right, subject them to successive attacks by Cheatham, Smith and Stewart, until they were forced into retreat beyond Peachtree creek. But McPherson had taken the precaution to fortify his left flank and place troops in easy reach of the entrenchments. It was the entrenched line com- manded by Gen. Frank P. Blair which Hardee assailed, and not the open flank of McPherson as was expected.

The Confederates encountered also, by a strange accident, a division of the Six- teenth corps which McPherson had ordered without knowledge of the pending attack to take position on the left of Blair. As this division halted on the Clay road, in the rear of Blair's division, they were suddenly assailed by the Confed- erates who at the same time pressed with vigorous charges both the rear and flank of Blair's entire position. It was during these irregular but fierce assaults that McPherson fell. Blair in his report says: "Gen. McPherson, under whom I served, with several other officers and myself rode ont to the front to see what was going on, and if possible to make up our minds as to the nature of the movement that was being made. As we rode back to our lines Gen. McPherson repeatedly expressed his opinion that the Confederates were retreat- ing and would abandon the city. I rode with him to his headquarters and after I had been there some half hour, we heard skirmishing in our rear immediately in the direction of Decatur. Gen. McPherson ordered me to send back to the rear two regiments to protect our hospitals. I executed this order, and as these regiments were moving to the rear one division of the Sixteenth corps which

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MILITARY HISTORY.

had been ordered by Gen. McPherson to take position on my extreme left made its appearance in the rear of my position on a road known as the Clay road, and at right angles with the McDonough road, along which my corps was entrenched. Just as this division halted about 500 yards in rear of my line, heavy skirmishing commenced on the extreme left of my line. I hastened toward the front of the line, and as I reached a skirt of timber, which inter- vened between me and the line, I saw Gen. McPherson accompanied by one orderly enter this piece of timber in front of me. In a few minutes I heard a heavy discharge of musketry, and McPherson's horse came out of the timber riderless." The gallant Federal general was attempting to reach the spot where his troops were in imminent danger. He rode forward to share their danger, to inspire them with his presence and to die with them if need be. The monument erected to his memory on the fatal field where he fell is revered by the men of the south who admired his splendid military abilities and loved him for the worth of his personal qualities. Upon the same day the gallant Walker gave up his life. Brave to a fault, generous to the extreme, the state of Georgia honors his memory and will forever cherish his fame. So with the costly price of noble blood spilled freely in trench and open field, from the veins of privates unknown to fame as well as officers of distinction, the battle went on through all the bloody day. Blair found his men struggling desperately to hold their breastworks by fighting from the reverse of their entrenchments and by the singular good fortune that the Sixteenth corps reached him simultaneously with the attack made upon him by Hardee, he was able to save his line. Around his corps and near him the battle chiefly raged during the day. The Confederates attacked and held several lines of breastworks only to find themselves involved in a network of others manned by determined Federals. Hood watched the, battle near by and seeing that the purposed break was not taking place at McPherson's corps, commanded Cheatham in the after- noon to attack the position in his front, and the order was readily and bravely obeyed with conspicuous success. The Confederates in Cheatham's line and the Georgia state troops under Gen. Smith forced the Federal defenses, notwith- standing a most stubborn defense, capturing five guns and holding his ground until forced by enfilade fire to withdraw from the works he had captured.

One of the most brilliant assaults made at any time by the Confederate army and which signalizes this fierce battle occurred in the charge of Stovall's brigade, Col. Abda Johnson commanding, and the capture of DeGress battery by the Forty-second Georgia regiment, commanded by Col. Thomas. The gallant achievement won the applause of Sherman, who witnessed the attack from an elevation, and remarked afterward that it was the "grandest charge made during the war." Upon the right of this regiment the state troops under command of Col. John Brown participated in the triumphant assault in which he was mor- tally wounded and the command fell upon Capt. Albert Howell, whose gallantry on that day won him the commission of lieutenant-colonel. Upon reaching the Federal works a hand-to-hand fight ensued. Bayonets were found useful and club muskets did deadly work. The Union defenders gave way at last after marking the defense of their guns with Confederate dead, then afterward rallied and regained their lost position. In the shadows of the forest as well as along the heights of these entrenchments many instances of Federal and Confederat: valor occurred which made mutual the renown of the men who fought the fight of their faith. Georgia was honored and illustrated by thousands of its infantry, artillery and cavalry who were foremost in the defense of their homes upon this historic day. The battle cannot be counted as a Confederate victory, but it

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seemed to have failed by the sheerest accident. Gen. Blair, whose defense saved McPherson's corps from rout says, "The position taken up accidentally by the Sixteenth corps prevented the full force of the blow from falling where it was intended to fall. If my command had been driven from its position at the time that the Fifteenth corps was forced back from its entrenchments there must have been a general rout of all the troops of the army of the Tennessee commanded by Gen. McPherson, and possibly the panic might have been communicated to the balance of the army."

Atlanta from this date was subjected to a daily shelling from the Federal guns and therefore bomb-proof pits rapidly became part of the domestic arrange- ments in the especially exposed parts of the city. Residences were constantly struck and the population of women and children necessarily remaining lived in the awful strain of hourly suspense and anxiety. The Confederate line of breastworks which had been drawn close in the suburbs on the north and east, were matched by the new commanding fortifications of the Federals, but no hostile demonstrations took place more than the disturbance of the usual shelling for several days. On July 26 and 27 Gen. Sherman shifted his line steadily to the right down the Chattahoochee on the west side of Atlanta toward the West Point & Central railroads, for the purpose of seizing and destroying "the only line by which the Confederate army was still able to secure its supplies." This important movement was inaugurated by a splendid body of Federal cavalry, which had crowded round to the right of the Confederates at Flatrock and another strong mounted force which was rapidly moving by way of Fairburn toward the Central road. To meet these threatening demonstrations Wheeler pursued the Union cavalry toward Flatrock and by a vigorous assault checked their advance. The Federal demonstration toward Fairburn was more fortunate and succeeded in destroying a wagon train at Fayetteville and tearing up a mile or two of the railroad below Jonesboro.

While these cavalry demonstrations were in progress Sherman was steadily moving his great columns of infantry southward on the west side of Atlanta to seize the railroads leading south from that city. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, who had just been assigned the command of a corps in Hood's army, was at once ordered to arrest this extension of the Federals southward and on the execution of this trust came in conflict with his enemy on the west side of Atlanta near Ezra church. The advanced Federal division had already reached the ground which Lee designed to seize, and in consequence he found himself compelled to attack at once in order to gain the desired position. The fight which ensued . grew in magnitude to a battle. The Confederates charged the Federals without success, and in turn the countercharge was equally unavailing. Stewart was hurried to the field of the engagement in support of Lee and the strife was renewed in detached assaults lasting until sunset, when the firing ceased without material advantage to either side. The active operations of the Federal cavalry radiating in several directions from Atlanta, commanded earnest Confederate attention. Sherman's cavalry of 12,000 men were commissioned to raid the surrounding country, destroy railroads, capture Macon, and release the Andersonville pris- oners. A powerful force of picked men under McCook moved toward Columbus and encountered the Confederate Roddy near Newnan, who held them at bay until Wheeler arriving in person, together with Jackson and his command, attacked with such relentless vigor that the Federals were forced to fly with the loss of 950 prisoners, 1,200 horses and two pieces of artillery. At the same time Iverson was pursuing Stoneman, who had destroyed many miles of the Georgia railroad, and after burning the bridge across the Oconee river was

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Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 20

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1294

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294