Dixie Forever: A Timeline
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Chapter 15: The Campaign Continues (Part 2)
JJohnson
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Battle of North Anna (May 27-29)
After Grant disengaged from the stalemate over at Spotsylvania Court House, he tried to lure Lee into a battle with Burnside, but he didn't fall for it. He lost the race to Lee's next defensive position, south of the North Anna River. Lee was unsure of Grant's intentions, but Jackson believed he was going to attack and urged his commander to build defensive works.
They devised a scheme of an inverted "V" to try to split the Union army when it advanced, and allow the Confederates to use interior lines to attack and defeat one wing, and prevent the other wing from reinforcing it in time. Surprisingly, Warren's V Corps missed Lee's army marching south right next to it.
Battle on the 28th
On the morning of the 28th, Grant sent additional troops south of the North Anna River. Wright's VI Corps crossed at Jericho Mills, and by 11 AM both Warren and Wright advanced to the Virginia Central Railroad. At 8 AM, Hancock's II Corps finally crossed the Chesterfield Bridge, with the 2nd US Sharpshooters and 20th Indiana dashing across the bridge to try to disperse a thin Confederate picket line. Down the river, the confederates had burned away the rail bridge, but soldiers from the 8th Ohio cut down a large tree so the men could cross single-file. The Union troops soon got a pontoon bridge set up and all of Maj. Gen. John Gibbon's division crossed. This is when Grant began to fall into Lee's trap. Seeing how easy it was to cross the river, he assumed the Confederates to be retreating. He wired command back in Washington: "The enemy have fallen back from North Anna. We are in pursuit."
The only visible opposition to their crossing was at Ox Ford, which Grant saw as simply a rear guard action, just an annoyance. So Grant ordered Burnside's IX Corps to deal with hit. Burnside had Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford march upriver to Quarles Mill and seize the the ford there. Burnside ordered Maj. Gen. Thomas Crittenden's division to cross there at the ford, and follow the river's southern bank to Ox Ford, and attack the Confederate positions from the west.
Crittenden's lead brigade was unfortunately led by Brig. Gen. James Ledlie, known for his excessive consumption of alcohol in the field. Being intoxicated and ambitious, Ledlie decided to attack the Confederate position alone with just his brigade. His brigade encountered the Confederate earthworks, manned by Brig. Gen. William Mahone's division. Ledlie sent his 35th Massachusetts forward, but were immediately repulsed. Then he sent an officer back to ask for three more regiments from Crittenden as reinforcements. The division commander was surprised and had the officer instruct Ledlie not to attack till the full division crossed over.
Unfortunately by that time, Ledlie was completely drunk. When several Confederate artillery batteries on the earthworks were pointed out to him, he dismissed them and ordered a charge. His men started as a rain began to fall, and in their rush to get to the enemy's earthworks, the regiments got mixed up and confused. The Confederates waited to fire till they got close, which drove them into ditches for protection. A violent thunderstorm erupted, and though the 56th and 57th Massachusetts regiments tried to rally, Mahone's Mississippi troops stepped out of their earthworks and shot them down.
Col. Stephen Weld (56th MA) was wounded, and Lt. Col. Charles Chandler (57th MA) was mortally wounded. Soon all of Ledlie's men had to retreat, and they made it back to Quarles Mill. Despite his utterly miserable performance, Ledlie got praise from his division commander, saying his brigade "behaved gallantly." Ledlie was promoted to division command after this battle, and his drunkenness would continue to plague his men.
Hancock's II Corps began pushing south from Chesterfield Bridge about the same time Ledlie was just crossing over. Hancock ordered Gibbon's division to advance down the railroad. They pushed aside some Confederate skirmishers, but then ran into the earthworks, and most of his division was engaged. The fighting was interrupted by the thunderstorm, since men on both sides were worried it would ruin their gunpowder. As the rain slacked off, Maj. Gen. David Birney's division came to Gibbon's aid, but even both at once couldn't break the Confederate line.
The Union army was doing precisely what Lee wanted it to do. His commanders, especially A.P. Hill and Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, were both exhausted, and Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was slightly ill, so Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson was replacing him. His inexperience at Corps command showed during the battle, but he performed to the best of his ability. Stonewall Jackson commanded the longest line with his Stonewall Brigade, and put forth his best efforts. The Confederates were exhausted but they fought with tenacity and inflicted heavy casualties on the Union soldiers. Jackson had them concentrate their fire along the line, decimating every attempt to approach along his line.
Without Stuart, Jackson couldn't flank as he had planned, to sweep the field, but he had Jubal Early take two brigades from his earthworks, under Doles and Battle, and come around to flank, along with Breckenridge and Pickett. They approached through the forest, using it as cover for their approach, and when they emerged, were able to destroy the brigades under McIvor, McKeen, and Owen. The men began running back in panic, causing chaos in the field, disrupting the efforts of Birney and Barlow against Jackson and Longstreet.
About 5:30 PM, Hancock told Meade their position was being turned on their left flank. Grant finally realized the situation he faced, and ordered his men to stop advancing and retreat back across the bridge. They made a fighting retreat on their left flank back across the river. That night, Grant and Meade argued again about the campaign, and Grant mollified Meade somewhat by ordering Burnside's IX Corps to report to him, rather than Grant. Though Burnside was a senior major general to Meade, he accepted the new subordinate position without protest.
The next day, there was some light skirmishing, but nothing major. Grant would be reluctant still to attack strong defensive lines, and would try to turn Lee's flank again, and meet his army soon at Cold Harbor.
Command
-US: Ulysses S Grant, George Meade
-CS: Robert E Lee
Army
-US: Army of the Potomac, IX Corps; 67,000-94,034
-CS: Army of Northern Virginia; 56,811
Casualties
-US: 4,455; (765 killed; 2,988 wounded; 702 captured/missing)
-CS: 1,427; (101 killed; 644 wounded; 682 captured/missing)
Battle of Fort Merced (May 28)
Named for the Merced River, the Union forces had built a fort nearby to guard the pass up towards the capital of North California. Col. Tomas Avila Sanchez, and Lt. Col. Roberto Perez with their brigade under Brig. Gen. J.P. Gillis marched with 4,000 men, along with another 4,000 under Brig. Gen. Dan Showalter. They had 8 horse artillery each, though they had poor reconnaissance done of the Fort, not knowing its defenses, because of the cavalry there blocking their own reconnaissance.
Showalter decided to attack the morning of the 28th, launching his artillery first for surprise at 4:30 AM, concentrating his fire to try to destroy the fort's walls. The wooden walls collapsed along the southern face, while his cavalry were riding and shooting, trying to pick off the defenders. The Union efforts were panicked at first, but by about 5:45 AM the Union managed to mount somewhat of a defense. By 6:30, the tides had turned, and the Union forces and their cavalry were turning the tide out in the open, pushing back Showalter's cavalry. Lt. Col. Marco Zapatero helped the cavalry retreat, while Gillis ordered the retreat after four hours of fierce fighting.
The Confederates suffered 480 casualties to the 360 casualties by the Union defenders. Gillis would send his troops south of the California border for rest and refit before trying again.
Baltimore, Maryland (June 7-8)
In Maryland, the Republicans hold their convention in Baltimore, under the name of the National Union party, to help War Democrats support the party. The Republicans renominated Lincoln, but switched Vice-Presidents to Andrew Johnson, currently serving as military governor of Tennessee.
Upon hearing of his re-nomination, Lincoln wrote:
"I have not permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude that I am the best man in the country; but I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that "it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams.""
There was a lot of back-room dealing involved in getting the nomination again, specifically the promise to name Simon Cameron to the cabinet if he were re-elected, to help shore up support in Pennsylvania.
During the convention, Radical Republicans, a hard-line faction within Lincoln's own party, whom some blamed for the South's secession, believed Lincoln incompetent and that he shouldn't be re-elected, and formed a splinter party, the Radical Democracy Party, which met over in Cleveland, Ohio on the 31st of May. They nominated John C Frémont, the old 1856 Republican nominee. They did this hoping someone else other than Lincoln would get the nomination.
Republicans loyal to Lincoln and the party created a new name for the party, the National Union Party, to accommodate the war Democrats who supported the war, and wanted to separate themselves from what some derisively called "Copperheads." The convention dropped the Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, a Radical Republican, from the ticket, and replaced him with War Democrat Andrew Johnson, hoping that would stress the national character of the war and attract more voters.
During the convention, the party created a platform of 11 resolutions:
1. Integrity of the Union, quelling the Rebellion, and punishing the rebels and traitors
2. No compromise with the Rebels, no peace but unconditional surrender and return to the Union: "in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor and the undying devotion of the American people to their country and its free institutions."
3. Slavery is the cause and strength of the Rebellion and must be destroyed. The Rebels now arm slaves and will return them to the fields if their rebellion succeeds.
4. The nation owes the soldiers and sailors thanks and "permanent recognition of their patriotism and their valor"
5. Approval of the "practical wisdom, the unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of American liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged" as well as approval of the Gettysburg Proclamation and enlisting former slaves into the army
6. Only those approving of these resolutions will serve in public office
7. The Government will protect the troops from any violation of the laws by the Rebels
8. Foreign immigration should be fostered and encouraged.
9. Speedy construction of a railroad to the Pacific coast.
10. Keeping the faith and redemption of public debt, just taxation, and loyal states will promote the credit and national currency of the United States.
11. The US will not ignore any European power attempting to overthrow any republican government in the western hemisphere near the US.
Each of these was met with applause of the crowd.
Battle of Cold Harbor (June 8-24)
Battle of Cold Harbor, Smithsonian War Between the States Exhibit
June 7
Both Union and Confederate cavalry continued sparring each other as they had at Old Church. Lee sent a division under Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee to reinforce Brig. Gen. Matthew Butler, and secure the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor. He kept Stuart close as his own cavalry screen. As Union Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert, now in charge of the Union cavalry corps tried to increase pressure on the Confederates, Lee had Longstreet's Corps shift right from Totopotomoy Creek to support the cavalry. About 4 PM, though, Torbert drove the Confederates from the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor and began digging in. As more of the Confederates arrived, the Union cavalry commander Torbert got concerned and pulled back towards Old Church.
Grant decided to make his stand at Old Cold Harbor and ordered Torbert to hold it "at all hazards." He sent Wright's VI Corps to move in that direction.
June 8
First day of battle on the 8th
Lee's plan for the 8th was to use his partly reinforced infantry, with a small trickle of the new black troops filling in for casualties as they happened, against the small cavalry forces at Old Cold Harbor. The Confederates, rather than segregating their black troops, put them into existing white brigades so they could benefit from veterans and train up more quickly, within two to three months, as opposed to about a year for Union Colored Troops, who were segregated and didn't have the benefit of veterans to train them. The policy of integrating would also have repercussions politically, as the black troops would affect the old attitudes of their fellow soldiers about the place of black people in Confederate society, especially when a black soldier is the one covering your attack or retreat, or dragging your injured body from a field under fire. Lee also made sure discipline was kept between the black and white troopers, that troops were treated equally regarding provisions, rations, and so on.
Longstreet integrated Hoke's division into his attack plan, making sure he understood he was to attack with everyone else.
Wright's VI Corps didn't move out till after midnight, and was on a 15-mile march, and Smith's XVIII Corps had been mistakenly sent to New Castle Ferry on the Pamunkey River, several miles away, and didn't reach Old Cold Harbor in time to help Torbert.
Longstreet led his attack with the brigade under veteran Brig. Gen. Joseph Kershaw, who had taken on the task of ensuring his new colored troops, about 80, were as efficient as his white troops and drilled them when time permitted. Kershaw's men approached the entrenched cavalry of Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt. The Union men were armed with seven-shot Spencer repeating carbines, so they delivered heavy fire, mortally wounding Col. Laurence Keitt, but Kershaw managed to keep unit cohesion, and Hoke's participation kept up the Confederate assault, till they were recalled by Longstreet. The Union here suffered casualties slightly greater than the Confederates. But the armaments took their toll.
By 9 AM, Wright's lead elements arrived at the crossroads, and began extending and improving the Union entrenchments. Though Grant originally intended Wright to attack immediately, they were exhausted from their march, and were unsure of Confederate strength. Wright waited till Smith arrived in the afternoon, and the XVIII Corps began entrenching to the right of VI Corps. Union cavalry moved east to retire.
For the upcoming attack, Meade was concerned that Wright and Smith's corps wouldn't be enough and tried to convince Warren to send reinforcements. He wrote to him, and Warren sent a division under Brig. Gen. Henry Lockwood, which began marching at 6 PM. Without adequate reconnaissance of the road, he couldn't reach the battle in enough time to make a difference. Meade was also concerned about his left flank, which wasn't anchored on the Chickahominy and was potentially threatened by Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry. He ordered Torbert to send scouting parties there, but Torbert resisted, telling Meade he couldn't move his men before dark.
It took till 6:30 PM, but the attack Grant had ordered to happen that morning finally began. Both Wright's and Smith's corps moved forward. Wright's men made little progress, recoiling from heavy fire south of Mechanicsville Road. North of that road, Brig. Gen. Emory Upton's brigade faced heavy fire from Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Clingman's brigade, later quoted as "A sheet of flame, sudden as lightning, red as blood, and so near that it seemed to singe the men's faces." Though Upton tried valiantly to rally his men forward, they fell back to their starting point.
To the right of Upton, Col. William Truex's brigade found a gap in the Confederates' line, between Clingman and Wofford's brigades, through a swampy, brush-filled ravine. As Truex sent his men charging into the gap, Clingman swung two regiments around to face them, and Longstreet sent Brig. Gen. Eppa Hunton's brigade from his reserves. Truex was then surrounded on 3 sides, and was forced to withdraw, without anything to show for it but casualties*.
*Change: No Georgians as prisoners
While the southern end of the lines of battle was active, the three corps of Hancock, Burnside, and Warren were occupying a 5-mile line stretching southeast to Bethesda Church, facing the Confederates under Ewell, Breckinridge, and Early. At the border between the IX and V Corps, the division of Maj. Gen. Thomas Crittenden, newly arrived after his poor performance at Chickamauga, occupied a doglegged position (looking like an L pointing north) with the long face on Shady Grove Road, separated from V Corps by a march called Magnolia Swamp. Two divisions of Early's Corps would use this as their avenue of approach, but despite the poor battle management of Crittenden, the Confederate probes would be repulsed.
At this time, Warren's division under Lockwood got lost wandering around on unfamiliar farm roads. Despite having dispatched Lockwood explicitly the V Corps commander wrote Meade, "In some unaccountable way, [Lockwood] took his whole division, without my knowing it, away from the left of the line of battle, and turned up the dark 2 miles in my rear, and I have not yet got him back. All this time the firing should have guided him at least. He is too incompetent, and too high rank leaves us no subordinate place for him. I earnestly beg that he may at once be relieved of duty with this army." In response Meade relieved Lockwood and replaced him with Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford.
By sunset, fighting had petered out on both ends of the line. The Union had suffered 2400 casualties to 800 Confederate casualties, but some progress had been made - they had almost broken the Confederate line, which was now pinned into place with Union entrenchments being dug yards away. Several Union generals were furious at Grant for ordering an assault without proper reconnaissance.
June 9
Makeshift Confederate breastworks shown after the battle
Though the attacks of June 8th had been unsuccessful, Meade believed an attack early enough on the 9th would be successful if he could get sufficient force on an appropriate location. He and Grant decided to attack Lee's right flank. Longstreet's men had been heavily engaged there yesterday, and it was unlikely they'd found enough time to build stronger defenses. If the attack were successful, Lee's right could be driven back to the Chickahominy River.
Meade ordered Hancock's II Corps to shift southeast from the Totopotomoy Creek, and assume position left of Wright's VI Corps. Once in position, Meade planned to attack on his left with 3 Corps in line, 35,000 men in total (II Corps (Hancock), VI Corps (Wright), and XVIII Corps (Baldy Smith)). Meade also ordered Warren and Burnside to attack Lee's left flank in the morning "at all hazards."
It was a great plan, but Hancock's men had been marching almost all night, and were too worn out when they arrived for an immediate attack in the morning. Grant agreed to let them rest, and postponed the attack till 5 PM, then again till 4:30 AM on the 11th. Unfortunately Grant and Meade didn't give specific orders for the attack, leaving up to the corps commanders to decide where to strike and how they would coordinate with each other. No senior commander had reconnoitered the Confederate positions; Baldy Smith would write that he was "aghast at the reception of such an order, which proved conclusively the utter absence of any military plan." He told his staff that the whole attack was, "simply an order to slaughter my best troops."
On the Confederate side, they took advantage of Union delays to bolster their defenses and add obstacles to slow the Union troops. When Hancock had left, Lee shifted Breckinridge's division to the far right flank, to face Hancock again. Breckinridge drove a small Union force from Turkey Hill, which dominated the southern portion of the battlefield. Lee moved Mahone and Wilcox's divisions to support him, and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry to guard the right flank; this made a 7-mile curving line on low ridges, making flanking impossible.
Later historians would write that Lee's engineers had built "the most ingenious defensive configuration the war had yet witnessed" with barricades of earth and log, artillery posted with converging fields of fire at every avenue of approach, and stakes being driven into the ground to aid gunners' range estimates. One reporter from the Richmond Examiner called it a "maze and labyrinth of works within works," with heavy skirmish lines to suppress the Union's ability to determine the strength or exact positions of the Confederate entrenchments. Lee gained another 3000 black troops, further bolstering his strength while Grant waited.
While they didn't know the details of their objectives, one of Grant's aides, Lt Col Horace Porter wrote in his memoirs that the soldiers knew what they would be facing. Many would be writing their names on papers pinned inside their uniforms. Burnside was advised to attack Early's unprotected flank, but he delayed.
June 10
Battle on the 10th of June
(OOC: replace Anderson with Longstreet, Hill with Ewell)
At 4:30 AM on the 10th, three Union corps began to advance through a thick ground fog. Massive return fire from the Confederate lines caused heavy casualties very quickly, and the survivors were pinned down. Though the results varied across the line, the overall repulse of the Union advance resulted in the most lopsided casualties since the Battle of Fredericksburg. Some of the most effective fire came from the new Confederate black troops, earning them the ire of the Union troops, many of whom believed they were there to free them, and they should be thanking them; they earned the respect of their fellow Confederates, which would help their efforts at civil rights after the war.
The most effective performance of the day turned out to be Hancock's corps on the Union left flank, which broke through a portion of Breckinridge's front line, and drove them out of their entrenchments in hand-to-hand fighting. The Union caught 4 guns and several hundred prisoners.
Unfortunately for the blue-clad warriors, nearby Confederate artillery was brought to bear on the entrenchments, turning them into a death trap for the Billy Yanks. Breckinridge's reserves counterattacked and drove off the Union troops. Hancock's other advance division, under Brig. Gen. John Gibbon got disordered in the swampy ground, and couldn't advance through the heavy fire, losing two brigade commanders (Cols. Peter Porter and H. Boyd McKeen) in the fighting. One of Gibbon's men, who complained about the lack of reconnaissance, wrote, "We felt it was murder, not war, or at best a very serious mistake had been made."
In the center, Wright's corps was pinned down by heavy fire, and could make little effort to advance, as they were still trying to recover from the action two days prior. Emory Upton, normally aggressive, felt further movement by his division, was "impracticable." Confederate defenders on this part of the line were unaware a serious assault had been made against them.
On the Union right, Smith's men advanced through unfavorable terrain, and were channeled into two ravines. When they emerged in front of the Confederate line, rifle and artillery fire mowed them down. One Union officer wrote, "The men bent down as they pushed forward, as if trying, as they were, to breast a tempest, and the files of men went down like rows of blocks or bricks pushed over by striking against one another."
On the Confederate side, one described the carnage of double-canister artillery fire as "deadly, bloody work." The artillery fire set against Smith's corps was heavier than might have been expected, as Warren's V Corps to Smith's right was reluctant to advance, so the Confederate gunners in that sector concentrated on Smith's men instead. It was here the Union first saw black Confederate artillery men, one of which, John Parker aimed the barrel right at Brig. Gen. John Martindale, cutting him in half when it fired.
On the northern side of the field, the only activity was Burnside's IX Corps facing Jubal Early, reinforced by Stonewall Jackson. Burnside launched a powerful assault at 6 AM, but the Confederates found his corps halted in the first line of earthworks and brought heavy fire down on them, forcing them to retreat as well.
At 7 AM, Grant advised Meade to exploit vigorously, any successful part of the assault. Meade ordered his three corps commanders on the left to assault at once, without regard to the movements of their neighboring corps. Unfortunately all of then had had enough of the fight. Hancock advised against it; Smith called it a "wanton waste of life," and refused to advance again. Wright's men increased their rifle fire, but stayed in place. By 12:30 PM, Grant conceded his army was done.
He wrote to Meade, "The opinion of the corps commanders not being sanguine of success in case an assault is ordered, you may direct a suspension of further advance for the present." The Union soldiers still pinned down in front of Confederate lines began entrenching, using cups and bayonets to dig, sometimes including the bodies of their dead comrades in their improvised earthworks.
The next day, Meade bragged to his wife that he was in command for the assault, but his own performance in the fight had been poor. Despite orders from Grant for the corps commanders to examine the ground, their reconnaissance had been lax, and Meade didn't supervise them adequately, either before or during the attack.
Meade was only able to motivate about 20,000 of his men to attack, the II Corps, along with parts of the IX and XVIII, which meant he failed to achieve the mass he knew he would require to succeed. His men paid for the poorly coordinated assault with casualties between 4,000-8,000, with no more than 1,500 on the Confederate side.
Grant would later write in his memoirs:
"I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. I might say the same thing of the assault of the 22d of May, 1863, at Vicksburg. At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained. Indeed, the advantages other than those of relative losses, were on the Confederate side. Before that, the Army of Northern Virginia seemed to have acquired a wholesome regard for the courage, endurance, and soldierly qualities generally of the Army of the Potomac. They no longer wanted to fight them "one Confederate to five Yanks." Indeed, they seemed to have given up any idea of gaining any advantage of their antagonist in the open field. They had come to much prefer breastworks in their front to the Army of the Potomac. This charge seemed to revive their hopes temporarily; but it was of short duration. The effect upon the Army of the Potomac was the reverse. When we reached the James River, however, all effects of the battle of Cold Harbor seemed to have disappeared."
At 11 AM on the 10th, Confederate Postmaster General, John Reagan, arrived with a delegation from Richmond. He asked Lee, "General, if the enemy breaks your line, what reserve have you?" Lee replied, "Not a regiment, which has been my condition ever since fighting has commenced on the Rappahannock. If I shorten my lines to provide a reserve, he will turn me; if I weaken my lines to provide a reserve he will break them. The Congress have emancipated bondservants. Now we need them trained, supplied, and provided if we are to win our independence." Modern scholars have shown Lee to have had ample reserves unengaged. His comments were likely to persuade the War Department to send more troops.
June 12-20
Both sides did not launch any further assaults, but engaged in trench warfare facing each other for the next nine days, some places only yards apart. Sharpshooters worked continuously, killing many. Union artillery bombarded the Confederates with a battery of 8 Coehorn mortars; the Confederates responded by depressing the trail of a 24-lb howitzer and lobbing shells over the Union positions. Though there were no more large-scale assaults, the casualties for the whole battle were twice as large as that from just the assault on the 10th alone.
The trenches were miserable, but conditions were worse between the lines, where thousands of wounded Union troops suffered horribly in the hot conditions without food, water, or medical help. Grant was reluctant to ask for a formal truce to recover them, because that would be acknowledging he lost the battle. Lee and Grant traded notes from the 12th-14th across the lines without coming to an agreement, when Grant finally requested a two-hour cessation of hostilities, but it was too late for most of the wounded, who were now just bloated corpses. He would be widely criticized for this lapse of judgment in the Northern press.
Command
-US: Ulysses Grant, George Meade
-CS: Robert E. Lee
Army
-US: Army of the Potomac (108,000-117,000)
-CS: Army of Northern Virginia (64,000)
Casualties
-US: 15,193; (2,655 killed; 10,347 wounded; 2,191 captured/missing)
-CS: 4,703; (691 killed; 3,109 wounded; 903 captured/missing)
Notable Casualties
-US: Brig Gen John Martindale*
-CS:
After Grant disengaged from the stalemate over at Spotsylvania Court House, he tried to lure Lee into a battle with Burnside, but he didn't fall for it. He lost the race to Lee's next defensive position, south of the North Anna River. Lee was unsure of Grant's intentions, but Jackson believed he was going to attack and urged his commander to build defensive works.
They devised a scheme of an inverted "V" to try to split the Union army when it advanced, and allow the Confederates to use interior lines to attack and defeat one wing, and prevent the other wing from reinforcing it in time. Surprisingly, Warren's V Corps missed Lee's army marching south right next to it.
Battle on the 28th
On the morning of the 28th, Grant sent additional troops south of the North Anna River. Wright's VI Corps crossed at Jericho Mills, and by 11 AM both Warren and Wright advanced to the Virginia Central Railroad. At 8 AM, Hancock's II Corps finally crossed the Chesterfield Bridge, with the 2nd US Sharpshooters and 20th Indiana dashing across the bridge to try to disperse a thin Confederate picket line. Down the river, the confederates had burned away the rail bridge, but soldiers from the 8th Ohio cut down a large tree so the men could cross single-file. The Union troops soon got a pontoon bridge set up and all of Maj. Gen. John Gibbon's division crossed. This is when Grant began to fall into Lee's trap. Seeing how easy it was to cross the river, he assumed the Confederates to be retreating. He wired command back in Washington: "The enemy have fallen back from North Anna. We are in pursuit."
The only visible opposition to their crossing was at Ox Ford, which Grant saw as simply a rear guard action, just an annoyance. So Grant ordered Burnside's IX Corps to deal with hit. Burnside had Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford march upriver to Quarles Mill and seize the the ford there. Burnside ordered Maj. Gen. Thomas Crittenden's division to cross there at the ford, and follow the river's southern bank to Ox Ford, and attack the Confederate positions from the west.
Crittenden's lead brigade was unfortunately led by Brig. Gen. James Ledlie, known for his excessive consumption of alcohol in the field. Being intoxicated and ambitious, Ledlie decided to attack the Confederate position alone with just his brigade. His brigade encountered the Confederate earthworks, manned by Brig. Gen. William Mahone's division. Ledlie sent his 35th Massachusetts forward, but were immediately repulsed. Then he sent an officer back to ask for three more regiments from Crittenden as reinforcements. The division commander was surprised and had the officer instruct Ledlie not to attack till the full division crossed over.
Unfortunately by that time, Ledlie was completely drunk. When several Confederate artillery batteries on the earthworks were pointed out to him, he dismissed them and ordered a charge. His men started as a rain began to fall, and in their rush to get to the enemy's earthworks, the regiments got mixed up and confused. The Confederates waited to fire till they got close, which drove them into ditches for protection. A violent thunderstorm erupted, and though the 56th and 57th Massachusetts regiments tried to rally, Mahone's Mississippi troops stepped out of their earthworks and shot them down.
Col. Stephen Weld (56th MA) was wounded, and Lt. Col. Charles Chandler (57th MA) was mortally wounded. Soon all of Ledlie's men had to retreat, and they made it back to Quarles Mill. Despite his utterly miserable performance, Ledlie got praise from his division commander, saying his brigade "behaved gallantly." Ledlie was promoted to division command after this battle, and his drunkenness would continue to plague his men.
Hancock's II Corps began pushing south from Chesterfield Bridge about the same time Ledlie was just crossing over. Hancock ordered Gibbon's division to advance down the railroad. They pushed aside some Confederate skirmishers, but then ran into the earthworks, and most of his division was engaged. The fighting was interrupted by the thunderstorm, since men on both sides were worried it would ruin their gunpowder. As the rain slacked off, Maj. Gen. David Birney's division came to Gibbon's aid, but even both at once couldn't break the Confederate line.
The Union army was doing precisely what Lee wanted it to do. His commanders, especially A.P. Hill and Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, were both exhausted, and Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was slightly ill, so Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson was replacing him. His inexperience at Corps command showed during the battle, but he performed to the best of his ability. Stonewall Jackson commanded the longest line with his Stonewall Brigade, and put forth his best efforts. The Confederates were exhausted but they fought with tenacity and inflicted heavy casualties on the Union soldiers. Jackson had them concentrate their fire along the line, decimating every attempt to approach along his line.
Without Stuart, Jackson couldn't flank as he had planned, to sweep the field, but he had Jubal Early take two brigades from his earthworks, under Doles and Battle, and come around to flank, along with Breckenridge and Pickett. They approached through the forest, using it as cover for their approach, and when they emerged, were able to destroy the brigades under McIvor, McKeen, and Owen. The men began running back in panic, causing chaos in the field, disrupting the efforts of Birney and Barlow against Jackson and Longstreet.
About 5:30 PM, Hancock told Meade their position was being turned on their left flank. Grant finally realized the situation he faced, and ordered his men to stop advancing and retreat back across the bridge. They made a fighting retreat on their left flank back across the river. That night, Grant and Meade argued again about the campaign, and Grant mollified Meade somewhat by ordering Burnside's IX Corps to report to him, rather than Grant. Though Burnside was a senior major general to Meade, he accepted the new subordinate position without protest.
The next day, there was some light skirmishing, but nothing major. Grant would be reluctant still to attack strong defensive lines, and would try to turn Lee's flank again, and meet his army soon at Cold Harbor.
Command
-US: Ulysses S Grant, George Meade
-CS: Robert E Lee
Army
-US: Army of the Potomac, IX Corps; 67,000-94,034
-CS: Army of Northern Virginia; 56,811
Casualties
-US: 4,455; (765 killed; 2,988 wounded; 702 captured/missing)
-CS: 1,427; (101 killed; 644 wounded; 682 captured/missing)
Battle of Fort Merced (May 28)
Named for the Merced River, the Union forces had built a fort nearby to guard the pass up towards the capital of North California. Col. Tomas Avila Sanchez, and Lt. Col. Roberto Perez with their brigade under Brig. Gen. J.P. Gillis marched with 4,000 men, along with another 4,000 under Brig. Gen. Dan Showalter. They had 8 horse artillery each, though they had poor reconnaissance done of the Fort, not knowing its defenses, because of the cavalry there blocking their own reconnaissance.
Showalter decided to attack the morning of the 28th, launching his artillery first for surprise at 4:30 AM, concentrating his fire to try to destroy the fort's walls. The wooden walls collapsed along the southern face, while his cavalry were riding and shooting, trying to pick off the defenders. The Union efforts were panicked at first, but by about 5:45 AM the Union managed to mount somewhat of a defense. By 6:30, the tides had turned, and the Union forces and their cavalry were turning the tide out in the open, pushing back Showalter's cavalry. Lt. Col. Marco Zapatero helped the cavalry retreat, while Gillis ordered the retreat after four hours of fierce fighting.
The Confederates suffered 480 casualties to the 360 casualties by the Union defenders. Gillis would send his troops south of the California border for rest and refit before trying again.
Baltimore, Maryland (June 7-8)
In Maryland, the Republicans hold their convention in Baltimore, under the name of the National Union party, to help War Democrats support the party. The Republicans renominated Lincoln, but switched Vice-Presidents to Andrew Johnson, currently serving as military governor of Tennessee.
Upon hearing of his re-nomination, Lincoln wrote:
"I have not permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude that I am the best man in the country; but I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that "it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams.""
There was a lot of back-room dealing involved in getting the nomination again, specifically the promise to name Simon Cameron to the cabinet if he were re-elected, to help shore up support in Pennsylvania.
During the convention, Radical Republicans, a hard-line faction within Lincoln's own party, whom some blamed for the South's secession, believed Lincoln incompetent and that he shouldn't be re-elected, and formed a splinter party, the Radical Democracy Party, which met over in Cleveland, Ohio on the 31st of May. They nominated John C Frémont, the old 1856 Republican nominee. They did this hoping someone else other than Lincoln would get the nomination.
Republicans loyal to Lincoln and the party created a new name for the party, the National Union Party, to accommodate the war Democrats who supported the war, and wanted to separate themselves from what some derisively called "Copperheads." The convention dropped the Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, a Radical Republican, from the ticket, and replaced him with War Democrat Andrew Johnson, hoping that would stress the national character of the war and attract more voters.
During the convention, the party created a platform of 11 resolutions:
1. Integrity of the Union, quelling the Rebellion, and punishing the rebels and traitors
2. No compromise with the Rebels, no peace but unconditional surrender and return to the Union: "in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor and the undying devotion of the American people to their country and its free institutions."
3. Slavery is the cause and strength of the Rebellion and must be destroyed. The Rebels now arm slaves and will return them to the fields if their rebellion succeeds.
4. The nation owes the soldiers and sailors thanks and "permanent recognition of their patriotism and their valor"
5. Approval of the "practical wisdom, the unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of American liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged" as well as approval of the Gettysburg Proclamation and enlisting former slaves into the army
6. Only those approving of these resolutions will serve in public office
7. The Government will protect the troops from any violation of the laws by the Rebels
8. Foreign immigration should be fostered and encouraged.
9. Speedy construction of a railroad to the Pacific coast.
10. Keeping the faith and redemption of public debt, just taxation, and loyal states will promote the credit and national currency of the United States.
11. The US will not ignore any European power attempting to overthrow any republican government in the western hemisphere near the US.
Each of these was met with applause of the crowd.
Battle of Cold Harbor (June 8-24)
Battle of Cold Harbor, Smithsonian War Between the States Exhibit
June 7
Both Union and Confederate cavalry continued sparring each other as they had at Old Church. Lee sent a division under Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee to reinforce Brig. Gen. Matthew Butler, and secure the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor. He kept Stuart close as his own cavalry screen. As Union Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert, now in charge of the Union cavalry corps tried to increase pressure on the Confederates, Lee had Longstreet's Corps shift right from Totopotomoy Creek to support the cavalry. About 4 PM, though, Torbert drove the Confederates from the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor and began digging in. As more of the Confederates arrived, the Union cavalry commander Torbert got concerned and pulled back towards Old Church.
Grant decided to make his stand at Old Cold Harbor and ordered Torbert to hold it "at all hazards." He sent Wright's VI Corps to move in that direction.
June 8
First day of battle on the 8th
Lee's plan for the 8th was to use his partly reinforced infantry, with a small trickle of the new black troops filling in for casualties as they happened, against the small cavalry forces at Old Cold Harbor. The Confederates, rather than segregating their black troops, put them into existing white brigades so they could benefit from veterans and train up more quickly, within two to three months, as opposed to about a year for Union Colored Troops, who were segregated and didn't have the benefit of veterans to train them. The policy of integrating would also have repercussions politically, as the black troops would affect the old attitudes of their fellow soldiers about the place of black people in Confederate society, especially when a black soldier is the one covering your attack or retreat, or dragging your injured body from a field under fire. Lee also made sure discipline was kept between the black and white troopers, that troops were treated equally regarding provisions, rations, and so on.
Longstreet integrated Hoke's division into his attack plan, making sure he understood he was to attack with everyone else.
Wright's VI Corps didn't move out till after midnight, and was on a 15-mile march, and Smith's XVIII Corps had been mistakenly sent to New Castle Ferry on the Pamunkey River, several miles away, and didn't reach Old Cold Harbor in time to help Torbert.
Longstreet led his attack with the brigade under veteran Brig. Gen. Joseph Kershaw, who had taken on the task of ensuring his new colored troops, about 80, were as efficient as his white troops and drilled them when time permitted. Kershaw's men approached the entrenched cavalry of Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt. The Union men were armed with seven-shot Spencer repeating carbines, so they delivered heavy fire, mortally wounding Col. Laurence Keitt, but Kershaw managed to keep unit cohesion, and Hoke's participation kept up the Confederate assault, till they were recalled by Longstreet. The Union here suffered casualties slightly greater than the Confederates. But the armaments took their toll.
By 9 AM, Wright's lead elements arrived at the crossroads, and began extending and improving the Union entrenchments. Though Grant originally intended Wright to attack immediately, they were exhausted from their march, and were unsure of Confederate strength. Wright waited till Smith arrived in the afternoon, and the XVIII Corps began entrenching to the right of VI Corps. Union cavalry moved east to retire.
For the upcoming attack, Meade was concerned that Wright and Smith's corps wouldn't be enough and tried to convince Warren to send reinforcements. He wrote to him, and Warren sent a division under Brig. Gen. Henry Lockwood, which began marching at 6 PM. Without adequate reconnaissance of the road, he couldn't reach the battle in enough time to make a difference. Meade was also concerned about his left flank, which wasn't anchored on the Chickahominy and was potentially threatened by Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry. He ordered Torbert to send scouting parties there, but Torbert resisted, telling Meade he couldn't move his men before dark.
It took till 6:30 PM, but the attack Grant had ordered to happen that morning finally began. Both Wright's and Smith's corps moved forward. Wright's men made little progress, recoiling from heavy fire south of Mechanicsville Road. North of that road, Brig. Gen. Emory Upton's brigade faced heavy fire from Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Clingman's brigade, later quoted as "A sheet of flame, sudden as lightning, red as blood, and so near that it seemed to singe the men's faces." Though Upton tried valiantly to rally his men forward, they fell back to their starting point.
To the right of Upton, Col. William Truex's brigade found a gap in the Confederates' line, between Clingman and Wofford's brigades, through a swampy, brush-filled ravine. As Truex sent his men charging into the gap, Clingman swung two regiments around to face them, and Longstreet sent Brig. Gen. Eppa Hunton's brigade from his reserves. Truex was then surrounded on 3 sides, and was forced to withdraw, without anything to show for it but casualties*.
*Change: No Georgians as prisoners
While the southern end of the lines of battle was active, the three corps of Hancock, Burnside, and Warren were occupying a 5-mile line stretching southeast to Bethesda Church, facing the Confederates under Ewell, Breckinridge, and Early. At the border between the IX and V Corps, the division of Maj. Gen. Thomas Crittenden, newly arrived after his poor performance at Chickamauga, occupied a doglegged position (looking like an L pointing north) with the long face on Shady Grove Road, separated from V Corps by a march called Magnolia Swamp. Two divisions of Early's Corps would use this as their avenue of approach, but despite the poor battle management of Crittenden, the Confederate probes would be repulsed.
At this time, Warren's division under Lockwood got lost wandering around on unfamiliar farm roads. Despite having dispatched Lockwood explicitly the V Corps commander wrote Meade, "In some unaccountable way, [Lockwood] took his whole division, without my knowing it, away from the left of the line of battle, and turned up the dark 2 miles in my rear, and I have not yet got him back. All this time the firing should have guided him at least. He is too incompetent, and too high rank leaves us no subordinate place for him. I earnestly beg that he may at once be relieved of duty with this army." In response Meade relieved Lockwood and replaced him with Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford.
By sunset, fighting had petered out on both ends of the line. The Union had suffered 2400 casualties to 800 Confederate casualties, but some progress had been made - they had almost broken the Confederate line, which was now pinned into place with Union entrenchments being dug yards away. Several Union generals were furious at Grant for ordering an assault without proper reconnaissance.
June 9
Makeshift Confederate breastworks shown after the battle
Though the attacks of June 8th had been unsuccessful, Meade believed an attack early enough on the 9th would be successful if he could get sufficient force on an appropriate location. He and Grant decided to attack Lee's right flank. Longstreet's men had been heavily engaged there yesterday, and it was unlikely they'd found enough time to build stronger defenses. If the attack were successful, Lee's right could be driven back to the Chickahominy River.
Meade ordered Hancock's II Corps to shift southeast from the Totopotomoy Creek, and assume position left of Wright's VI Corps. Once in position, Meade planned to attack on his left with 3 Corps in line, 35,000 men in total (II Corps (Hancock), VI Corps (Wright), and XVIII Corps (Baldy Smith)). Meade also ordered Warren and Burnside to attack Lee's left flank in the morning "at all hazards."
It was a great plan, but Hancock's men had been marching almost all night, and were too worn out when they arrived for an immediate attack in the morning. Grant agreed to let them rest, and postponed the attack till 5 PM, then again till 4:30 AM on the 11th. Unfortunately Grant and Meade didn't give specific orders for the attack, leaving up to the corps commanders to decide where to strike and how they would coordinate with each other. No senior commander had reconnoitered the Confederate positions; Baldy Smith would write that he was "aghast at the reception of such an order, which proved conclusively the utter absence of any military plan." He told his staff that the whole attack was, "simply an order to slaughter my best troops."
On the Confederate side, they took advantage of Union delays to bolster their defenses and add obstacles to slow the Union troops. When Hancock had left, Lee shifted Breckinridge's division to the far right flank, to face Hancock again. Breckinridge drove a small Union force from Turkey Hill, which dominated the southern portion of the battlefield. Lee moved Mahone and Wilcox's divisions to support him, and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry to guard the right flank; this made a 7-mile curving line on low ridges, making flanking impossible.
Later historians would write that Lee's engineers had built "the most ingenious defensive configuration the war had yet witnessed" with barricades of earth and log, artillery posted with converging fields of fire at every avenue of approach, and stakes being driven into the ground to aid gunners' range estimates. One reporter from the Richmond Examiner called it a "maze and labyrinth of works within works," with heavy skirmish lines to suppress the Union's ability to determine the strength or exact positions of the Confederate entrenchments. Lee gained another 3000 black troops, further bolstering his strength while Grant waited.
While they didn't know the details of their objectives, one of Grant's aides, Lt Col Horace Porter wrote in his memoirs that the soldiers knew what they would be facing. Many would be writing their names on papers pinned inside their uniforms. Burnside was advised to attack Early's unprotected flank, but he delayed.
June 10
Battle on the 10th of June
(OOC: replace Anderson with Longstreet, Hill with Ewell)
At 4:30 AM on the 10th, three Union corps began to advance through a thick ground fog. Massive return fire from the Confederate lines caused heavy casualties very quickly, and the survivors were pinned down. Though the results varied across the line, the overall repulse of the Union advance resulted in the most lopsided casualties since the Battle of Fredericksburg. Some of the most effective fire came from the new Confederate black troops, earning them the ire of the Union troops, many of whom believed they were there to free them, and they should be thanking them; they earned the respect of their fellow Confederates, which would help their efforts at civil rights after the war.
The most effective performance of the day turned out to be Hancock's corps on the Union left flank, which broke through a portion of Breckinridge's front line, and drove them out of their entrenchments in hand-to-hand fighting. The Union caught 4 guns and several hundred prisoners.
Unfortunately for the blue-clad warriors, nearby Confederate artillery was brought to bear on the entrenchments, turning them into a death trap for the Billy Yanks. Breckinridge's reserves counterattacked and drove off the Union troops. Hancock's other advance division, under Brig. Gen. John Gibbon got disordered in the swampy ground, and couldn't advance through the heavy fire, losing two brigade commanders (Cols. Peter Porter and H. Boyd McKeen) in the fighting. One of Gibbon's men, who complained about the lack of reconnaissance, wrote, "We felt it was murder, not war, or at best a very serious mistake had been made."
In the center, Wright's corps was pinned down by heavy fire, and could make little effort to advance, as they were still trying to recover from the action two days prior. Emory Upton, normally aggressive, felt further movement by his division, was "impracticable." Confederate defenders on this part of the line were unaware a serious assault had been made against them.
On the Union right, Smith's men advanced through unfavorable terrain, and were channeled into two ravines. When they emerged in front of the Confederate line, rifle and artillery fire mowed them down. One Union officer wrote, "The men bent down as they pushed forward, as if trying, as they were, to breast a tempest, and the files of men went down like rows of blocks or bricks pushed over by striking against one another."
On the Confederate side, one described the carnage of double-canister artillery fire as "deadly, bloody work." The artillery fire set against Smith's corps was heavier than might have been expected, as Warren's V Corps to Smith's right was reluctant to advance, so the Confederate gunners in that sector concentrated on Smith's men instead. It was here the Union first saw black Confederate artillery men, one of which, John Parker aimed the barrel right at Brig. Gen. John Martindale, cutting him in half when it fired.
On the northern side of the field, the only activity was Burnside's IX Corps facing Jubal Early, reinforced by Stonewall Jackson. Burnside launched a powerful assault at 6 AM, but the Confederates found his corps halted in the first line of earthworks and brought heavy fire down on them, forcing them to retreat as well.
At 7 AM, Grant advised Meade to exploit vigorously, any successful part of the assault. Meade ordered his three corps commanders on the left to assault at once, without regard to the movements of their neighboring corps. Unfortunately all of then had had enough of the fight. Hancock advised against it; Smith called it a "wanton waste of life," and refused to advance again. Wright's men increased their rifle fire, but stayed in place. By 12:30 PM, Grant conceded his army was done.
He wrote to Meade, "The opinion of the corps commanders not being sanguine of success in case an assault is ordered, you may direct a suspension of further advance for the present." The Union soldiers still pinned down in front of Confederate lines began entrenching, using cups and bayonets to dig, sometimes including the bodies of their dead comrades in their improvised earthworks.
The next day, Meade bragged to his wife that he was in command for the assault, but his own performance in the fight had been poor. Despite orders from Grant for the corps commanders to examine the ground, their reconnaissance had been lax, and Meade didn't supervise them adequately, either before or during the attack.
Meade was only able to motivate about 20,000 of his men to attack, the II Corps, along with parts of the IX and XVIII, which meant he failed to achieve the mass he knew he would require to succeed. His men paid for the poorly coordinated assault with casualties between 4,000-8,000, with no more than 1,500 on the Confederate side.
Grant would later write in his memoirs:
"I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. I might say the same thing of the assault of the 22d of May, 1863, at Vicksburg. At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained. Indeed, the advantages other than those of relative losses, were on the Confederate side. Before that, the Army of Northern Virginia seemed to have acquired a wholesome regard for the courage, endurance, and soldierly qualities generally of the Army of the Potomac. They no longer wanted to fight them "one Confederate to five Yanks." Indeed, they seemed to have given up any idea of gaining any advantage of their antagonist in the open field. They had come to much prefer breastworks in their front to the Army of the Potomac. This charge seemed to revive their hopes temporarily; but it was of short duration. The effect upon the Army of the Potomac was the reverse. When we reached the James River, however, all effects of the battle of Cold Harbor seemed to have disappeared."
At 11 AM on the 10th, Confederate Postmaster General, John Reagan, arrived with a delegation from Richmond. He asked Lee, "General, if the enemy breaks your line, what reserve have you?" Lee replied, "Not a regiment, which has been my condition ever since fighting has commenced on the Rappahannock. If I shorten my lines to provide a reserve, he will turn me; if I weaken my lines to provide a reserve he will break them. The Congress have emancipated bondservants. Now we need them trained, supplied, and provided if we are to win our independence." Modern scholars have shown Lee to have had ample reserves unengaged. His comments were likely to persuade the War Department to send more troops.
June 12-20
Both sides did not launch any further assaults, but engaged in trench warfare facing each other for the next nine days, some places only yards apart. Sharpshooters worked continuously, killing many. Union artillery bombarded the Confederates with a battery of 8 Coehorn mortars; the Confederates responded by depressing the trail of a 24-lb howitzer and lobbing shells over the Union positions. Though there were no more large-scale assaults, the casualties for the whole battle were twice as large as that from just the assault on the 10th alone.
The trenches were miserable, but conditions were worse between the lines, where thousands of wounded Union troops suffered horribly in the hot conditions without food, water, or medical help. Grant was reluctant to ask for a formal truce to recover them, because that would be acknowledging he lost the battle. Lee and Grant traded notes from the 12th-14th across the lines without coming to an agreement, when Grant finally requested a two-hour cessation of hostilities, but it was too late for most of the wounded, who were now just bloated corpses. He would be widely criticized for this lapse of judgment in the Northern press.
Command
-US: Ulysses Grant, George Meade
-CS: Robert E. Lee
Army
-US: Army of the Potomac (108,000-117,000)
-CS: Army of Northern Virginia (64,000)
Casualties
-US: 15,193; (2,655 killed; 10,347 wounded; 2,191 captured/missing)
-CS: 4,703; (691 killed; 3,109 wounded; 903 captured/missing)
Notable Casualties
-US: Brig Gen John Martindale*
-CS:
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The proto wwi style battle has now locked in. Question is can Lincoln keep the losses suppressed like he did OTL.
Chapter 15: The Campaign Continues (Part 3)
JJohnson
Banned
Battle of Rocky Face Ridge (June 10-16)
In Whitfield County, Georgia, the Union army under Maj. Gen. William Sherman faced off against General Joseph E. Johnston.
General Johnston had a strong entrenchment on the Rocky Face Ridge, and eastward across Crow Valley. The Union forces demonstrated against the Confederates with two columns, while he sent a third through Snake Creek Gap to the south to hit the railroad at Resaca.
The first two columns engaged the Confederates at Buzzard Roost (Mill Creek Gap), and at Dug Gap, while the third column, under Maj. Gen. James McPherson passed through Snake Creek Gap, and found the Confederates entrenched there.
McPherson pulled his column back, fearing the strength of the Confederates there. On the 12th, Sherman decided to join McPherson to take Resaca. Sherman's army withdrew from the ridge. Johnston discovered his movement, and retired south towards Resaca.
Command
-US: William Sherman
-CS: Joseph Johnston
Army
-US: Military Division of the Mississippi
-CS: Army of Tennessee
Casualties
-US: 1240
-CS: 455
Siege of Petersburg (June 10-November 9)
Soldiers in the trenches
Grant at this point had engaged in a series of bloody battles of maneuver with Lee, which pushed Lee closer and closer to Richmond. Grant suffered tens of thousands of losses, as did Lee, which earned Grant the nickname "butcher" in northern newspapers. But Grant could afford those losses, and he didn't believe Lee could; Grant didn't believe that slaves would fight for the Confederates in any great number.
Grant decided to change strategies. Instead of maneuvering him into fighting in the open, he decided to attack his main supply base, Petersburg. It supplied Richmond and his army, and was the main supply base and rail depot for the entire region. If he could take it, it would be impossible for Lee to continue defending the capital. Lee thought Grant's main target was Richmond, and only devoted a small number of troops under General P.G.T. Beauregard to defend Petersburg.
About half of Petersburg's population was black and 36% of Petersburg was free black and a large number of Virginia's black population, both free and slave, enlisted to help the defense of the city for various reasons and in various capacities. Once the emancipation bill came through, many of the blacks would earn enough to buy the freedom of relatives and spouses once the war was over.
While the Union's United States Colored Troops would come to serve in the XXV Corps in the Army of the James, being between 9,000 and 16,000 troops, the number of black Confederates defending Petersburg numbered about 12,000, including a diversion of a number of troops originally intended to go join General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. US Colored Troops would go on to participate in 6 major engagements, and earn 15 of 16 Medals of Honor awarded to black US troops, and the Confederate counterparts earned 18 of 24 Medals of Honor awarded to black Confederates.
Initially, 15,000 Union troops faced off against 14,400 Confederates, including 9,000 black Confederates who were sent in once the Union arrived, building earthworks and trenches. It would peak at about 70,000 Union troops to the 48,000 Confederates.
Layout of the defenses and Union attacks
Initial assault on June 10
While Lee and Grant were sparring with each other, Benjamin Butler believed the defenses of Petersburg to be in a vulnerable state, as its troops came north to reinforce Lee. Being sensitive to his failure at the Bermuda Hundred campaign, Butler was looking for a success to vindicate his generalship. He wrote in his memoirs, "the capture of Petersburg lay close to my heart."
Petersburg was protected by multiple lines of fortifications, the outermost being the Dimmock Line, a line of earthworks and trenches 10 miles long and 55 redoubts, east of the city. The initial defense of 2500 Confederates were stretched thin, commanded by Brig. Gen. Henry Wise, the former Virginia governor. Despite the number of fortifications, at the start of the siege, cavalry could just ride through because of a series of hills and valleys around the outskirts of town, till they reached the inner defenses of the city.
Butler's plan was to cross the Appomattox with three columns, and advance with 4500 men. First and second, columns of infantry, and the third was 1300 cavalrymen under Brig. Gen. August Kautz, which would sweep around Petersburg and strike from the southeast. They moved out on June 8 but made poor progress by encountering numerous Confederate pickets. The assault began at Battery 27. also known as Rives's Salient, manned by 150 militiamen commanded by Maj. Fletcher Archer.
The Union started their assault with the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry against the Home Guard, consisting initially of teens, elderly men, wounded soldiers, and freed slaves newly enlisted into the armed forces. The Home Guards retreated into the city with heavy losses, but by this time Beauregard brought out reinforcements from Richmond and Petersburg, which were able to repulse the assault, and began the large-scale reinforcement of the line with newly enlisted black Confederates.
Meade's Attempts (June 16-19)
Meade's assaults
By the 16th, Beauregard had 50,000 Union troops facing his 14,000 men. A bout of indecisiveness from Hancock appeared to spare Petersburg for a few days till Meade arrived.
The Union had a series of uncoordinated attacks on the 16th, and continuing on the 17th as more black Confederates poured into the lines to man them and fight them off. During the day, Confederate engineers built new defensive positions and assigned their new troops to them as well. Lee even sent some of his veterans, two divisions under Maj. Gen. Joseph Kershaw and Charles Field to aid in training and ensuring the men could defend the city well. Unfortunately, the Union got the V Corps of Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren brought them up to 67,000.
On the morning of the 18th, Meade went into a rage at his corps commanders due to their failure to take the initiative and break through the Confederate positions and seize the city. He ordered the entire Army of the Potomac to attack the Confederate defenses. The first attack began at dawn, by the II and XVIII Corps on the Union right. The II Corps made no progress, as they met up against a full line of defenses by black Confederates, all dressed in gray, halting their progress as they met heavy Confederate fire for hours*
By noon another attack plan was devised to try to break through the Confederate defenses. However, by this time, parts of Lee's army had reinforced Beauregard's troops, and passing on their wisdom to the new recruits. By the time the Union attack started again, Lee himself took command of the defenses.
Maj. Gen. Orlando Willcox's division of IX Corps led the next attack, but suffered significant losses in the march and open fields crossed by Taylor's Branch. Warren's V Corps got halted by murderous fire from Rives's Salient; Col. Joshua Chamberlain was seriously wounded in this attack while commanding the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps. At 6:30 PM, Meade ordered his last assault, which also had more horrendous losses. One of the leading regiments, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment lost 632 of 900 men in the assault, the heaviest single-battle loss of any regiment during the whole war.
Having gotten almost nothing from four days of assaults, and with Lincoln facing re-election in the coming months in the face of a loud public outcry against the casualty figures, Meade ordered his army to dig in, starting the actual siege. During 4 days of fighting, the Union had 13,188 casualties (2,688 killed; 8.556 wounded; 1,944 missing/captured)
*Originally, Beauregard moved back to the second line; here he has enough troops to man the first line.
Wilson-Kautz Raid (June 22-July 1)
At the same time as the Jerusalem Plank Road infantry action, Brig. Gen. James Wilson was ordered by Meade to conduct a raid to destroy as much track as possible south/southwest of Petersburg. He was assigned Brig. Gen. August Katz's small division to help the effort. The 3300 men and 12 guns departed early to destroy the railroad tracks 7 miles south of Petersburg at the Weldon Railroad at Reams Station. Kautz's men moved west to Ford's station and began destroying track, locomotives, and cars on the South Side Railroad.
The next day, they encountered elements of Rooney Lee's cavalry between Nottoway Court House and Black's and White's (now Blackstone). The Confederates struck the rear of his column, forcing Col. George Chapman's brigade to fend them off. Wilson followed Kautz along the South Side Railroad, destroying about 30 miles of track as they went. On the 24th, while Kautz remained to skirmish near Burkeville, Wilson crossed over to Meherrin Station on the Richmond and Danville to begin to destroy track there.
On the 25th, Wilson and Kautz continued tearing up track, and encountered the Home Guard commanded by Capt. Benjamin Farinholt, with about 1,400 black recruits, a mix of free men and freed slaves newly recruited back in April. They were dug in with earthworks and artillery positions at the bridge. Kautz's men never got closer than 80 yards. Lee's cavalry closed in on the Union troops from the northeast and skirmished with the rear guard of Wilson. Union casualties came to 55 killed, 49 wounded, and 39 missing or captured. Confederates lost 9 killed and 23 wounded. Kautz's men gave up and retreated to the railroad depot at 9 PM. Despite these minor losses, the two Union cavalry generals decided to abandon their mission, leaving the Staunton River bridge intact, having inflicted only minor damage on the railroads.
As Wilson and Kautz turned back to the east after the defeat at Staunon River, Rooney Lee's cavalry pursued and threatened their rear. Meanwhile, Lee ordered Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry, which was engaged with Torbert's Union cavalry at Trevilian Station on the 11th to 12th, to join the pursuit and attack Wilson and Kautz.
Before leaving on his raid, Wilson was assured by Maj. Gen. Andrew Humphreys, Meade's chief of staff, that the Army of the Potomac would be immediately taking control of the nearby railroad as far as Reams Station, so Wilson thought he would be able to return to safety there. Unfortunately for him, the defeat at Jerusalem Plank Road meant that promise would not be kept. Wilson and Kautz were surprised on the 28th when they got to Stony Creek Station, and were faced with Confederate Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalrymen and infantry blocking their path. They tried to break through but failed. They slipped out of a Confederate trap and rode north to Halifax Road to try to reach Reams Station.
On the 29th, Kautz approached Reams Station, expecting to find friendly infantry, but instead found Mahone's division behind well-constructed earthworks. Kaurtz's attacks were unsuccessful, and Mahone countered against their flanks. Brig. Gen. Lunsford Lomax and Williams Wickham maneuvered around the Union troops and turned their flank. Wilson managed to send a message through to Meade requesting help, but Wright realized it would take too long, so he requested Torbert's cavalry to help. Torbert demurred, complaining of worn out horses and men.
Caught in the trap without promise of immediate aid, the Union raiders tried to burn their wagons and destroy their artillery, but the Confederates were able to stop them before they could do so; the men escaped with casualties of 1,688, but managed to destroy 60 miles of track. Given the lost equipment, Grant reluctantly described the expedition as a "disaster," but Wilson would count it as a strategic success. The captured Union artillery would soon find its way into the defense of Petersburg.
First Battle of Deep Bottom (July 28-30)
Preparing for the forthcoming battle near Petersburg featuring the mine (Battle of the Crater), Grant wanted Lee to dilute his forces by forcing him to attack elsewhere. He sent Hancock's II Corps and two divisions of Torbert's Cavalry Corps across the river to Deep Bottom by pontoon bridge to advance against the Confederate capital. His plan was to pin down Confederates at Chaffin's Bluff, and prevent reinforcements from opposing Torbert's cavalry, which would attack Richmond if possible. If not, Torbert would ride around the city and cut the Virginia Central Railroad, which was supplying the city from the Shenandoah Valley.
Lee found out about Hancock's movement, and ordered the lines to be reinforced at Richmond to 18,500 men. Black recruits were being forced into defenses, rather than in a real fight with Grant.
The II Corps took up positions at New Market Road and captured the high ground on the right, but were counterattacked and driven back. Confederate works on the west bank of Bailey's Creek were formidable, so Hancock chose not to attack and instead performed reconnaissance.
While Hancock was blocked at Bailey's Creek, Lee began bringing up more reinforcements from within Richmond - enlisted freedmen, not reacting as Grant hoped. Ewell was assigned to the Deep Bottom sector.
On the morning of the 28th, Grant reinforced Hancock with a brigade from the XIX Corps. Torbert's men tried to turn the Confederate left, but their movement was disrupted by Confederate attacks. Three brigades attacked Torbert's right flank, but were hit by heavy fire from Union repeating carbines. Mounted Union troops in Torbert's reserve followed and caught about 200 prisoners.
By afternoon, the combat had stopped and the Union stopped attacking the rails. Grant was frustrated and turned instead to the idea of using a mine to blow a hole in the Confederate line.
Battle of the Crater (July 30)
Battle plan (July 30)
Grant was hoping to defeat Lee's army without a lengthy siege, having already experienced the damage it could do to morale with the Siege of Vicksburg. Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants seemed to have a novel proposal to solve his problem. The man from the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry in Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps was a mining engineer when he was a civilian, and proposed digging a long mine shaft under the Confederate lines, and planting explosive charges directly underneath a fort (they would decide on Elliott's Salient) in the middle of the Confederate First Corps line. If successful, Union troops could drive through the resulting gap in the line. Diggin began late in June, creating a mine with a T shape, with a 511-foot approach shaft, and at the end a perpendicular line of 75-feet in both directions. They filled it with 8,000lb of gunpowder, buried 20 feet under the Confederate works.
Burnside had trained a division of US Colored Troops under Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero to lead the assault. Two regiments would leave the attack column, and extend the breach, while the remaining regiments were to rush through and seize the Jerusalem Plank Road. Burnside's two other divisions of white troops would then move in, supporting Ferrero's flanks and the race to take Petersburg.
The day before the attack, Meade, who lacked confidence in the operation, ordered Burnside not to use black troops to lead the assault. When volunteers didn't come forward, he selected a replacement division by drawing lots. Brig. Gen. Ledlie's 1st division was chosen, but he failed to brief the men on what was expected of them, and was reported during the battle to be drunk, well behind the lines, providing them no leadership.
At 4:44 AM on the 30th, the charges exploded in a massive shower of earth, men, and guns. A crater 170' long, 60-80' wide, and 30' deep was created, and is still visible today.
Sketch of the explosion
The blast destroyed Confederate fortifications in the vicinity, and instantly killed between 250 and 350 Confederates. Ledlie's untrained white division wasn't prepared for the explosion, and waited ten minutes before leaving their own entrenchments. Once they wandered to the crater, instead of moving around it as the black troops had been trained to do, they moved down into the crater itself. Since this wasn't the planned movement, there were no ladders provided for the men to use to exit the crater.
The Confederates, under Maj. Gen. William Mahone, gathered as many troops as they could for the counterattack, over 70% of which were black Confederates. They formed up within an hour's time, and began firing rifles and artillery down into the crater, in what Mahone would later call a "turkey shoot." The plan failed, but instead of cutting his losses, Burnside sent in Ferrero's men. Now facing flanking fire, they also went down into the crater, and for the next few hours, Mahone's soldiers, along with those of Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson and artillery, slaughtered the men of the IX Corps as they tried escaping the crater they had created.
Some Union troops eventually advanced and flanked to the right beyond the Crater to the earthworks, and assaulted the Confederates' lines, driving them back for a few hours in hand-to-hand combat. Mahone's Confederates conducted a sweep out of a sunken gully area about 200 yards right of the Union troops' advance, reclaiming the earthworks and driving the Union force back towards the east.
Grant's Personal Memoirs would mention this, "It was the saddest affair I have witnessed in the war." Union casualties were 3996 ( 651 killed, 1,926 wounded, 1,419 missing/captured), Confederate casualties about 1410. Many of the losses were suffered by Ferrero's division of the USCT. Burnside was relieved of command after this.
Second Deep Bottom (August 14-20)
Order of battle
While the Union failed at the Crater, Lt Gen. Jubal Early and his Army of the Valley were burning Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, operating out of the Shenandoah Valley, and threatening towns in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Federal District. Lee sent the infantry of Maj. Gen. Joseph Kershaw from Longstreet's corps, and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division to Culpeper, VA, to either provide aid to Early, or be recalled to Richmond-Petersburg if needed.
Grant misread this as being Longstreet's entire corps, leaving only 8500 men north of the James River. So he tried again to advance toward the Confederate capital, the effort led by Hancock. This would either prevent reinforcements from helping Early, or dilute Confederate strength at Petersburg, and he could get to Richmond that way.
The X Corps under Maj. Gen. David Birney, and Brig. Gen. Henry Eugene Davies's cavalry division crossed pontoon bridges from Bermuda Hundred to Deep Bottom. The II Corps crossed by steamships the night of the 13th-14th of August. Birney's X Corps successfully pushed aside Confederate pickets on Kingsland Road, but were stopped by the fortifications on New Market Heights. The II Corps moved its units slowly into position, but unfortunately suffered numerous deaths from heat stroke. It took till midday on the 14th for the Union to make contact with the Confederates, which were manning rifle pits on the Darbytown Road just north of Long Bridge Road.
Upon encountering them, the Union generals were surprised at the strength of the Confederates. They had a full division under Maj. Gen. Charles Field dug in on the right; Chaffin's Bluff defended by a division led by Maj. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox. Brig. Gen. Edward Porter, who suspected the tunneling preceding the Crater, was coordinating their artillery, with several hundred black and white soldiers together.
Union Brig. Gen. Francis Barlow's 10,000 men in two divisions of II Corps tried to attack Fussell's Mill, but the strength of the integrated Confederate force was too much, and were repulsed by Lt. Gen. Longstreet's brigade. The Union couldn't capture any guns or make headway*.
Grant tried again against Richmond, with Hancock ordering Birney's corps to make a night march to join Barlow's end of the line. His movement was delayed by the difficult terrain for most of the 15th and the plan to attack was abandoned that day. On the 16th, Gregg's cavalry swept to the right and rode northwest on the Charles City Road toward Richmond. They encountered Rooney Lee's integrated cavalry division blocking the road, and a full day of fighting resulted. The 65th and 66th Virginia Cavalry, majority black units under Lee's command, performed admirably according to his report afterwards. Confederate Brig. Gen. John Chambliss nearly* died that day, having endured two bullet hits that tore his sleeve, and shot a hole in his hat, missing him by inches.
Union infantrymen of the X Corps had a better start to their day, with Brig. Gen. Alfred Terry's division successfully breaking through the line of Confederates. Confederate Brig. Gen. Ambrose P. Wright's Brigade got hit hard, and retreated, opening a significant gap. The heavily wooded terrain prevented Birney and Hancock from realizing they had gotten an advantage, so they were unable to exploit that advantage before the Confederates rearranged their lines to close the gap and drive back the Union soldiers.
Lee planned a counterattack for 11 AM on the Union right, but it was poorly coordinated and made no significant gains. On the night of the 20th, Hancock withdrew his forces back across the James River. Union forces had casualties of about 3150 men, some due to heat stroke. The Confederate casualties were about 1,200.
Globe Tavern (August 18-21)
Battle of Globe Tavern
While the Union II Corps was fighting again at Deep Bottom, Grant planned another attack against the Weldon railroad. He chose Gouverneur Warren's V Corps to lead the operation. Grant got some encouragement from Abraham Lincoln in the President's message on the 17th:
I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.
Grant remarked to his staff, "The President has more nerve than any of his advisors."
At dawn on the 18th, Warren advanced south and reached the railroad at Globe Tavern about 9 AM. Parts of the division began destroying the track, while another formed a line of battle and moved north to block any Confederate advance from that direction. Brig. Gen. Romeyn Ayres's division encountered Confederates at 1 PM, and Warren ordered Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford's division to move to Ayres's right to try to block the Confederate left. Ewell sent three brigades to meet the advancing Union divisions. They launched a strong attack starting about 2 PM, and pushed the Union troops back to within less than half a mile of the Globe Tavern. Warren countered and regained his lost ground. They entrenched for the night.
Union forces got reinforcements through the night (Union IX Corps under Maj. Gen. John Parke), as did the Confederates (Rooney Lee's cavalry division and three infantry brigades from Mahone's division). Late in the afternoon on the 19th, Mahone launched a flanking attack, finding a weak spot in Crawford's line, causing hundreds of Crawford's men to flee in a panic. Heth launched a frontal assault on the center and left, and despite his reinforcement by over two thousand black Confederates standing shoulder to shoulder with their fellow white soldiers, Ayres's division managed to repulse them, but not without heavy casualties. The XI Corps counterattacked, and fighting ended as dusk arrived. On the night of the 20th-21st, Warren pulled his men back two miles to a new line of fortifications, connected with the main Union lines on the Jerusalem Plank Road. Confederates attacked at 9 AM on the 21st, with Mahone striking the Union left, and Heth the center. Both were unsuccessful and suffered heavy losses. By 10:30 AM, the Confederates withdrew.
Union casualties were 6,744 (988 killed, 2,569 wounded, 3187 missing/captured), and Confederate 1,593 (165 killed, 1,077 wounded, 351 missing/captured). The Confederates lost a key section of the Weldon Railroad, and were forced to carry supplies by wagon 30 miles from the railroad at Stony Creek, up the Boydton Plank Road and into Petersburg. This wasn't a critical problem for the Confederates, and Grant was not entirely satisfied with Warren's victory, which was the first real victory by the Union in this campaign.
Beefsteak Raid (September 14-17)
On the 5th of September, a Confederate scout, Sgt. David Thomas Jackson, reported to Wade Hampton that 5 miles east of Grant's HQ at City Point, there were about 3000 beeves (beef cattle, attended by 120 men, and 30 citizens, without arms. While Grant was conferring with his general in the Shenandoah, Torbert, Hampton led about 4500 men in four brigades southwest from Petersburg and launched an attack on the 16th in three columns. While this was going on, a detachment under Lt. Col. Lovick Miller went to seize the cattle herd. He met little resistance, and by 8 AM, Hampton's men were driving 2,685 cattle back to their lines in Richmond and Petersburg. When they reached Petersburg, they turned the cattle over to the Confederate commissary department. Since the path between Kentucky and Virginia remained open, and Torbert hadn't been as successful in the Shenandoah, the Confederates had enough feed for the cattle, and were able to keep stocked through most of the winter, preserving the meat in jerky or salted. For days, Confederates feasted on the beef, the best meals they had had in a good while, giving them all plenty of protein for the first time in a long time. They taunted their Union counterparts across the lines.
A visitor to Grant's HQ asked him, "When do you expect to starve out Lee and capture Richmond?" Grant replied, "Never, if our armies continue to supply him with beef cattle."
The Union continued skirmishing in various efforts to break through Richmond and Petersburg till late October with little to show for it. Time was running out and the Union needed a big victory somewhere if Lincoln were to get reelected legitimately.
Command
-US: Ulysses Grant, George Meade, Benjamin Butler
-CS: Robert E Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard
Army
-US: Army of the Potomac: 67,000 to 125,000
-CS: Army of the James: 68,000
Casualties
-US: 46,000
-CS: 19,000
Almost Casualties
-US:
-CS: Brig. Gen. John R. Chambliss*
In Whitfield County, Georgia, the Union army under Maj. Gen. William Sherman faced off against General Joseph E. Johnston.
General Johnston had a strong entrenchment on the Rocky Face Ridge, and eastward across Crow Valley. The Union forces demonstrated against the Confederates with two columns, while he sent a third through Snake Creek Gap to the south to hit the railroad at Resaca.
The first two columns engaged the Confederates at Buzzard Roost (Mill Creek Gap), and at Dug Gap, while the third column, under Maj. Gen. James McPherson passed through Snake Creek Gap, and found the Confederates entrenched there.
McPherson pulled his column back, fearing the strength of the Confederates there. On the 12th, Sherman decided to join McPherson to take Resaca. Sherman's army withdrew from the ridge. Johnston discovered his movement, and retired south towards Resaca.
Command
-US: William Sherman
-CS: Joseph Johnston
Army
-US: Military Division of the Mississippi
-CS: Army of Tennessee
Casualties
-US: 1240
-CS: 455
Siege of Petersburg (June 10-November 9)
Soldiers in the trenches
Grant at this point had engaged in a series of bloody battles of maneuver with Lee, which pushed Lee closer and closer to Richmond. Grant suffered tens of thousands of losses, as did Lee, which earned Grant the nickname "butcher" in northern newspapers. But Grant could afford those losses, and he didn't believe Lee could; Grant didn't believe that slaves would fight for the Confederates in any great number.
Grant decided to change strategies. Instead of maneuvering him into fighting in the open, he decided to attack his main supply base, Petersburg. It supplied Richmond and his army, and was the main supply base and rail depot for the entire region. If he could take it, it would be impossible for Lee to continue defending the capital. Lee thought Grant's main target was Richmond, and only devoted a small number of troops under General P.G.T. Beauregard to defend Petersburg.
About half of Petersburg's population was black and 36% of Petersburg was free black and a large number of Virginia's black population, both free and slave, enlisted to help the defense of the city for various reasons and in various capacities. Once the emancipation bill came through, many of the blacks would earn enough to buy the freedom of relatives and spouses once the war was over.
While the Union's United States Colored Troops would come to serve in the XXV Corps in the Army of the James, being between 9,000 and 16,000 troops, the number of black Confederates defending Petersburg numbered about 12,000, including a diversion of a number of troops originally intended to go join General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. US Colored Troops would go on to participate in 6 major engagements, and earn 15 of 16 Medals of Honor awarded to black US troops, and the Confederate counterparts earned 18 of 24 Medals of Honor awarded to black Confederates.
Initially, 15,000 Union troops faced off against 14,400 Confederates, including 9,000 black Confederates who were sent in once the Union arrived, building earthworks and trenches. It would peak at about 70,000 Union troops to the 48,000 Confederates.
Layout of the defenses and Union attacks
Initial assault on June 10
While Lee and Grant were sparring with each other, Benjamin Butler believed the defenses of Petersburg to be in a vulnerable state, as its troops came north to reinforce Lee. Being sensitive to his failure at the Bermuda Hundred campaign, Butler was looking for a success to vindicate his generalship. He wrote in his memoirs, "the capture of Petersburg lay close to my heart."
Petersburg was protected by multiple lines of fortifications, the outermost being the Dimmock Line, a line of earthworks and trenches 10 miles long and 55 redoubts, east of the city. The initial defense of 2500 Confederates were stretched thin, commanded by Brig. Gen. Henry Wise, the former Virginia governor. Despite the number of fortifications, at the start of the siege, cavalry could just ride through because of a series of hills and valleys around the outskirts of town, till they reached the inner defenses of the city.
Butler's plan was to cross the Appomattox with three columns, and advance with 4500 men. First and second, columns of infantry, and the third was 1300 cavalrymen under Brig. Gen. August Kautz, which would sweep around Petersburg and strike from the southeast. They moved out on June 8 but made poor progress by encountering numerous Confederate pickets. The assault began at Battery 27. also known as Rives's Salient, manned by 150 militiamen commanded by Maj. Fletcher Archer.
The Union started their assault with the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry against the Home Guard, consisting initially of teens, elderly men, wounded soldiers, and freed slaves newly enlisted into the armed forces. The Home Guards retreated into the city with heavy losses, but by this time Beauregard brought out reinforcements from Richmond and Petersburg, which were able to repulse the assault, and began the large-scale reinforcement of the line with newly enlisted black Confederates.
Meade's Attempts (June 16-19)
Meade's assaults
By the 16th, Beauregard had 50,000 Union troops facing his 14,000 men. A bout of indecisiveness from Hancock appeared to spare Petersburg for a few days till Meade arrived.
The Union had a series of uncoordinated attacks on the 16th, and continuing on the 17th as more black Confederates poured into the lines to man them and fight them off. During the day, Confederate engineers built new defensive positions and assigned their new troops to them as well. Lee even sent some of his veterans, two divisions under Maj. Gen. Joseph Kershaw and Charles Field to aid in training and ensuring the men could defend the city well. Unfortunately, the Union got the V Corps of Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren brought them up to 67,000.
On the morning of the 18th, Meade went into a rage at his corps commanders due to their failure to take the initiative and break through the Confederate positions and seize the city. He ordered the entire Army of the Potomac to attack the Confederate defenses. The first attack began at dawn, by the II and XVIII Corps on the Union right. The II Corps made no progress, as they met up against a full line of defenses by black Confederates, all dressed in gray, halting their progress as they met heavy Confederate fire for hours*
By noon another attack plan was devised to try to break through the Confederate defenses. However, by this time, parts of Lee's army had reinforced Beauregard's troops, and passing on their wisdom to the new recruits. By the time the Union attack started again, Lee himself took command of the defenses.
Maj. Gen. Orlando Willcox's division of IX Corps led the next attack, but suffered significant losses in the march and open fields crossed by Taylor's Branch. Warren's V Corps got halted by murderous fire from Rives's Salient; Col. Joshua Chamberlain was seriously wounded in this attack while commanding the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps. At 6:30 PM, Meade ordered his last assault, which also had more horrendous losses. One of the leading regiments, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment lost 632 of 900 men in the assault, the heaviest single-battle loss of any regiment during the whole war.
Having gotten almost nothing from four days of assaults, and with Lincoln facing re-election in the coming months in the face of a loud public outcry against the casualty figures, Meade ordered his army to dig in, starting the actual siege. During 4 days of fighting, the Union had 13,188 casualties (2,688 killed; 8.556 wounded; 1,944 missing/captured)
*Originally, Beauregard moved back to the second line; here he has enough troops to man the first line.
Wilson-Kautz Raid (June 22-July 1)
At the same time as the Jerusalem Plank Road infantry action, Brig. Gen. James Wilson was ordered by Meade to conduct a raid to destroy as much track as possible south/southwest of Petersburg. He was assigned Brig. Gen. August Katz's small division to help the effort. The 3300 men and 12 guns departed early to destroy the railroad tracks 7 miles south of Petersburg at the Weldon Railroad at Reams Station. Kautz's men moved west to Ford's station and began destroying track, locomotives, and cars on the South Side Railroad.
The next day, they encountered elements of Rooney Lee's cavalry between Nottoway Court House and Black's and White's (now Blackstone). The Confederates struck the rear of his column, forcing Col. George Chapman's brigade to fend them off. Wilson followed Kautz along the South Side Railroad, destroying about 30 miles of track as they went. On the 24th, while Kautz remained to skirmish near Burkeville, Wilson crossed over to Meherrin Station on the Richmond and Danville to begin to destroy track there.
On the 25th, Wilson and Kautz continued tearing up track, and encountered the Home Guard commanded by Capt. Benjamin Farinholt, with about 1,400 black recruits, a mix of free men and freed slaves newly recruited back in April. They were dug in with earthworks and artillery positions at the bridge. Kautz's men never got closer than 80 yards. Lee's cavalry closed in on the Union troops from the northeast and skirmished with the rear guard of Wilson. Union casualties came to 55 killed, 49 wounded, and 39 missing or captured. Confederates lost 9 killed and 23 wounded. Kautz's men gave up and retreated to the railroad depot at 9 PM. Despite these minor losses, the two Union cavalry generals decided to abandon their mission, leaving the Staunton River bridge intact, having inflicted only minor damage on the railroads.
As Wilson and Kautz turned back to the east after the defeat at Staunon River, Rooney Lee's cavalry pursued and threatened their rear. Meanwhile, Lee ordered Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry, which was engaged with Torbert's Union cavalry at Trevilian Station on the 11th to 12th, to join the pursuit and attack Wilson and Kautz.
Before leaving on his raid, Wilson was assured by Maj. Gen. Andrew Humphreys, Meade's chief of staff, that the Army of the Potomac would be immediately taking control of the nearby railroad as far as Reams Station, so Wilson thought he would be able to return to safety there. Unfortunately for him, the defeat at Jerusalem Plank Road meant that promise would not be kept. Wilson and Kautz were surprised on the 28th when they got to Stony Creek Station, and were faced with Confederate Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalrymen and infantry blocking their path. They tried to break through but failed. They slipped out of a Confederate trap and rode north to Halifax Road to try to reach Reams Station.
On the 29th, Kautz approached Reams Station, expecting to find friendly infantry, but instead found Mahone's division behind well-constructed earthworks. Kaurtz's attacks were unsuccessful, and Mahone countered against their flanks. Brig. Gen. Lunsford Lomax and Williams Wickham maneuvered around the Union troops and turned their flank. Wilson managed to send a message through to Meade requesting help, but Wright realized it would take too long, so he requested Torbert's cavalry to help. Torbert demurred, complaining of worn out horses and men.
Caught in the trap without promise of immediate aid, the Union raiders tried to burn their wagons and destroy their artillery, but the Confederates were able to stop them before they could do so; the men escaped with casualties of 1,688, but managed to destroy 60 miles of track. Given the lost equipment, Grant reluctantly described the expedition as a "disaster," but Wilson would count it as a strategic success. The captured Union artillery would soon find its way into the defense of Petersburg.
First Battle of Deep Bottom (July 28-30)
Preparing for the forthcoming battle near Petersburg featuring the mine (Battle of the Crater), Grant wanted Lee to dilute his forces by forcing him to attack elsewhere. He sent Hancock's II Corps and two divisions of Torbert's Cavalry Corps across the river to Deep Bottom by pontoon bridge to advance against the Confederate capital. His plan was to pin down Confederates at Chaffin's Bluff, and prevent reinforcements from opposing Torbert's cavalry, which would attack Richmond if possible. If not, Torbert would ride around the city and cut the Virginia Central Railroad, which was supplying the city from the Shenandoah Valley.
Lee found out about Hancock's movement, and ordered the lines to be reinforced at Richmond to 18,500 men. Black recruits were being forced into defenses, rather than in a real fight with Grant.
The II Corps took up positions at New Market Road and captured the high ground on the right, but were counterattacked and driven back. Confederate works on the west bank of Bailey's Creek were formidable, so Hancock chose not to attack and instead performed reconnaissance.
While Hancock was blocked at Bailey's Creek, Lee began bringing up more reinforcements from within Richmond - enlisted freedmen, not reacting as Grant hoped. Ewell was assigned to the Deep Bottom sector.
On the morning of the 28th, Grant reinforced Hancock with a brigade from the XIX Corps. Torbert's men tried to turn the Confederate left, but their movement was disrupted by Confederate attacks. Three brigades attacked Torbert's right flank, but were hit by heavy fire from Union repeating carbines. Mounted Union troops in Torbert's reserve followed and caught about 200 prisoners.
By afternoon, the combat had stopped and the Union stopped attacking the rails. Grant was frustrated and turned instead to the idea of using a mine to blow a hole in the Confederate line.
Battle of the Crater (July 30)
Battle plan (July 30)
Grant was hoping to defeat Lee's army without a lengthy siege, having already experienced the damage it could do to morale with the Siege of Vicksburg. Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants seemed to have a novel proposal to solve his problem. The man from the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry in Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps was a mining engineer when he was a civilian, and proposed digging a long mine shaft under the Confederate lines, and planting explosive charges directly underneath a fort (they would decide on Elliott's Salient) in the middle of the Confederate First Corps line. If successful, Union troops could drive through the resulting gap in the line. Diggin began late in June, creating a mine with a T shape, with a 511-foot approach shaft, and at the end a perpendicular line of 75-feet in both directions. They filled it with 8,000lb of gunpowder, buried 20 feet under the Confederate works.
Burnside had trained a division of US Colored Troops under Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero to lead the assault. Two regiments would leave the attack column, and extend the breach, while the remaining regiments were to rush through and seize the Jerusalem Plank Road. Burnside's two other divisions of white troops would then move in, supporting Ferrero's flanks and the race to take Petersburg.
The day before the attack, Meade, who lacked confidence in the operation, ordered Burnside not to use black troops to lead the assault. When volunteers didn't come forward, he selected a replacement division by drawing lots. Brig. Gen. Ledlie's 1st division was chosen, but he failed to brief the men on what was expected of them, and was reported during the battle to be drunk, well behind the lines, providing them no leadership.
At 4:44 AM on the 30th, the charges exploded in a massive shower of earth, men, and guns. A crater 170' long, 60-80' wide, and 30' deep was created, and is still visible today.
Sketch of the explosion
The blast destroyed Confederate fortifications in the vicinity, and instantly killed between 250 and 350 Confederates. Ledlie's untrained white division wasn't prepared for the explosion, and waited ten minutes before leaving their own entrenchments. Once they wandered to the crater, instead of moving around it as the black troops had been trained to do, they moved down into the crater itself. Since this wasn't the planned movement, there were no ladders provided for the men to use to exit the crater.
The Confederates, under Maj. Gen. William Mahone, gathered as many troops as they could for the counterattack, over 70% of which were black Confederates. They formed up within an hour's time, and began firing rifles and artillery down into the crater, in what Mahone would later call a "turkey shoot." The plan failed, but instead of cutting his losses, Burnside sent in Ferrero's men. Now facing flanking fire, they also went down into the crater, and for the next few hours, Mahone's soldiers, along with those of Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson and artillery, slaughtered the men of the IX Corps as they tried escaping the crater they had created.
Some Union troops eventually advanced and flanked to the right beyond the Crater to the earthworks, and assaulted the Confederates' lines, driving them back for a few hours in hand-to-hand combat. Mahone's Confederates conducted a sweep out of a sunken gully area about 200 yards right of the Union troops' advance, reclaiming the earthworks and driving the Union force back towards the east.
Grant's Personal Memoirs would mention this, "It was the saddest affair I have witnessed in the war." Union casualties were 3996 ( 651 killed, 1,926 wounded, 1,419 missing/captured), Confederate casualties about 1410. Many of the losses were suffered by Ferrero's division of the USCT. Burnside was relieved of command after this.
Second Deep Bottom (August 14-20)
Order of battle
While the Union failed at the Crater, Lt Gen. Jubal Early and his Army of the Valley were burning Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, operating out of the Shenandoah Valley, and threatening towns in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Federal District. Lee sent the infantry of Maj. Gen. Joseph Kershaw from Longstreet's corps, and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division to Culpeper, VA, to either provide aid to Early, or be recalled to Richmond-Petersburg if needed.
Grant misread this as being Longstreet's entire corps, leaving only 8500 men north of the James River. So he tried again to advance toward the Confederate capital, the effort led by Hancock. This would either prevent reinforcements from helping Early, or dilute Confederate strength at Petersburg, and he could get to Richmond that way.
The X Corps under Maj. Gen. David Birney, and Brig. Gen. Henry Eugene Davies's cavalry division crossed pontoon bridges from Bermuda Hundred to Deep Bottom. The II Corps crossed by steamships the night of the 13th-14th of August. Birney's X Corps successfully pushed aside Confederate pickets on Kingsland Road, but were stopped by the fortifications on New Market Heights. The II Corps moved its units slowly into position, but unfortunately suffered numerous deaths from heat stroke. It took till midday on the 14th for the Union to make contact with the Confederates, which were manning rifle pits on the Darbytown Road just north of Long Bridge Road.
Upon encountering them, the Union generals were surprised at the strength of the Confederates. They had a full division under Maj. Gen. Charles Field dug in on the right; Chaffin's Bluff defended by a division led by Maj. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox. Brig. Gen. Edward Porter, who suspected the tunneling preceding the Crater, was coordinating their artillery, with several hundred black and white soldiers together.
Union Brig. Gen. Francis Barlow's 10,000 men in two divisions of II Corps tried to attack Fussell's Mill, but the strength of the integrated Confederate force was too much, and were repulsed by Lt. Gen. Longstreet's brigade. The Union couldn't capture any guns or make headway*.
Grant tried again against Richmond, with Hancock ordering Birney's corps to make a night march to join Barlow's end of the line. His movement was delayed by the difficult terrain for most of the 15th and the plan to attack was abandoned that day. On the 16th, Gregg's cavalry swept to the right and rode northwest on the Charles City Road toward Richmond. They encountered Rooney Lee's integrated cavalry division blocking the road, and a full day of fighting resulted. The 65th and 66th Virginia Cavalry, majority black units under Lee's command, performed admirably according to his report afterwards. Confederate Brig. Gen. John Chambliss nearly* died that day, having endured two bullet hits that tore his sleeve, and shot a hole in his hat, missing him by inches.
Union infantrymen of the X Corps had a better start to their day, with Brig. Gen. Alfred Terry's division successfully breaking through the line of Confederates. Confederate Brig. Gen. Ambrose P. Wright's Brigade got hit hard, and retreated, opening a significant gap. The heavily wooded terrain prevented Birney and Hancock from realizing they had gotten an advantage, so they were unable to exploit that advantage before the Confederates rearranged their lines to close the gap and drive back the Union soldiers.
Lee planned a counterattack for 11 AM on the Union right, but it was poorly coordinated and made no significant gains. On the night of the 20th, Hancock withdrew his forces back across the James River. Union forces had casualties of about 3150 men, some due to heat stroke. The Confederate casualties were about 1,200.
Globe Tavern (August 18-21)
Battle of Globe Tavern
While the Union II Corps was fighting again at Deep Bottom, Grant planned another attack against the Weldon railroad. He chose Gouverneur Warren's V Corps to lead the operation. Grant got some encouragement from Abraham Lincoln in the President's message on the 17th:
I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.
Grant remarked to his staff, "The President has more nerve than any of his advisors."
At dawn on the 18th, Warren advanced south and reached the railroad at Globe Tavern about 9 AM. Parts of the division began destroying the track, while another formed a line of battle and moved north to block any Confederate advance from that direction. Brig. Gen. Romeyn Ayres's division encountered Confederates at 1 PM, and Warren ordered Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford's division to move to Ayres's right to try to block the Confederate left. Ewell sent three brigades to meet the advancing Union divisions. They launched a strong attack starting about 2 PM, and pushed the Union troops back to within less than half a mile of the Globe Tavern. Warren countered and regained his lost ground. They entrenched for the night.
Union forces got reinforcements through the night (Union IX Corps under Maj. Gen. John Parke), as did the Confederates (Rooney Lee's cavalry division and three infantry brigades from Mahone's division). Late in the afternoon on the 19th, Mahone launched a flanking attack, finding a weak spot in Crawford's line, causing hundreds of Crawford's men to flee in a panic. Heth launched a frontal assault on the center and left, and despite his reinforcement by over two thousand black Confederates standing shoulder to shoulder with their fellow white soldiers, Ayres's division managed to repulse them, but not without heavy casualties. The XI Corps counterattacked, and fighting ended as dusk arrived. On the night of the 20th-21st, Warren pulled his men back two miles to a new line of fortifications, connected with the main Union lines on the Jerusalem Plank Road. Confederates attacked at 9 AM on the 21st, with Mahone striking the Union left, and Heth the center. Both were unsuccessful and suffered heavy losses. By 10:30 AM, the Confederates withdrew.
Union casualties were 6,744 (988 killed, 2,569 wounded, 3187 missing/captured), and Confederate 1,593 (165 killed, 1,077 wounded, 351 missing/captured). The Confederates lost a key section of the Weldon Railroad, and were forced to carry supplies by wagon 30 miles from the railroad at Stony Creek, up the Boydton Plank Road and into Petersburg. This wasn't a critical problem for the Confederates, and Grant was not entirely satisfied with Warren's victory, which was the first real victory by the Union in this campaign.
Beefsteak Raid (September 14-17)
On the 5th of September, a Confederate scout, Sgt. David Thomas Jackson, reported to Wade Hampton that 5 miles east of Grant's HQ at City Point, there were about 3000 beeves (beef cattle, attended by 120 men, and 30 citizens, without arms. While Grant was conferring with his general in the Shenandoah, Torbert, Hampton led about 4500 men in four brigades southwest from Petersburg and launched an attack on the 16th in three columns. While this was going on, a detachment under Lt. Col. Lovick Miller went to seize the cattle herd. He met little resistance, and by 8 AM, Hampton's men were driving 2,685 cattle back to their lines in Richmond and Petersburg. When they reached Petersburg, they turned the cattle over to the Confederate commissary department. Since the path between Kentucky and Virginia remained open, and Torbert hadn't been as successful in the Shenandoah, the Confederates had enough feed for the cattle, and were able to keep stocked through most of the winter, preserving the meat in jerky or salted. For days, Confederates feasted on the beef, the best meals they had had in a good while, giving them all plenty of protein for the first time in a long time. They taunted their Union counterparts across the lines.
A visitor to Grant's HQ asked him, "When do you expect to starve out Lee and capture Richmond?" Grant replied, "Never, if our armies continue to supply him with beef cattle."
The Union continued skirmishing in various efforts to break through Richmond and Petersburg till late October with little to show for it. Time was running out and the Union needed a big victory somewhere if Lincoln were to get reelected legitimately.
Command
-US: Ulysses Grant, George Meade, Benjamin Butler
-CS: Robert E Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard
Army
-US: Army of the Potomac: 67,000 to 125,000
-CS: Army of the James: 68,000
Casualties
-US: 46,000
-CS: 19,000
Almost Casualties
-US:
-CS: Brig. Gen. John R. Chambliss*
Something tells me the Union isn't going to do much better in Georgia.
That line looks troubling.
That line looks troubling.
Love the mention of the only battle fought in Charlotte county va Staunton River Bridge kodus
Chapter 16: The Fight in the West
JJohnson
Banned
Battle of Resaca (June 17-19)
Over in Georgia, Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca. On the 17th of June, the Union troops began testing their lines to find their position. On the 18th, full scale fighting ensued, with the Union forces being repulsed across the lines. Sherman finally got his pontoon bridges delivered, so that he could cross the Oostanaula River at Lay's Ferry and threaten Johnston's railroad supply line. Being unable to halt the movement, Johnston was forced to retire southward.
General Sherman wrote a letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, in which he wrote: "There is a class of people, men, women, and children, who must be killed or banished before you can hope for peace and order"
His comments are similar to those of Major James Austin Connolly, who wrote, "We'll burn every house, barn, church, and everything else we come to; we'll leave their families houseless and without food; their towns will all be destroyed, and nothing but the most complete desolation will be found in our track." He wrote this after southerners had begun hiding their valuables from Sherman's army coming towards Atlanta.
Battle of Adairsville (June 29)
Once they got across the Oostanaula River, Johnston decided to make a stand and give the Union troops a costly fight. He expected to find favorable land near Calhoun, but moved to Adairsville for more favorable ground. Sherman followed, dividing into three columns and advancing on a broad front. There were skirmishes all along the route, but the main bodies of both armies were not engaged.
Two miles north of Adairsville, the Union V Corps and Oliver Howard began skirmishing with entrenched units of Wiliam Hardee's Corps. The 44th Illinois and 24th Wisconsin infantry regiments, led by Maj. Arthur MacArthur, Jr. attacked Benjamin Cheatham's division, suffering heavy losses. The rest of Howard's corps prepared for battle, but General Thomas called off further attacks. At Adairsville, Johnston again hoped for a position where he could give battle, but the terrain was unsuitable for a good defense, and he continued his withdrawal.
But Johnston saw that there were two roads leading south of Adairsville, one to Kingston and one to Cassville. Johnston bet that Sherman would divide his armies to use both roads, so Johnston could attack one column, before the other one could come to its aid.
Sherman did as Johnston hoped, with James McPherson and most of George Thomas's army heading to Kingston, and sending only John Schofield and one corps of Thomas's army heading to Cassville.
At Cassville, Cleburne commanded his corps, reinforced with an 800-man brigade of black recruits. Since it was his idea, figured A.S. Johnston, he would be the first in the Army of the Tennessee to field the recruits in battle. Cleburne was ordered to form his corps for battle facing west. He saw the potential for vulnerability to the east, though, and had his corps form breastworks in both directions, twin Vs with the western longer than the eastern. He would have the advantage of internal lines, and he could swing artillery around to hit either side.
John Schofield led his corps to the west, while Daniel Butterfield's brigade arrived to the east; Butterfield had unfortunately engaged in too much liquor and women the night prior, and was still somewhat inebriated, leading to ineffective leadership on his side. Cleburne's corps managed to defend their ground, and decimated Schofield's corps including three of his senior officers. On the east, Cleburne's corps faced Butterfield and held him off, inflicting over 400 casualties.
Given that they held a strong position, Cleburne held his ground for several days as did the Union army, which entrenched, both sides skirmishing for a few days before the Union troops retreated and moved around to join Sherman.
Cleburne's actions delayed Sherman's approach past the 4th of July as he waited for those troops to rejoin him so they could proceed to Atlanta.
After having given the Union a sound defeat, Johnston wanted Cleburne to rejoin him, and they met up at New Hope Church with Hardee's corps. Johnston made it clear to Cleburne and Hardee they were acting as a delaying force so that General Albert Sidney Johnston's force of black enlistees could meet them at Atlanta to destroy Sherman.
Battle of New Hope Church (July 5-6)
After Johnston left for Allatoona Pass, Sherman decided against attacking Johnston there, so he tried to move around Johnston's left flank. But Johnston anticipated Sherman's move and moved his army into Sherman's path, centering a new line at New Hope Church. Sherman mistakenly thought Johnston had just a token force there, and ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's XX Corps to attack. Advancing his three divisions in parallel routes, Hooker pushed the Confederate skirmishers back for three miles, before encountering Johnston's main line.
The difficult terrain prevented Hooker from coordinating his corps's attacks effectively, and they suffered severe casualties as a result, especially from canister and shrapnel. On the 6th, both sides entrenched and skirmished throughout the day. By the time the fighting ended, the Confederates reported 840 Union soldiers killed, and 386 taken prisoner. Union forces then tried concentrating their efforts to the northern end of the Confederate line, resulting in the Battle of Pickett's Mill.
Battle of Pickett's Mill (July 8)
After their defeat at New Hope Church, Sherman ordered Maj. Gen. Oliver Howard to attack Johnston's apparently exposed right flank. The Confederates were ready for his attack, which didn't unfold as he had planned, because supporting troops never appeared. The Confederates repulsed the attack, causing heavy Union casualties in the process. The IV Corps suffered over 2,400 casualties in the fight.
Author Ambrose Bierce fought for the Union at Pickett's Mill as a topographical engineer under William Hazen. He reported the battle took about 45 minutes; one half were killed and wounded in Hazen's brigade in 30 minutes of actual fighting.
Battle of Dallas (July 7-13)
Sherman's 80,000 man army faced off against Johnston's 42,000 man army at Dallas, Georgia for several days in July. Some historians include New Hope Church and Pickett's Mill in the Battle of Dallas.
On July 7th, Maj. Gen. Sherman learned his Confederate counterpart, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, was forming a defensive line on the south side of Pumpkinvine Creek. Having fallen back from Cassville and Kingston, and before, he thought he could force him to retreat again. Sherman's army tested the Confederate line while entrenching themselves.
Hardee's Corps probed the Union defensive line on the 9th, held by Logan's Army of the Tennessee Corps, to exploit any weakness or possible withdrawal. Fighting occurred at two different points, where the Union forces repulsed the Confederates, but suffered high casualties themselves. Confederates suffered 2,800 casualties to 3,400 Union casualties. Among the thousands of casualties was brigade commander Archibald McDougall formerly of the Army of the Potomac.
Sherman continued looking for away around his foe's line, and his cavalry occupied Allatoona Pass, which had a railroad, and would allow his men and supplies to reach him by train. So Sherman abandoned his lines at Dallas and moved towards the railhead, forcing Johnston to follow soon afterwards.
Battle of Kolb's Farm (July 22)
During the afternoon days after the fight at Dallas, Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson, in command of one of Stephen D. Lee's divisions, advanced his division from its campsite near Mt. Zion Church towards Kolb's Farm, at the south side of the Powder Springs Road. He reported heavy skirmish fire from two Union regiments - 14th Kentucky Infantry, and 123rd New York Infantry. Shortly after, Lee ordered his corps to prepare to advance west along the road, conducting reconnaissance beforehand before committing his entire corps*.
*Hood didn't do his reconnaissance before fighting.
Confederate cavalry reported considerable Union infantry in the area, not just the two outpost regiments. Union and Confederate cavalry skirmished for a time before retreating. Based on their report, Lee decided not to attack, saving them potentially thousands of casualties. The Union and Confederates instead suffered in total maybe 25-30 casualties each in the cavalry engagement.
Battle of Chattanooga (July 31-August 15)
Hoping to relieve some of the pressure from Atlanta, the Confederates manages to slow down the Union advance towards one of their key industrial cities by having General Forrest, along with his additional 8,000 colored troops conduct operations against General Sherman's supply lines, hoping to divert some of his army off of General Johnston. The Battle of Chattanooga really is a series of separate battles at Cartersville, Adairsville, Calhoun, Dalton, and Chattanooga. Over the course of about two weeks, Forrest would spar with Union General George Thomas and his Army of the Cumberland, facing about 20,000 of the 60,000-man army, drawing them off the approach to Atlanta to try to protect Sherman's supply lines. Raid after raid, battle after battle, the Union and Confederates traded blows, but Forrest's cavalry continued to gain numbers while making successful raids on Sherman's supplies. They drew the men more and more north, hoping that Johnston would do something, but he continued his entrenchment at Kennesaw Mountain, while Sherman stalled.
Forrest reached Chattanooga by the 13th, and fought Thomas's men at Missionary Ridge, taking the military crest of the hill, rather than the physical crest. In so doing, Forrest held them two days, before he escaped capture by evacuating around Lookout Mountain.
His actions here, reinforced by newly trained black cavalrymen, slowed Sherman's march towards Atlanta as his supply train was interrupted. Forrest suffered maybe 200 casualties and managed to send off hundreds of wagons' worth of medicine, food, munitions, and other supplies to Johnston and Lee, aside from what he took for his own men. Forrest made sure his black cavalrymen were treated to the spoils just as his white cavalrymen; even the former Union Colored Troops who had joined him proved their loyalty to Forrest and earned his respect.
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (August 22 - August 25)
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
OOC: Replace Hood with Cleburne
Contrary to what General Sherman did in each of the past battles, he decided to make a head-on battle at the fortifications of Kennesaw Mountain rather than flanking. His plan at first was to try to make Johnston thin out his line, by ordering Schofield to extend his army to the right, then McPherson would make a feint to the extreme left, the northern outskirts of Marietta and the northeastern end of Kennesaw Mountain, with his cavalry and a division of infantry, and to make a major assault on the southwestern end of Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Confederate positions on the mountain
Union entrenchments at the foot of the mountain
While this was to happen, Thomas's army was to conduct the principal attack against the Confederate fortifications in the center of their line, and Schofield would demonstrate on the Confederate left flank, and then attack somewhere near Powder Springs Road "as he can with the prospect of success."
At 8 AM on August 22, Union artillery opened a furious bombardment with over 200 guns on the Confederate works, and their artillery responded in kind. Lt. Col. Joseph Fullerton would write, "Kennesaw smoked and blazed with fire, a volcano as grand as Etna."
As the Union infantry began moving soon after, the Confederates quickly determined these were just demonstrations, rather than concerted assaults along the 8-mile advance. The first assault was about 8:40 AM, with three brigades under Brig. Gen. Morgan Smith's division moving against Loring's corps on the southern end of Little Kennesaw, and the spur called Pigeon Hill near Burnt Hickory Road. If this attack were successful, capturing Pigeon Hill would isolate Loring's corps on Kennesaw Mountain. The Union brigades were disadvantaged in their approach by the dense thickets, steep and rocky slopes, and lack of knowledge of the terrain. About 5500 Union troops in two columns attempted to move against 5000 well entrenched Confederates.
On the right of Smith's attack, the Union forces had to advance through a knee-deep swamp, and stopped short of the Confederate breastworks by enfeilading fire. They managed to overrun the rifle pits, but couldn't pierce the main line of Confederates. On the Union left, brigades of Col. Charles Walcutt and Brig. Gen. Giles Smith crossed difficult terrain, interrupted by steep cliffs, and scattered with huge rocks to approach the Missouri brigade of Brig. Gen. Francis Cockrell. Some Union troops got as far as the abatis, but most couldn't, and were forced to remain in place, firing behind trees and rocks. When General Logan rode forward to judge their progress, he found many of his men being "uselessly slain" and ordered them to withdraw and entrench behind the gorge that separated the lines.
About 2 miles south, Thomas's Union troops were behind schedule, but began their main attack at 9 AM. Two divisions of the Army of the Cumberland, about 9000 in all, advanced in a column formation against the Confederate divisions under Maj. Gens. Benjamin Cheatham and Patrick Cleburne, entrenched on what would later be called Cheatham Hill. During this advance, Brig. Gen. Charles Harker was mortally wounded, as was Union Brig. Gen. Jefferson C Davis*. The dense undergrowth slowed the Union advance and prevented most of them from advancing very far.
Davis's division tried to continue to advance, but it was a large, concentrated target for Confederate guns. They were to try to advance quietly, capture the works, then cheer to give a signal for the reserve divisions to move forward, secure the railroad, and cut the Confederate army in twain. Col. Daniel McCook's brigade advanced down a slope to a creek, crossed a wheat field, then tried to ascend the slope of the hill. They got to a few yards distance from the Confederates, and began firing, but the Confederate counter fire was too strong, and his brigade lost two commanders - McCook and his replacement, Col. Oscar Harmon - nearly all its field officers, and a third of its men. McCook was killed while shouting "surrender you traiters!" while slashing with his sword at the Confederates. After ferocious fighting, the battle there stopped about 10:45 AM.
To the right of Davis's division, Maj. Gen. John Geary's division advanced, but didn't join the attack. Even Schofield's army was unable to get close to the Chattahoochee* making the entire day a wash. A second day of Sherman's troops fighting the Confederates caused similarly bad casualties, but Schofield's army was finally able to get close to the Chattahoochee on the 5th day. Johnston managed to hold off the Union troops and cause a large number of casualties. Sherman was unreachable for some time as his troops stopped fighting and moved back, out of range of the Confederates. Some have speculated his concern over his lines and lack of men to make the assault may have contributed to a psychological break similar to that he experienced in 1861, but so far, that has only been speculation, and Sherman kept the trust of both Grant and Lincoln, both of whom urged further action.
Command
-US: William Sherman
-CS: Joseph E. Johnston
Armies
-US: Army of the Cumberland; Army of the Ohio; Army of the Tennessee: 15,100
-CS: Army of Tennessee: 21,844
Casualties
-US: 7,100
-CS: 1,081
Battle of Marietta (September 3-October 1)*
Engraving of the battle at Marietta
The Battle of Marietta was really a series of battles, including at Pine Mountain, Gilgal Church, and Kolb's Farm. At Pine Mountain, while helping to delay the Union forces, General Leonidas Polk was nearly cut in two when Sherman ordered artillery fire on the exposed Confederate generals. The 5th Indiana Battery, commanded by Capt. Peter Simonson obeyed the order within minutes. The first round came close, and the generals moved out of danger. The second round came closer, and the third through right where Polk had been standing, exploding against a tree. Had he still been standing there, he would've been cut in two.
Battle of Noonday Creek (September 4-October 1)
Similarly, the Battle of Noonday Creek was really a series of fights through September. General Garrard was ordered to interpose between Confederate General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry and his HQ at Big Shanty, which had stayed with Johnston, since Forrest was up in Tennessee attempting to disrupt Sherman's supply lines. After a week, Garrard failed to do so, so two brigades of infantry and three cavalry brigades with artillery support were advanced against the Confederate positions in early September. Two charges failed, and the Union army retired from the field. Wheeler's cavalry was moved to a position between Bell's Ferry and Canton Road.
On the 4th of September, the 15th regiment of the Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry pushed the Confederates across Noonday Creek after heavy fighting. On the 9th, a division of Union cavalry were attacked and repelled. On the 11th, the Union pushed Wheeler down Bell's Ferry Road, where he retired to Robert McAffee's house. On the 13th, the Union army attacked but was driven off with heavy losses. On the 17th, Col. Eli Long crossed Noonday Creek with his brigade, and attacked, and repelled the Confederates.
Lieutenant General Joseph Wheeler, 1865
Major General Kenner Garrard, 1863
Democrat National Convention (September 29-October 1)
The Democrats nominated General McClellan as their nominee, with Daniel Vorhees as their Vice-Presidential nominee.
McClellan personally opposed the peace platform, supporting the continuation of the war, and restoration of the Union. The party platform, written by Clement Vallandigham, opposed this position. The Democrats were still split, though now between war Democrats and peace Democrats, and the peace Democrats had factions too. Moderate peace Democrats supported the war, but thought a negotiated peace was a wise course of action; one notable proponent was Horatio Seymour. These democrats proposed a negotiated peace to secure Union victory after the debacle of Gettysburg, a Pyrrhic victory like Sharpsburg. They thought this was the best course of action because an armistice could finish the war without destroying the South. Radical peace Democrats like Thomas Seymour, believed the war was a failure and wanted an immediate end to hostilities without securing a Union victory.
Over in Georgia, Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca. On the 17th of June, the Union troops began testing their lines to find their position. On the 18th, full scale fighting ensued, with the Union forces being repulsed across the lines. Sherman finally got his pontoon bridges delivered, so that he could cross the Oostanaula River at Lay's Ferry and threaten Johnston's railroad supply line. Being unable to halt the movement, Johnston was forced to retire southward.
General Sherman wrote a letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, in which he wrote: "There is a class of people, men, women, and children, who must be killed or banished before you can hope for peace and order"
His comments are similar to those of Major James Austin Connolly, who wrote, "We'll burn every house, barn, church, and everything else we come to; we'll leave their families houseless and without food; their towns will all be destroyed, and nothing but the most complete desolation will be found in our track." He wrote this after southerners had begun hiding their valuables from Sherman's army coming towards Atlanta.
Battle of Adairsville (June 29)
Once they got across the Oostanaula River, Johnston decided to make a stand and give the Union troops a costly fight. He expected to find favorable land near Calhoun, but moved to Adairsville for more favorable ground. Sherman followed, dividing into three columns and advancing on a broad front. There were skirmishes all along the route, but the main bodies of both armies were not engaged.
Two miles north of Adairsville, the Union V Corps and Oliver Howard began skirmishing with entrenched units of Wiliam Hardee's Corps. The 44th Illinois and 24th Wisconsin infantry regiments, led by Maj. Arthur MacArthur, Jr. attacked Benjamin Cheatham's division, suffering heavy losses. The rest of Howard's corps prepared for battle, but General Thomas called off further attacks. At Adairsville, Johnston again hoped for a position where he could give battle, but the terrain was unsuitable for a good defense, and he continued his withdrawal.
But Johnston saw that there were two roads leading south of Adairsville, one to Kingston and one to Cassville. Johnston bet that Sherman would divide his armies to use both roads, so Johnston could attack one column, before the other one could come to its aid.
Sherman did as Johnston hoped, with James McPherson and most of George Thomas's army heading to Kingston, and sending only John Schofield and one corps of Thomas's army heading to Cassville.
At Cassville, Cleburne commanded his corps, reinforced with an 800-man brigade of black recruits. Since it was his idea, figured A.S. Johnston, he would be the first in the Army of the Tennessee to field the recruits in battle. Cleburne was ordered to form his corps for battle facing west. He saw the potential for vulnerability to the east, though, and had his corps form breastworks in both directions, twin Vs with the western longer than the eastern. He would have the advantage of internal lines, and he could swing artillery around to hit either side.
John Schofield led his corps to the west, while Daniel Butterfield's brigade arrived to the east; Butterfield had unfortunately engaged in too much liquor and women the night prior, and was still somewhat inebriated, leading to ineffective leadership on his side. Cleburne's corps managed to defend their ground, and decimated Schofield's corps including three of his senior officers. On the east, Cleburne's corps faced Butterfield and held him off, inflicting over 400 casualties.
Given that they held a strong position, Cleburne held his ground for several days as did the Union army, which entrenched, both sides skirmishing for a few days before the Union troops retreated and moved around to join Sherman.
Cleburne's actions delayed Sherman's approach past the 4th of July as he waited for those troops to rejoin him so they could proceed to Atlanta.
After having given the Union a sound defeat, Johnston wanted Cleburne to rejoin him, and they met up at New Hope Church with Hardee's corps. Johnston made it clear to Cleburne and Hardee they were acting as a delaying force so that General Albert Sidney Johnston's force of black enlistees could meet them at Atlanta to destroy Sherman.
Battle of New Hope Church (July 5-6)
After Johnston left for Allatoona Pass, Sherman decided against attacking Johnston there, so he tried to move around Johnston's left flank. But Johnston anticipated Sherman's move and moved his army into Sherman's path, centering a new line at New Hope Church. Sherman mistakenly thought Johnston had just a token force there, and ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's XX Corps to attack. Advancing his three divisions in parallel routes, Hooker pushed the Confederate skirmishers back for three miles, before encountering Johnston's main line.
The difficult terrain prevented Hooker from coordinating his corps's attacks effectively, and they suffered severe casualties as a result, especially from canister and shrapnel. On the 6th, both sides entrenched and skirmished throughout the day. By the time the fighting ended, the Confederates reported 840 Union soldiers killed, and 386 taken prisoner. Union forces then tried concentrating their efforts to the northern end of the Confederate line, resulting in the Battle of Pickett's Mill.
Battle of Pickett's Mill (July 8)
After their defeat at New Hope Church, Sherman ordered Maj. Gen. Oliver Howard to attack Johnston's apparently exposed right flank. The Confederates were ready for his attack, which didn't unfold as he had planned, because supporting troops never appeared. The Confederates repulsed the attack, causing heavy Union casualties in the process. The IV Corps suffered over 2,400 casualties in the fight.
Author Ambrose Bierce fought for the Union at Pickett's Mill as a topographical engineer under William Hazen. He reported the battle took about 45 minutes; one half were killed and wounded in Hazen's brigade in 30 minutes of actual fighting.
Battle of Dallas (July 7-13)
Sherman's 80,000 man army faced off against Johnston's 42,000 man army at Dallas, Georgia for several days in July. Some historians include New Hope Church and Pickett's Mill in the Battle of Dallas.
On July 7th, Maj. Gen. Sherman learned his Confederate counterpart, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, was forming a defensive line on the south side of Pumpkinvine Creek. Having fallen back from Cassville and Kingston, and before, he thought he could force him to retreat again. Sherman's army tested the Confederate line while entrenching themselves.
Hardee's Corps probed the Union defensive line on the 9th, held by Logan's Army of the Tennessee Corps, to exploit any weakness or possible withdrawal. Fighting occurred at two different points, where the Union forces repulsed the Confederates, but suffered high casualties themselves. Confederates suffered 2,800 casualties to 3,400 Union casualties. Among the thousands of casualties was brigade commander Archibald McDougall formerly of the Army of the Potomac.
Sherman continued looking for away around his foe's line, and his cavalry occupied Allatoona Pass, which had a railroad, and would allow his men and supplies to reach him by train. So Sherman abandoned his lines at Dallas and moved towards the railhead, forcing Johnston to follow soon afterwards.
Battle of Kolb's Farm (July 22)
During the afternoon days after the fight at Dallas, Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson, in command of one of Stephen D. Lee's divisions, advanced his division from its campsite near Mt. Zion Church towards Kolb's Farm, at the south side of the Powder Springs Road. He reported heavy skirmish fire from two Union regiments - 14th Kentucky Infantry, and 123rd New York Infantry. Shortly after, Lee ordered his corps to prepare to advance west along the road, conducting reconnaissance beforehand before committing his entire corps*.
*Hood didn't do his reconnaissance before fighting.
Confederate cavalry reported considerable Union infantry in the area, not just the two outpost regiments. Union and Confederate cavalry skirmished for a time before retreating. Based on their report, Lee decided not to attack, saving them potentially thousands of casualties. The Union and Confederates instead suffered in total maybe 25-30 casualties each in the cavalry engagement.
Battle of Chattanooga (July 31-August 15)
Hoping to relieve some of the pressure from Atlanta, the Confederates manages to slow down the Union advance towards one of their key industrial cities by having General Forrest, along with his additional 8,000 colored troops conduct operations against General Sherman's supply lines, hoping to divert some of his army off of General Johnston. The Battle of Chattanooga really is a series of separate battles at Cartersville, Adairsville, Calhoun, Dalton, and Chattanooga. Over the course of about two weeks, Forrest would spar with Union General George Thomas and his Army of the Cumberland, facing about 20,000 of the 60,000-man army, drawing them off the approach to Atlanta to try to protect Sherman's supply lines. Raid after raid, battle after battle, the Union and Confederates traded blows, but Forrest's cavalry continued to gain numbers while making successful raids on Sherman's supplies. They drew the men more and more north, hoping that Johnston would do something, but he continued his entrenchment at Kennesaw Mountain, while Sherman stalled.
Forrest reached Chattanooga by the 13th, and fought Thomas's men at Missionary Ridge, taking the military crest of the hill, rather than the physical crest. In so doing, Forrest held them two days, before he escaped capture by evacuating around Lookout Mountain.
His actions here, reinforced by newly trained black cavalrymen, slowed Sherman's march towards Atlanta as his supply train was interrupted. Forrest suffered maybe 200 casualties and managed to send off hundreds of wagons' worth of medicine, food, munitions, and other supplies to Johnston and Lee, aside from what he took for his own men. Forrest made sure his black cavalrymen were treated to the spoils just as his white cavalrymen; even the former Union Colored Troops who had joined him proved their loyalty to Forrest and earned his respect.
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (August 22 - August 25)
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
OOC: Replace Hood with Cleburne
Contrary to what General Sherman did in each of the past battles, he decided to make a head-on battle at the fortifications of Kennesaw Mountain rather than flanking. His plan at first was to try to make Johnston thin out his line, by ordering Schofield to extend his army to the right, then McPherson would make a feint to the extreme left, the northern outskirts of Marietta and the northeastern end of Kennesaw Mountain, with his cavalry and a division of infantry, and to make a major assault on the southwestern end of Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Confederate positions on the mountain
Union entrenchments at the foot of the mountain
While this was to happen, Thomas's army was to conduct the principal attack against the Confederate fortifications in the center of their line, and Schofield would demonstrate on the Confederate left flank, and then attack somewhere near Powder Springs Road "as he can with the prospect of success."
At 8 AM on August 22, Union artillery opened a furious bombardment with over 200 guns on the Confederate works, and their artillery responded in kind. Lt. Col. Joseph Fullerton would write, "Kennesaw smoked and blazed with fire, a volcano as grand as Etna."
As the Union infantry began moving soon after, the Confederates quickly determined these were just demonstrations, rather than concerted assaults along the 8-mile advance. The first assault was about 8:40 AM, with three brigades under Brig. Gen. Morgan Smith's division moving against Loring's corps on the southern end of Little Kennesaw, and the spur called Pigeon Hill near Burnt Hickory Road. If this attack were successful, capturing Pigeon Hill would isolate Loring's corps on Kennesaw Mountain. The Union brigades were disadvantaged in their approach by the dense thickets, steep and rocky slopes, and lack of knowledge of the terrain. About 5500 Union troops in two columns attempted to move against 5000 well entrenched Confederates.
On the right of Smith's attack, the Union forces had to advance through a knee-deep swamp, and stopped short of the Confederate breastworks by enfeilading fire. They managed to overrun the rifle pits, but couldn't pierce the main line of Confederates. On the Union left, brigades of Col. Charles Walcutt and Brig. Gen. Giles Smith crossed difficult terrain, interrupted by steep cliffs, and scattered with huge rocks to approach the Missouri brigade of Brig. Gen. Francis Cockrell. Some Union troops got as far as the abatis, but most couldn't, and were forced to remain in place, firing behind trees and rocks. When General Logan rode forward to judge their progress, he found many of his men being "uselessly slain" and ordered them to withdraw and entrench behind the gorge that separated the lines.
About 2 miles south, Thomas's Union troops were behind schedule, but began their main attack at 9 AM. Two divisions of the Army of the Cumberland, about 9000 in all, advanced in a column formation against the Confederate divisions under Maj. Gens. Benjamin Cheatham and Patrick Cleburne, entrenched on what would later be called Cheatham Hill. During this advance, Brig. Gen. Charles Harker was mortally wounded, as was Union Brig. Gen. Jefferson C Davis*. The dense undergrowth slowed the Union advance and prevented most of them from advancing very far.
Davis's division tried to continue to advance, but it was a large, concentrated target for Confederate guns. They were to try to advance quietly, capture the works, then cheer to give a signal for the reserve divisions to move forward, secure the railroad, and cut the Confederate army in twain. Col. Daniel McCook's brigade advanced down a slope to a creek, crossed a wheat field, then tried to ascend the slope of the hill. They got to a few yards distance from the Confederates, and began firing, but the Confederate counter fire was too strong, and his brigade lost two commanders - McCook and his replacement, Col. Oscar Harmon - nearly all its field officers, and a third of its men. McCook was killed while shouting "surrender you traiters!" while slashing with his sword at the Confederates. After ferocious fighting, the battle there stopped about 10:45 AM.
To the right of Davis's division, Maj. Gen. John Geary's division advanced, but didn't join the attack. Even Schofield's army was unable to get close to the Chattahoochee* making the entire day a wash. A second day of Sherman's troops fighting the Confederates caused similarly bad casualties, but Schofield's army was finally able to get close to the Chattahoochee on the 5th day. Johnston managed to hold off the Union troops and cause a large number of casualties. Sherman was unreachable for some time as his troops stopped fighting and moved back, out of range of the Confederates. Some have speculated his concern over his lines and lack of men to make the assault may have contributed to a psychological break similar to that he experienced in 1861, but so far, that has only been speculation, and Sherman kept the trust of both Grant and Lincoln, both of whom urged further action.
Command
-US: William Sherman
-CS: Joseph E. Johnston
Armies
-US: Army of the Cumberland; Army of the Ohio; Army of the Tennessee: 15,100
-CS: Army of Tennessee: 21,844
Casualties
-US: 7,100
-CS: 1,081
Battle of Marietta (September 3-October 1)*
Engraving of the battle at Marietta
The Battle of Marietta was really a series of battles, including at Pine Mountain, Gilgal Church, and Kolb's Farm. At Pine Mountain, while helping to delay the Union forces, General Leonidas Polk was nearly cut in two when Sherman ordered artillery fire on the exposed Confederate generals. The 5th Indiana Battery, commanded by Capt. Peter Simonson obeyed the order within minutes. The first round came close, and the generals moved out of danger. The second round came closer, and the third through right where Polk had been standing, exploding against a tree. Had he still been standing there, he would've been cut in two.
Battle of Noonday Creek (September 4-October 1)
Similarly, the Battle of Noonday Creek was really a series of fights through September. General Garrard was ordered to interpose between Confederate General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry and his HQ at Big Shanty, which had stayed with Johnston, since Forrest was up in Tennessee attempting to disrupt Sherman's supply lines. After a week, Garrard failed to do so, so two brigades of infantry and three cavalry brigades with artillery support were advanced against the Confederate positions in early September. Two charges failed, and the Union army retired from the field. Wheeler's cavalry was moved to a position between Bell's Ferry and Canton Road.
On the 4th of September, the 15th regiment of the Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry pushed the Confederates across Noonday Creek after heavy fighting. On the 9th, a division of Union cavalry were attacked and repelled. On the 11th, the Union pushed Wheeler down Bell's Ferry Road, where he retired to Robert McAffee's house. On the 13th, the Union army attacked but was driven off with heavy losses. On the 17th, Col. Eli Long crossed Noonday Creek with his brigade, and attacked, and repelled the Confederates.
Lieutenant General Joseph Wheeler, 1865
Major General Kenner Garrard, 1863
Democrat National Convention (September 29-October 1)
The Democrats nominated General McClellan as their nominee, with Daniel Vorhees as their Vice-Presidential nominee.
McClellan personally opposed the peace platform, supporting the continuation of the war, and restoration of the Union. The party platform, written by Clement Vallandigham, opposed this position. The Democrats were still split, though now between war Democrats and peace Democrats, and the peace Democrats had factions too. Moderate peace Democrats supported the war, but thought a negotiated peace was a wise course of action; one notable proponent was Horatio Seymour. These democrats proposed a negotiated peace to secure Union victory after the debacle of Gettysburg, a Pyrrhic victory like Sharpsburg. They thought this was the best course of action because an armistice could finish the war without destroying the South. Radical peace Democrats like Thomas Seymour, believed the war was a failure and wanted an immediate end to hostilities without securing a Union victory.
Chapter 16: The Fight in the West (Part 2)
JJohnson
Banned
Battle of Salinas (June 3-5)
Col. A.J. King attempted to defend the town of Salinas, South California, from the forces of Col. Clarence Bennett, coming in from the northwest. Southern California's 1st Infantry, 2nd Infantry and 1st Cavalry were pushed back and out of Salinas, a town of maybe 400, after Bennett's forces had taken the high ground northeast of town, and King couldn't continue his attack without taking heavy casualties.
Battle of Soledad (June 10)
Col. Clarence Bennett reported to Brig. Gen. William Ketchum about his success in Salinas and they decided to proceed for San Diego by land to capture the capital of Southern California.
King reported his loss to Confederate Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead, the Confederate commander in California, who agreed that he did what he could do. They would try to defend the line at the old mission at Soledad if possible.
Unfortunately for the Confederates, the Union force was about 8,200 men in two brigades to their 2,400 man force of 2 brigades. While the Confederates were preparing for a fight, the Union cavalry scouted them out by 7:30 AM on the 10th, formed up lines of battle against their outnumbered Confederate opponents. Armistead's forces were outnumbered and they were able to take a few shots before escaping the field, but not before suffering 244 casualties, and 87 captured.
Battle of Kern Island (June 10-11)
Brig. Gen. J.P. Gillis with his and Brig. Gen. Dan Showalter's two brigades were engaged at the heights east of Kern Island, a marsh with a few log cabins, at their entrenchments by a union brigade under Brig. Gen. Curtis Clark and Major Jack Biderman, in control of the 3rd Northern California Cavalry. The 7700 Confederates were able to hold off the Union force of 3,350 over ten hours of fighting on the 10th in a brave stand just south of the Kern River. It wasn't until the morning of the 11th, when Gillis realized the Union forces had scouted a mountain pass that exposed their right flank that they retired from their entrenchments, but not after having inflicted over 443 casualties to their 165.
Battle of Los Angeles (July 3-5)
Union cavalry, screening the approach south towards Los Angeles early on the 3rd, met with the Confederate cavalry under Brig Gen. George Gordon Belt. Maj. Gen. George Wright had the foresight to engage defenses for the city, and entrenched artillery along Hollywood Hill and the Verdugo Mountains, creating a kill box for the Union, and entrenching his forces between them, including Brig. Gens. Gillis, Showalter, and Lewis Armistead.
On the 4th, the Confederates engaged the Union forces once they reached range, unleashing the artillery on Brig. Gen. Ketchum's Union force of about 12,000, aligned against his forces of around 11,400. For the entire day, the Confederates kept the Union soldiers boxed in and inflicted over 3600 casualties, taking 1900 themselves, including wounded and killed. Fighting slacked off as night fell. Late at night, Zapatero, one of their cavalry commanders, found the Union exploring a way to flank behind them, and the Confederates decamped, taking their artillery and marching south, and into the interior of the state.
Battle of Santa Ana River (July 12)
Maj. Gen. George Wright made his stand on the south side of the Santa Ana, an open field where he was able to build earthworks and dig in. Only Brig. Gen. Curtis Clark made his presence known and was driven off by the Confederate artillery and infantry, suffering 93 casualties in the process, but alerting the Union to their position. Wright had the cavalry screen to the left and right, and found the Union forces had split and were going to attack through the mountains west and north. So he decided to decamp and move south for better ground.
Battle of Temecula (July 28-30)
Maj. Gen. George Wright found the ground near Temecula perfect for the defense he imagined. He entrenched his artillery and created earthworks and obstacles for any skirmishers approaching his infantry. Several thousand troops worked three days to entrench, and the Union finally obliged them on the 28th.
Gillis and Showalter's brigades were manning the infantry lines, while the artillery under Brig. Gen. Daniel Fang had the high ground, along with 200 enlisted freedmen. The Union troops arrived just outside range, and on the morning of the 29th, they engaged the Confederates. The hills to the southeast provided plenty of high ground for their artillery embankments and Newly minted Brig. Gen. Clarence Bennett led his brigade on the first charge, having formed up a line of battle by 6:30 AM. The Union has maybe 16,000 to the 12,500 Confederates, but both sides had Enfield rifles, neither getting the Spencer repeating rifles just yet.
The artillery shelled his men but they were able to advance to within 30 yards before the combination of Confederate artillery and infantry drove them back. Union artillery finally started returning fire by 9:30 AM. Major Jack Biderman's four batteries did their job, inflicting serious casualties on the CS Infantry, despite their artillery protection above.
The Union managed to outflank the Confederates by 11:15 with their cavalry and infantry coming from the southwest flank, finally driving the Confederates from their entrenched positions by 11:45, forcing them inland. The Union had a costly victory, though, with 1800 casualties to the 940 Confederate casualties.
Maj. Gen. George Wright was forced inland, towards the mountains where some sheep herders kept their flocks. With the path clear, the Union forces under Brig. Gen. Ketchum marched for the capital of San Diego.
Siege of San Diego (September 4-20)
The Union under William Ketchum waited till the August heat broke, taking his time, despite telegraphs from Washington to speed things up, to show progress in the war. By the second day of September, Bennett has scouted the defenses the Confederates had made, and decided on a siege. The settled outside the town, which had had entrenchments set up in a ring to the north and west. For two weeks, Ketchum fired on the Confederates, then he finally settled on firing the town. Old Town San Diego began burning on the 19th. Civilians died as they tried escaping the blaze. For two days the fires blazed, till the defenders of the city left their entrenchments to try to save their families.
By evening on the 20th, San Diego was captured, and South California was now under Union control.
Col. A.J. King attempted to defend the town of Salinas, South California, from the forces of Col. Clarence Bennett, coming in from the northwest. Southern California's 1st Infantry, 2nd Infantry and 1st Cavalry were pushed back and out of Salinas, a town of maybe 400, after Bennett's forces had taken the high ground northeast of town, and King couldn't continue his attack without taking heavy casualties.
Battle of Soledad (June 10)
Col. Clarence Bennett reported to Brig. Gen. William Ketchum about his success in Salinas and they decided to proceed for San Diego by land to capture the capital of Southern California.
King reported his loss to Confederate Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead, the Confederate commander in California, who agreed that he did what he could do. They would try to defend the line at the old mission at Soledad if possible.
Unfortunately for the Confederates, the Union force was about 8,200 men in two brigades to their 2,400 man force of 2 brigades. While the Confederates were preparing for a fight, the Union cavalry scouted them out by 7:30 AM on the 10th, formed up lines of battle against their outnumbered Confederate opponents. Armistead's forces were outnumbered and they were able to take a few shots before escaping the field, but not before suffering 244 casualties, and 87 captured.
Battle of Kern Island (June 10-11)
Brig. Gen. J.P. Gillis with his and Brig. Gen. Dan Showalter's two brigades were engaged at the heights east of Kern Island, a marsh with a few log cabins, at their entrenchments by a union brigade under Brig. Gen. Curtis Clark and Major Jack Biderman, in control of the 3rd Northern California Cavalry. The 7700 Confederates were able to hold off the Union force of 3,350 over ten hours of fighting on the 10th in a brave stand just south of the Kern River. It wasn't until the morning of the 11th, when Gillis realized the Union forces had scouted a mountain pass that exposed their right flank that they retired from their entrenchments, but not after having inflicted over 443 casualties to their 165.
Battle of Los Angeles (July 3-5)
Union cavalry, screening the approach south towards Los Angeles early on the 3rd, met with the Confederate cavalry under Brig Gen. George Gordon Belt. Maj. Gen. George Wright had the foresight to engage defenses for the city, and entrenched artillery along Hollywood Hill and the Verdugo Mountains, creating a kill box for the Union, and entrenching his forces between them, including Brig. Gens. Gillis, Showalter, and Lewis Armistead.
On the 4th, the Confederates engaged the Union forces once they reached range, unleashing the artillery on Brig. Gen. Ketchum's Union force of about 12,000, aligned against his forces of around 11,400. For the entire day, the Confederates kept the Union soldiers boxed in and inflicted over 3600 casualties, taking 1900 themselves, including wounded and killed. Fighting slacked off as night fell. Late at night, Zapatero, one of their cavalry commanders, found the Union exploring a way to flank behind them, and the Confederates decamped, taking their artillery and marching south, and into the interior of the state.
Battle of Santa Ana River (July 12)
Maj. Gen. George Wright made his stand on the south side of the Santa Ana, an open field where he was able to build earthworks and dig in. Only Brig. Gen. Curtis Clark made his presence known and was driven off by the Confederate artillery and infantry, suffering 93 casualties in the process, but alerting the Union to their position. Wright had the cavalry screen to the left and right, and found the Union forces had split and were going to attack through the mountains west and north. So he decided to decamp and move south for better ground.
Battle of Temecula (July 28-30)
Maj. Gen. George Wright found the ground near Temecula perfect for the defense he imagined. He entrenched his artillery and created earthworks and obstacles for any skirmishers approaching his infantry. Several thousand troops worked three days to entrench, and the Union finally obliged them on the 28th.
Gillis and Showalter's brigades were manning the infantry lines, while the artillery under Brig. Gen. Daniel Fang had the high ground, along with 200 enlisted freedmen. The Union troops arrived just outside range, and on the morning of the 29th, they engaged the Confederates. The hills to the southeast provided plenty of high ground for their artillery embankments and Newly minted Brig. Gen. Clarence Bennett led his brigade on the first charge, having formed up a line of battle by 6:30 AM. The Union has maybe 16,000 to the 12,500 Confederates, but both sides had Enfield rifles, neither getting the Spencer repeating rifles just yet.
The artillery shelled his men but they were able to advance to within 30 yards before the combination of Confederate artillery and infantry drove them back. Union artillery finally started returning fire by 9:30 AM. Major Jack Biderman's four batteries did their job, inflicting serious casualties on the CS Infantry, despite their artillery protection above.
The Union managed to outflank the Confederates by 11:15 with their cavalry and infantry coming from the southwest flank, finally driving the Confederates from their entrenched positions by 11:45, forcing them inland. The Union had a costly victory, though, with 1800 casualties to the 940 Confederate casualties.
Maj. Gen. George Wright was forced inland, towards the mountains where some sheep herders kept their flocks. With the path clear, the Union forces under Brig. Gen. Ketchum marched for the capital of San Diego.
Siege of San Diego (September 4-20)
The Union under William Ketchum waited till the August heat broke, taking his time, despite telegraphs from Washington to speed things up, to show progress in the war. By the second day of September, Bennett has scouted the defenses the Confederates had made, and decided on a siege. The settled outside the town, which had had entrenchments set up in a ring to the north and west. For two weeks, Ketchum fired on the Confederates, then he finally settled on firing the town. Old Town San Diego began burning on the 19th. Civilians died as they tried escaping the blaze. For two days the fires blazed, till the defenders of the city left their entrenchments to try to save their families.
By evening on the 20th, San Diego was captured, and South California was now under Union control.
JJohnson
Banned
Battle of Pace's Ferry (October 5)
This was more of a skirmish than a real battle; the Union army managed to capture a pontoon bridge from the Confederates before they could burn the bridge, securing a way towards Atlanta.
Atlanta, GA (October)
Outside Atlanta, the Confederate defenders included a sergeant, James David Johnson, from southern Georgia, but of Scottish descent. His great grandfather was in the Virginia House of Burgesses with Patrick Henry, helping pass the Stamp Act Resolves against the king. His uncle, Richard Howard Johnson, helped write the Confederates' Declaration of Independence, and he had at least 5 cousins in uniform either in Florida, Alabama, or up in Virginia fighting for their independence from the US. He was about 5'8", hazel eyed with a dark brown hair. His family were farmers, but had a small farm and a few freemen neighbors helping them with the sowing and reaping. Where they lived down in Doerun, they had a farm house and a town house, and worked hard for what they got.
The endless marching, fighting, and building fortifications had been tough on everyone, and in his company of the infantry, he was in charge of the company due to the loss of so many officers over the past four months. After some time he got mail from family over in Tennessee and Kentucky, telling of the so-called freedom they had to endure there. Union soldiers stealing silver, bed linens, gold and silver, burning houses, shooting livestock for anyone showing any sympathy or fingered as showing sympathy, to the Confederacy. Black slaves were either shot, or they would wish they had been in the case of what the soldiers did to some of them. J.D. thought of his friends and family and what the Yankees would do to them if they won. After emancipation and enlistment, a freedman, Robert Crane, and his friend, Darryl Polite, had been trained by A.S. Johnston down in Atlanta and sent up to them, his company. J.D. didn't know if they'd be good soldiers, but both had been brave and true, and despite what the Yankees would think, both became J.D.'s friends. Both were farmers; Robert knew some gunsmithing, while Darryl knew carpentry, so both earned money on the side while they were "bonded" (as they referred to it), and they were going to buy farms after the war to start their own families. While they had been 'bound' their master had taught them Christianity, but J.D. worked with them to teach them to read the Bible when they had time, so they could learn for themselves. He figured, since he was a Methodist Episcopal, they needed to study the Bible too.
In General Johnston's tent, he poured over the maps one more time. He saw it. Finally, a break. A chance to fight on favorable ground and destroy the Union army here. Peachtree Creek. A steep creek, steep enough that if a soldier got in, they couldn't get out. The only question was...could he get them to fall for it?
Company K was walking over to the river, taking the first bath they'd had in some time. Sgt. Johnson took the lead, mostly so he didn't have to put up with the jokes of his comrades, which were pretty crude sometimes. They carried the only 25-galling oak barrel their infantry had left to wash their clothes. Andy Blythe, from Milledgeville, got the fire going, and the men stripped down, removing their dirty uniforms to remove all the dirt and lice in the boiling water and the laundry soap. After their clothes boiled, they would use the washing boards to get them clean.
J.D. heard a snap and saw a carriage go into the river, having fallen from the bridge. He got up and ran onto the bridge, and dove in after it. He grew up swimming in the rivers and lakes whenever he could. He got his arm around the girl there before ordering her, "stop struggling or you'll drown us both! I got you!" She finally stopped flailing her arms and he finally got her to the bridge where Robert and Darryl pulled her up.
"My father!" she said, as she saw her father still struggling. J.D. dove back in and went out, rescuing her father in the same way, bringing him back to the bridge too.
"You saved my life, son," said the man, old enough to be his father.
"It was nothing, sir, ma'am," he said, tipping his hat. His men had had the good sense, led by Robert and Darryl, to cover themselves, in the cleanest clothing they'd had in weeks. If J.D. had his way, he'd make people bathe every day so he didn't have to smell their stink again.
J.D. gave the girl his tunic jacket, now clean and only a little less wet than the girl. Her dress was clinging to her, giving him a good look at her body; she was quite curvy, moreso than a lot of women he knew, thin but strong arms, beautiful...neck. She had lovely, piercing blue eyes, and golden blonde hair, her bun kind of falling apart atop her head. She covered up with the tunic to help protect from the glances of the men.
"God bless you son!" said the old man, between coughs.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yes, I think so. We could've drowned!" He turned to his daughter, "Are you alright, Sarah Emma?"
"Yes, father, I'm fine," she said, clutching the coat, using it as as shield against the gazes of the men, many of whom hadn't seen a woman in some time.
"We should get off the bridge," Johnson said, as he led the group back to shore. They had evacuated Kennesaw and were now at the Chattahoochee, and he saw the artillery coming up soon to the bridge.
"What's your name son?" asked the old man as they walked.
"Sergeant James David Johnson," he replied, giving the man a salute as they walked off the bridge. "4th Georgia Infantry, First Corps, Army of Tennessee."
"I'm Jacob Henry Saylor," said the man. "This is my daughter, Sarah Emma Saylor." He took a deep breath, still recovering. "It seems we're both very much in your debt, Sergeant."
"Not at all sir," he said, continuing.
"Thank you for coming to our aid. Without you we surely would have died," he said.
"I'm sure anyone would've done the same," J.D. said. He knew most of his other fellow soldiers didn't know how to swim. His parents taught him how to swim when he was 3. Then they taught him how to be humble so as to avoid the bragging common up in Atlanta or Savannah society.
As the trio walked back onto the north bank, Mr. Saylor looked back, seeing the horse had stopped struggling. "Shame," he said. "Whistler was such a good horse. Hard to come by nowadays, with so many being taken into service."
"I apologize," J.D. said without thinking.
"Did you say 4th Georgia?" asked Mr. Saylor.
"Yes, sir," J.D. answered. "Cleburne's division."
"I served the 17th Georgia under Lee," Mr. Saylor said. "We Georgia boys are the best this Confederacy's got. I got wounded up there at Sharpsburg, still got a limp, so they mustered me out of service. Lucky for the Yankees. I got seven at that battle before even one of them touched me."
J.D. decided he liked Mr. Saylor.
"I told the War Department I could still serve," Mr. Saylor continued. "But they wanted me down here in Atlanta, running my Iron Foundry, making cannon and other metal fittings for everything else for the war effort."
"I guess business is good," the Sergeant joked. Saylor laughed a little too.
"How will we get back into the city, father?" asked Sarah Emma.
"Good question..." her father said, scratching his bearded chin. It was a salt-and-pepper beard, just like his hair. He had the same blue eyes his daughter did, and he had a strength in his expression that showed he knew what soldiering was. "Say, sergeant, I don't suppose we could prevail upon you for some assistance one more time?"
"Come rest with my men," Johnson said. "I'll try to arrange some transport back into town."
"Thank you sergeant," replied Mr. Saylor. Darryl and Phil Locke went to go get an officer.
Her father sat down, while Sarah Emma stood apart from the men. She was still shaken up by the experience.
"How're you holding up?" J.D. asked her.
"Still out of sorts," she said. "I've never been so scared in my life."
J.D. nodded. Given what he'd been through the past three years though, this was nothing. "Soon you'll be safe back in the city."
"As safe as that can be, at any rate," she replied a little doubtful.
"Why haven't y'all fled the city? I can understand your father staying, but the Yankees are a few miles from the city. I thought all the women had been sent away for their safety," the Sergeant said.
"My mother said she will not allow the Yankees to dictate to her where she makes her home," Sarah Emma said with a hint of humor in her voice, trying to imitate her mother's mannerisms, no doubt.
"Brave woman," he remarked. He didn't say it was also foolish.
"Yes," she said with a smile, the first he'd seen on her. "My mother's a very headstrong woman. She said of the soldiers couldn't stop Sherman, she'd pick up a gun and go do it herself."
He loved her full lips curling into that smile, but tried to squash that emotion. It was difficult. He chuckled at the joke. "Well we've enlisted bondservants, so why not women next?"
She laughed at that joke. "I don't think war is a proper business for women. But men? They're built to handle it. I don't care what color they are. Both bleed the same, feel the same."
"Careful who hears that," J.D. told her. "It was quite the uproar when General Cleburne wrote his memorial. A lot of troops looked at it with relief. A lot of the upper generals were angry to say the least."
"Well they need to decide what's more precious to them," Sarah Emma said sharply, "either independence or holding bondservants. I don't believe we can have both. And we've seen what the Yankees will do to us if they win. They don't care what skin color someone is. They'll hurt us all the same. They took my brother at Chickamauga. My cousins over in Athens, Alabama had their house burned by General Turchin, their silver stolen, and their female servants..."
"I'm so sorry," J.D. said with compassion. She had a tear streak down her cheek she wiped away.
Sergeant Johnson was surprised a bit at the genuine sympathy he felt for the first time in a while. Many people had died in this war, some of them right next to him. He had gotten a little desensitized to it, but they were men. They had families, loved ones, who cared for them, missed them.
"It's been a year," she continued. "They say time heals all wounds, but...I still miss him."
"They do say that," J.D. said.
Private Locke came back. He had a huge mess of hair, and a very young look on his face. He was a city boy, but he and his brother Charles were good soldiers. "The commissary wagon here can take you back," Locke said. The Lieutenant on the wagon said they'd be going into the Car Shed at the middle of the city, but they'd be happy to make a small detour for them.
Johnson helped the father, and then his daughter onto the wagon next to the driver.
"Sergeant, again, let me express my thanks for saving my daughter and myself," he said, giving him a little salute. "And thank you for looking after the city. We're all in your debt."
"It was my pleasure and duty to assist you, sir," J.D. replied. "If I may say so, your daughter is a most gracious and strong young lady."
Her father's eyebrows rose at that, and he eyed the sergeant before replying, "Thank you, Sergeant. Please extend my best wishes to your commanding officer. He leads good men."
Johnson stole a glance at Sarah Emma, who blushed and turned away, as the wagon took off for the city. She looked back for a moment and smiled and they shared a moment again before her face disappeared and the wagon left in the night.
**
Johnston's Army of Tennessee had a strong fortification on the north side of the river. But he was hoping Sherman would cross so he could also. Fighting with a river to your back was a bad position to be in. Every time, Sherman tried a feint to his left flank. According to his cavalry scouts, Johnston knew Sherman was encamping north of them on the south bank of the river a few miles.
General Johnston took his horse, and rode a while by himself. It was good to get out of HQ for a while, get some fresh air. The heat finally broke, so it wasn't as oppressive down in Georgia. Johnston's knowledge of Sherman's position north them, rather than south, made him smile. If Sherman had gone the other way, his plan was likely not to work. Johnston had let his faith slack during the war; he knew God was in control, but his prayer life hadn't been as strong as he hadn't felt God's presence till very recently. He had demurred on Cleburne's proposal as a political, rather than military matter, but the trickle of new recruits were helping him delay Sherman and General Albert Sidney Johnston was doing a good job training them, he must say. He felt a little relief from his army and better spirits from the enlisted men now that they had some help. General Walker was furious, but Johnston overruled him in accepting the new recruits; many of them had been assigned to Cleburne's command, since it was his idea. Johnston wrote a letter to his wife, who wrote to Polk, an Episcopalian bishop before the army; Polk had been asked to baptize her husband, to which he readily agreed. Polk momentarily removed his general's uniform and donned his bishop's robes, while Generals Wheeler, Hardee, and Cleburne had been his witnesses. Johnston felt an immense sense of calm, a sense of relief, of cleansing of his sins as he had gotten baptized. It was one of the most moving moments of his life.
He finally reached the creek, and his horse snorted as if to tell him they were there. It had a rocky, uneven bottom, green slick moss along the muddy banks, and water that couldn't have reached his waist if it tried. But...the banks were steep, in some places they looked about ten feet down. He rode along the creek for a good while, which ran for miles, flowing east to west till it reached the Chattahoochee River. All along it maintained that depth; he smiled. This would do. Peachtree Creek would serve his needs nicely. He clicked and turned the horse as he decided to return to HQ.
**
Sherman was watching his army cross the river from his horse, cigar in his mouth.
"Everything's going well, Cump," said General McPherson, one of the few to call General Sherman by that nickname. "The entire Army of the Tennessee should be on the south bank by the end of the day."
"Good," Sherman replied. "Schofield's boys are already across. Once you get over, Thomas and the Army of the Cumberland can start crossing. Might take a few days, maybe a week to build up enough supplied, but we have time."
"You look like a happy man," McPherson said with a smile.
"I am," Sherman replied, as the two watched their men cross. "But a confused one. Why didn't Johnston make it more difficult for us to cross? Frankly, I'm surprised by how easy this has been."
"Maybe the rebels are really whipped," McPherson suggested. "Maybe they have no fight left in them."
"Not after the beating they gave us at Kennesaw," Sherman countered. "I doubt that."
McPherson shrugged. "Ever since we started this campaign, Johnston's been reluctant to engage in combat except when his troops are protected by their fortifications. I'd bet Atlanta is the best fortified city on the continent, aside from Richmond or Washington. Perhaps he wants to fight us from behind his fortifications."
Sherman shook his head, "A siege? That'd be foolish. Johnston's no fool. Whatever he is, he's not a fool."
"All we do know is he's pulled his forces back, and he's allowing us to cross the river," McPherson continued. "Cavalry reports no Confederate forces within miles."
Sherman nodded. "I haven't heard any cannon fire for days."
"Odd isn't it?"
For just a moment...the thought entered Sherman's mind that Johnston wanted his entire force on the south side of the river, that he might lead the Union forces into a trap. He shook that thought out of his head, angry at himself. It was paranoia that had gotten him removed from command back at Louisville at the start of the war, an experience he had no desire to repeat. It had led to a complete mental breakdown, and an attempt at suicide. Were it not for Grant's intervention, he might never have gotten another command.
"James, when you're army's across, move it into position on Schofield's left. Thomas will take position on Schofield's right when he finishes crossing."
"Very well. And then?"
"The Army of the Cumberland will advance directly south towards Atlanta, while you will maneuver to the east side of the city, and cut off its railroad links to Augusta, then close up on the city itself. Schofield will serve as a link between you and Thomas."
"If I do that, my left flank will be exposed," McPherson noted.
"I know," Sherman answered. "Nothing to do about it. If Johnston plans to fight for that city, I imagine he'd do it by attempting to strike your flank. It's a risk we'll have to take. But a battle out in the open against those damned rebels is something we want, not something we need to fear. If Johnston means to attack you, by God we'll meet him."
"And after that?"
"We'll cut his rail links to the east, pin him in the city," Sherman answered. "He'll have one rail link for supplies, and by that time he will just evacuate the city. Then we march into Atlanta with a minimum loss of life."
"A sound plan," McPherson said.
"Yes," Sherman said as he continued working on his cigar. "Unless the rebels attempt an attack, which I don't think too likely, we're going to have a lull in operations for a few days while we bring the Army of the Cumberland across. Make sure your men take the chance to rest and refit. When we move again, I want your boys to be as ready as they can be. When we march through the streets of Atlanta, I want them looking like proper soldiers. I plan on dining in the finest mansion of Atlanta before the month's end."
**
This was more of a skirmish than a real battle; the Union army managed to capture a pontoon bridge from the Confederates before they could burn the bridge, securing a way towards Atlanta.
Atlanta, GA (October)
Outside Atlanta, the Confederate defenders included a sergeant, James David Johnson, from southern Georgia, but of Scottish descent. His great grandfather was in the Virginia House of Burgesses with Patrick Henry, helping pass the Stamp Act Resolves against the king. His uncle, Richard Howard Johnson, helped write the Confederates' Declaration of Independence, and he had at least 5 cousins in uniform either in Florida, Alabama, or up in Virginia fighting for their independence from the US. He was about 5'8", hazel eyed with a dark brown hair. His family were farmers, but had a small farm and a few freemen neighbors helping them with the sowing and reaping. Where they lived down in Doerun, they had a farm house and a town house, and worked hard for what they got.
The endless marching, fighting, and building fortifications had been tough on everyone, and in his company of the infantry, he was in charge of the company due to the loss of so many officers over the past four months. After some time he got mail from family over in Tennessee and Kentucky, telling of the so-called freedom they had to endure there. Union soldiers stealing silver, bed linens, gold and silver, burning houses, shooting livestock for anyone showing any sympathy or fingered as showing sympathy, to the Confederacy. Black slaves were either shot, or they would wish they had been in the case of what the soldiers did to some of them. J.D. thought of his friends and family and what the Yankees would do to them if they won. After emancipation and enlistment, a freedman, Robert Crane, and his friend, Darryl Polite, had been trained by A.S. Johnston down in Atlanta and sent up to them, his company. J.D. didn't know if they'd be good soldiers, but both had been brave and true, and despite what the Yankees would think, both became J.D.'s friends. Both were farmers; Robert knew some gunsmithing, while Darryl knew carpentry, so both earned money on the side while they were "bonded" (as they referred to it), and they were going to buy farms after the war to start their own families. While they had been 'bound' their master had taught them Christianity, but J.D. worked with them to teach them to read the Bible when they had time, so they could learn for themselves. He figured, since he was a Methodist Episcopal, they needed to study the Bible too.
In General Johnston's tent, he poured over the maps one more time. He saw it. Finally, a break. A chance to fight on favorable ground and destroy the Union army here. Peachtree Creek. A steep creek, steep enough that if a soldier got in, they couldn't get out. The only question was...could he get them to fall for it?
Company K was walking over to the river, taking the first bath they'd had in some time. Sgt. Johnson took the lead, mostly so he didn't have to put up with the jokes of his comrades, which were pretty crude sometimes. They carried the only 25-galling oak barrel their infantry had left to wash their clothes. Andy Blythe, from Milledgeville, got the fire going, and the men stripped down, removing their dirty uniforms to remove all the dirt and lice in the boiling water and the laundry soap. After their clothes boiled, they would use the washing boards to get them clean.
J.D. heard a snap and saw a carriage go into the river, having fallen from the bridge. He got up and ran onto the bridge, and dove in after it. He grew up swimming in the rivers and lakes whenever he could. He got his arm around the girl there before ordering her, "stop struggling or you'll drown us both! I got you!" She finally stopped flailing her arms and he finally got her to the bridge where Robert and Darryl pulled her up.
"My father!" she said, as she saw her father still struggling. J.D. dove back in and went out, rescuing her father in the same way, bringing him back to the bridge too.
"You saved my life, son," said the man, old enough to be his father.
"It was nothing, sir, ma'am," he said, tipping his hat. His men had had the good sense, led by Robert and Darryl, to cover themselves, in the cleanest clothing they'd had in weeks. If J.D. had his way, he'd make people bathe every day so he didn't have to smell their stink again.
J.D. gave the girl his tunic jacket, now clean and only a little less wet than the girl. Her dress was clinging to her, giving him a good look at her body; she was quite curvy, moreso than a lot of women he knew, thin but strong arms, beautiful...neck. She had lovely, piercing blue eyes, and golden blonde hair, her bun kind of falling apart atop her head. She covered up with the tunic to help protect from the glances of the men.
"God bless you son!" said the old man, between coughs.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yes, I think so. We could've drowned!" He turned to his daughter, "Are you alright, Sarah Emma?"
"Yes, father, I'm fine," she said, clutching the coat, using it as as shield against the gazes of the men, many of whom hadn't seen a woman in some time.
"We should get off the bridge," Johnson said, as he led the group back to shore. They had evacuated Kennesaw and were now at the Chattahoochee, and he saw the artillery coming up soon to the bridge.
"What's your name son?" asked the old man as they walked.
"Sergeant James David Johnson," he replied, giving the man a salute as they walked off the bridge. "4th Georgia Infantry, First Corps, Army of Tennessee."
"I'm Jacob Henry Saylor," said the man. "This is my daughter, Sarah Emma Saylor." He took a deep breath, still recovering. "It seems we're both very much in your debt, Sergeant."
"Not at all sir," he said, continuing.
"Thank you for coming to our aid. Without you we surely would have died," he said.
"I'm sure anyone would've done the same," J.D. said. He knew most of his other fellow soldiers didn't know how to swim. His parents taught him how to swim when he was 3. Then they taught him how to be humble so as to avoid the bragging common up in Atlanta or Savannah society.
As the trio walked back onto the north bank, Mr. Saylor looked back, seeing the horse had stopped struggling. "Shame," he said. "Whistler was such a good horse. Hard to come by nowadays, with so many being taken into service."
"I apologize," J.D. said without thinking.
"Did you say 4th Georgia?" asked Mr. Saylor.
"Yes, sir," J.D. answered. "Cleburne's division."
"I served the 17th Georgia under Lee," Mr. Saylor said. "We Georgia boys are the best this Confederacy's got. I got wounded up there at Sharpsburg, still got a limp, so they mustered me out of service. Lucky for the Yankees. I got seven at that battle before even one of them touched me."
J.D. decided he liked Mr. Saylor.
"I told the War Department I could still serve," Mr. Saylor continued. "But they wanted me down here in Atlanta, running my Iron Foundry, making cannon and other metal fittings for everything else for the war effort."
"I guess business is good," the Sergeant joked. Saylor laughed a little too.
"How will we get back into the city, father?" asked Sarah Emma.
"Good question..." her father said, scratching his bearded chin. It was a salt-and-pepper beard, just like his hair. He had the same blue eyes his daughter did, and he had a strength in his expression that showed he knew what soldiering was. "Say, sergeant, I don't suppose we could prevail upon you for some assistance one more time?"
"Come rest with my men," Johnson said. "I'll try to arrange some transport back into town."
"Thank you sergeant," replied Mr. Saylor. Darryl and Phil Locke went to go get an officer.
Her father sat down, while Sarah Emma stood apart from the men. She was still shaken up by the experience.
"How're you holding up?" J.D. asked her.
"Still out of sorts," she said. "I've never been so scared in my life."
J.D. nodded. Given what he'd been through the past three years though, this was nothing. "Soon you'll be safe back in the city."
"As safe as that can be, at any rate," she replied a little doubtful.
"Why haven't y'all fled the city? I can understand your father staying, but the Yankees are a few miles from the city. I thought all the women had been sent away for their safety," the Sergeant said.
"My mother said she will not allow the Yankees to dictate to her where she makes her home," Sarah Emma said with a hint of humor in her voice, trying to imitate her mother's mannerisms, no doubt.
"Brave woman," he remarked. He didn't say it was also foolish.
"Yes," she said with a smile, the first he'd seen on her. "My mother's a very headstrong woman. She said of the soldiers couldn't stop Sherman, she'd pick up a gun and go do it herself."
He loved her full lips curling into that smile, but tried to squash that emotion. It was difficult. He chuckled at the joke. "Well we've enlisted bondservants, so why not women next?"
She laughed at that joke. "I don't think war is a proper business for women. But men? They're built to handle it. I don't care what color they are. Both bleed the same, feel the same."
"Careful who hears that," J.D. told her. "It was quite the uproar when General Cleburne wrote his memorial. A lot of troops looked at it with relief. A lot of the upper generals were angry to say the least."
"Well they need to decide what's more precious to them," Sarah Emma said sharply, "either independence or holding bondservants. I don't believe we can have both. And we've seen what the Yankees will do to us if they win. They don't care what skin color someone is. They'll hurt us all the same. They took my brother at Chickamauga. My cousins over in Athens, Alabama had their house burned by General Turchin, their silver stolen, and their female servants..."
"I'm so sorry," J.D. said with compassion. She had a tear streak down her cheek she wiped away.
Sergeant Johnson was surprised a bit at the genuine sympathy he felt for the first time in a while. Many people had died in this war, some of them right next to him. He had gotten a little desensitized to it, but they were men. They had families, loved ones, who cared for them, missed them.
"It's been a year," she continued. "They say time heals all wounds, but...I still miss him."
"They do say that," J.D. said.
Private Locke came back. He had a huge mess of hair, and a very young look on his face. He was a city boy, but he and his brother Charles were good soldiers. "The commissary wagon here can take you back," Locke said. The Lieutenant on the wagon said they'd be going into the Car Shed at the middle of the city, but they'd be happy to make a small detour for them.
Johnson helped the father, and then his daughter onto the wagon next to the driver.
"Sergeant, again, let me express my thanks for saving my daughter and myself," he said, giving him a little salute. "And thank you for looking after the city. We're all in your debt."
"It was my pleasure and duty to assist you, sir," J.D. replied. "If I may say so, your daughter is a most gracious and strong young lady."
Her father's eyebrows rose at that, and he eyed the sergeant before replying, "Thank you, Sergeant. Please extend my best wishes to your commanding officer. He leads good men."
Johnson stole a glance at Sarah Emma, who blushed and turned away, as the wagon took off for the city. She looked back for a moment and smiled and they shared a moment again before her face disappeared and the wagon left in the night.
**
Johnston's Army of Tennessee had a strong fortification on the north side of the river. But he was hoping Sherman would cross so he could also. Fighting with a river to your back was a bad position to be in. Every time, Sherman tried a feint to his left flank. According to his cavalry scouts, Johnston knew Sherman was encamping north of them on the south bank of the river a few miles.
General Johnston took his horse, and rode a while by himself. It was good to get out of HQ for a while, get some fresh air. The heat finally broke, so it wasn't as oppressive down in Georgia. Johnston's knowledge of Sherman's position north them, rather than south, made him smile. If Sherman had gone the other way, his plan was likely not to work. Johnston had let his faith slack during the war; he knew God was in control, but his prayer life hadn't been as strong as he hadn't felt God's presence till very recently. He had demurred on Cleburne's proposal as a political, rather than military matter, but the trickle of new recruits were helping him delay Sherman and General Albert Sidney Johnston was doing a good job training them, he must say. He felt a little relief from his army and better spirits from the enlisted men now that they had some help. General Walker was furious, but Johnston overruled him in accepting the new recruits; many of them had been assigned to Cleburne's command, since it was his idea. Johnston wrote a letter to his wife, who wrote to Polk, an Episcopalian bishop before the army; Polk had been asked to baptize her husband, to which he readily agreed. Polk momentarily removed his general's uniform and donned his bishop's robes, while Generals Wheeler, Hardee, and Cleburne had been his witnesses. Johnston felt an immense sense of calm, a sense of relief, of cleansing of his sins as he had gotten baptized. It was one of the most moving moments of his life.
He finally reached the creek, and his horse snorted as if to tell him they were there. It had a rocky, uneven bottom, green slick moss along the muddy banks, and water that couldn't have reached his waist if it tried. But...the banks were steep, in some places they looked about ten feet down. He rode along the creek for a good while, which ran for miles, flowing east to west till it reached the Chattahoochee River. All along it maintained that depth; he smiled. This would do. Peachtree Creek would serve his needs nicely. He clicked and turned the horse as he decided to return to HQ.
**
Sherman was watching his army cross the river from his horse, cigar in his mouth.
"Everything's going well, Cump," said General McPherson, one of the few to call General Sherman by that nickname. "The entire Army of the Tennessee should be on the south bank by the end of the day."
"Good," Sherman replied. "Schofield's boys are already across. Once you get over, Thomas and the Army of the Cumberland can start crossing. Might take a few days, maybe a week to build up enough supplied, but we have time."
"You look like a happy man," McPherson said with a smile.
"I am," Sherman replied, as the two watched their men cross. "But a confused one. Why didn't Johnston make it more difficult for us to cross? Frankly, I'm surprised by how easy this has been."
"Maybe the rebels are really whipped," McPherson suggested. "Maybe they have no fight left in them."
"Not after the beating they gave us at Kennesaw," Sherman countered. "I doubt that."
McPherson shrugged. "Ever since we started this campaign, Johnston's been reluctant to engage in combat except when his troops are protected by their fortifications. I'd bet Atlanta is the best fortified city on the continent, aside from Richmond or Washington. Perhaps he wants to fight us from behind his fortifications."
Sherman shook his head, "A siege? That'd be foolish. Johnston's no fool. Whatever he is, he's not a fool."
"All we do know is he's pulled his forces back, and he's allowing us to cross the river," McPherson continued. "Cavalry reports no Confederate forces within miles."
Sherman nodded. "I haven't heard any cannon fire for days."
"Odd isn't it?"
For just a moment...the thought entered Sherman's mind that Johnston wanted his entire force on the south side of the river, that he might lead the Union forces into a trap. He shook that thought out of his head, angry at himself. It was paranoia that had gotten him removed from command back at Louisville at the start of the war, an experience he had no desire to repeat. It had led to a complete mental breakdown, and an attempt at suicide. Were it not for Grant's intervention, he might never have gotten another command.
"James, when you're army's across, move it into position on Schofield's left. Thomas will take position on Schofield's right when he finishes crossing."
"Very well. And then?"
"The Army of the Cumberland will advance directly south towards Atlanta, while you will maneuver to the east side of the city, and cut off its railroad links to Augusta, then close up on the city itself. Schofield will serve as a link between you and Thomas."
"If I do that, my left flank will be exposed," McPherson noted.
"I know," Sherman answered. "Nothing to do about it. If Johnston plans to fight for that city, I imagine he'd do it by attempting to strike your flank. It's a risk we'll have to take. But a battle out in the open against those damned rebels is something we want, not something we need to fear. If Johnston means to attack you, by God we'll meet him."
"And after that?"
"We'll cut his rail links to the east, pin him in the city," Sherman answered. "He'll have one rail link for supplies, and by that time he will just evacuate the city. Then we march into Atlanta with a minimum loss of life."
"A sound plan," McPherson said.
"Yes," Sherman said as he continued working on his cigar. "Unless the rebels attempt an attack, which I don't think too likely, we're going to have a lull in operations for a few days while we bring the Army of the Cumberland across. Make sure your men take the chance to rest and refit. When we move again, I want your boys to be as ready as they can be. When we march through the streets of Atlanta, I want them looking like proper soldiers. I plan on dining in the finest mansion of Atlanta before the month's end."
**
Attachments
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Can't wait for more Atlanta updates. I live in Metro Atlanta and as of now my town would be occupied by Union soldiers.
Chapter 17: Atlanta Gets Personal (Part 2)
JJohnson
Banned
Atlanta, GA (October)
At Dexter Niles's House, Johnston looked over the maps with General Mackall, swearing him to secrecy on his idea so that it would go according to plan. He explained, "Sherman is crossing the river as we speak. He won't move until the entire army is across. Over the course of our campaign, I've gotten to know how he works. Now that Hood is gone, and no longer scheming to replace me, I don't have to worry about him trying to backstab our army to try to take command of it. Sherman is going to take a third of his army or so, probably the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio and try to cut off our rail link to Augusta at the southeast, then move against the city from the east."
"That sounds plausible enough," Mackall said. "Being cut off from Augusta cuts us off from the Carolinas, from Virginia."
"Exactly," Johnston said. "For now we need to ignore that thread."
"Ignore it?" Mackall asked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Let me explain," Johnston said, as he moved towards the maps. "While the two smaller armies move to cut the rail, the Army of the Cumberland will march directly south towards Atlanta. General Thomas always does Sherman's dirty work while McPherson gets the plum assignments. The largest army is his distraction to the threat from the east. I don't believe they realize until it's too late that we are deliberately ignoring their demonstrations to the east of the city, focusing instead on Sherman's Army of the Cumberland. I want General Johnston to have the new enlistees building their works to the east, southeast, and north."
"I don't understand sir," Mackall replied. "If the advance of the Army of the Cumberland is only a diversion," he tapped the map where Johnston said the army was going to travel, "then what do we gain by repulsing it?"
"I don't plan on repulsing it, General Mackall," Johnston said with a smile. "I plan to destroy it."
Mackall's eyed widened in surprise. Not even Lee managed to destroy an entire army. "Destroy it?" he repeated, more as a question.
"Exactly. Or at least inflict such a blow as to render it unable to take any further action against us," Johnston said. "It will be the end of Sherman's Atlanta campaign."
"Forgive me general, but how will we accomplish such a feat?" Mackall asked.
"Here," Johnston pointed, his finger tracing the Peachtree Creek. "For Sherman's army under Thomas's command to pose a threat, they must cross Peachtree Creek."
"It's just a little stream, nothing important," Mackall said.
"Right. But, it's banks are quite steep. Imagine it dividing the land in two, like the river does," Johnston said. "When Thomas crosses the creek, he will be separated from the other armies by a physical barrier. Once a large enough portion is across, that is the time we strike. If we time it correctly, we will strike before the Yankees have enough time to entrench, and while many of the divisions in his army still remain north of the creek, unable to help. At that point, we catch him by surprise, his back to the creek. It would be very difficult to retreat and impossible for him to bring full force to bear against us. If we success, we utterly wreck his Army of the Cumberland, and with it, Sherman's chances of taking Atlanta."
"I see it," Mackall said, picturing the battle in his mind. "We will need to execute perfectly, especially in timing. But it could work."
"That's not the whole plan," Johnston said. "If we defeat Thomas, and advance our own armies just a few miles northward, we cut Sherman off from his own supplies and trap him on the southside of the river. And at that point, both our army, and General Johnston's new recruits will come about and destroy him. Since President Davis refused to send me Forrest to harry Sherman's supply lines, this is my second plan."
Mackall was silent a few moments as he processed everything. He smiled. "What you are proposing, General Johnston, could win us the war."
**
Sergeant James David Johnson was riding his horse into town, now just passing the Car Shed, where trains were loading people up to leave town to avoid the oncoming locust storm of Yankees. He saw a lot of very able-bodied men with very nice horses. He wondered why they weren't out serving their country. Did they value their own comfort over their own freedom? He remembered his mother reading to him when he was young from Patrick Henry...
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
She told tales of his great-great-great grandfather who worked with Patrick Henry right in the House of Burgesses when he said that. His family served in the Revolution and now he had his chance to participate in this one. He remembered the signers of the Declaration pledged "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," and yet these men were loading up useless furniture in wagons to evacuate.
He had been surprised last night when the Saylors had invited him into town for dinner. After three years of marching with the army, the thought of sitting at a home to what was likely a formal dinner seemed a bit surreal. Life in the army tends to skew your perspective a bit. His brigade commander even lent him a dress uniform for the occasion, considering Saylor's foundry was supplying them their munitions.
He remembered his conversation with his commander the night before...
"I'm not sure I can do this, sir. There's no way I can go."
"No, you can go."
"But the Yankees are just a few miles away."
"We're close enough to Atlanta that it should be alright."
"My uniform is a disgrace to the service."
"You can borrow one. I have an extra that will fit."
"I can't go."
"You can and you will. If you decline you will be disobeying your brigade commander."
"I can go."
"Yes, you can," smiled his brigade commander.
His musings ended when he finally reached the house, a very nicely appointed house with columns, just past Decatur Street on Calhoun St. He knocked, and was greeted by a pleasant black woman in her late 40s, early 50s.
"Sergeant Johnson?" she asked.
He nodded and smiled.
"Well, come in," she said, stepping aside as he entered the house. The central hall was nice, stairway to the right, with elegant and tasteful furniture inside. He could almost forget there was a war going on if he weren't careful. Plaster decorated ceilings, crown molding, mirrors on the walls where appropriate.
"The ladies will be with you shortly, Sergeant," she said, after letting him take it all in. "Mr. Saylor is in the study." She gestured to the room to the far right, past the drawing room.
"Sergeant Johnson!" said Mr. Saylor, welcoming him into the study. It was lined with books across each wall, had a nice, elegant wooden desk and a fireplace with twin chairs and a round table between them. "I'm so glad to see you again."
"Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Saylor. You have a beautiful home," Johnson said. "I appreciate you inviting me to dinner."
"Not at all, it was the least I could do," Mr. Saylor said. "You saved my life, and my daughter's. Whiskey?"
"Certainly," Johnson said, as he gazed about the bookshelves. He heard some klinks and turned. "Ice?"
"Yes, it's a marvelous invention. John Gorrie made up a way to cool water down into ice. His financials turned out well thanks to my family," he replied. "Makes a big difference on a hot Atlanta summer day."
"I'll bet," Johnson smiled as he took the whiskey and sipped.
"You like books, sergeant?" asked Mr. Saylor.
"I love them, sir," he replied. "I don't get much time to read out on the front, but my mother and father read to me every night when I was young."
"Do you have a favorite?" Mr. Saylor asked, waving to his books.
"I was raised on the Gospel," Johnson replied. "But I like a good adventure."
Mr. Saylor thought for a moment and smiled, and looked, finally picking out a book.
"The Count of Monte Cristo?" JD asked. The book was finely made with a fine leather binding, and luckily small enough to put in his pocket.
"A fine tale of adventure over in France. A man is wrongly imprisoned and has to escape and get his revenge on those who wronged him," Mr. Saylor said.
"Sounds like good reading," he smiled. "Are you sure you want to give this to me?"
"Of course, it's no trouble at all," Mr. Saylor said.
"Showing off your books, my dear?" came a new voice from a woman who didn't look her age in the least. (OOC: Xenia Seeburg today) "You could give away half those books and still have more to be read than you could hope to finish in a lifetime." She chuckled, and held her hand out. "Sergeant Johnson, I presume?"
"Indeed," said Mr. Saylor. "May I present Sergeant James David Johnson, to whom both Sarah Emma and I owe our lives. Sergeant, this is my wife Elisabeth Ann."
"How do you do ma'am?" he said, bowing his head respectfully.
She looked him up and down, as if she were inspecting him. She was clad in a nice blue dress, low cut, as her husband preferred, her strawberry blonde hair up in a bun; he could tell it was wavy if it were down. She was a little inscrutable though. "I do better now that my husband and daughter are safe, Sergeant. She will be down shortly."
It seemed she knew they were speaking of her, and Sarah Emma appeared, and Johnson's breath was taken away. She resembled her mother somewhat, now that he saw, but she took beauty to a new level in that dress. A light pink, low cut and form fitting as Mrs. Saylor's dress. He knew where she got her figure.
"I'm sorry I took so long, Sergeant. We haven't entertained in some time since the Yankees got so close," she said.
"I'm sure the army is doing all they can to repel them," Mr. Saylor said. He was being diplomatic, thankfully. "If more Atlanta men were as brave to enlist as Sergeant Johnson, perhaps they wouldn't have gotten this far."
"The war has been unkind to everyone," Mrs. Saylor added, "in many ways. But, enough war talk. We will be dining upon glazed ham, sweet potatoes, and green beans. Debbie is a fine cook."
Johnson's mouth watered at the thought. His hosts led him to the table, and the servants placed dishes on the table, and served the salad.
"In case you're wondering, they're all free men," Mr. Saylor said. "While we're southern, I don't care much for bonded servitude. I paid for their freedom and they earned enough to repay the price a few years back. Now they do little jobs here and there at the house for their own wages."
"Quite forward thinking of you," said the sergeant.
"Our Congress is leading the way in that matter it seems," said Mrs. Saylor. "Times change and the South must also. Just don't let anyone else hear us say such scandalous things."
"Perhaps that's why we don't get many guests," chuckled Mr. Saylor.
The four finished eating their salad in relative silence, and their dinner was placed in front of them. The family thanked the staff for the service, as they retired to allow them to eat together. The Saylors informed him they ate the same food as their four staff; they didn't think it fair to eat better. It would eat at their consciences if they had.
"So, tell us about your regiment," Mr. Saylor said, turning the conversation.
"I'm in the 5th Georgia Infantry," he replied.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Mrs. Saylor. Her daughter was confused, but her father clarified.
"The 5th had the highest casualties in Chickamauga and Murfreesboro," he said in a calm voice.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Sarah Emma said, looking at Johnson with sympathy. "I didn't know."
"That's war," Johnson replied, trying not to relive the experience. "But letters from home make it a little more bearable."
"When did you receive your last letter?" Mrs. Saylor asked.
"A little over two months," he answered. "My parents asked if we could possibly see the old country, the Highlands, where we came from before the 1670s."
The ham and sweet potatoes were delicious, as was the wine, a precious commodity at the moment due to the blockade. Elisabeth Ann and Sarah Emma told stories about life in Atlanta during the war, some silly, others sad. Sergeant Johnson and William Henry Saylor (born Wilhelm Heinrich, but he went by William Henry) spoke about the Armies of Tennessee and Northern Virginia and their similarities and differences, without getting too much into their commanders' strengths, being as tactful as possible.
J.D. could've gone back to his unit a happy man, but there was pumpkin pie to boot. He couldn't resist.
Complimenting his hosts on their food, Johnson left the house, giving the hosts his compliments and thanks, and expressed his desire to see them again.
**
Per orders from General Sherman, General Thomas moved his men north of Peachetree Creek, just a few miles north. His army's right flank was protected by the river, though his left was unprotected. He believed Sherman's plan of letting McPherson and Schofield attack from the east meant his army would pose the least threat to the city, and his flank wouldn't see much action.
Thomas was a Virginian, but one who felt his oath to the Union superseded that of his state. His sisters, he heard, now claimed they had no brother. What would they say, he wondered, when they heard their brother commanded the first Union army which entered the South's second-most important city?
**
In Johnston's war council, he finally made known his plan. The general didn't plan on contesting the crossing of Peachtree Creek. He planned on letting them cross, then fighting them with two corps of men - Cleburne and Hardee, with Polk towards the east, acting to distract Sherman and be a reserve force for him. Cleburne, since it was his idea, was going to be reinforced with 20,000 freedmen, trained by General A.S. Johnston, who was unable to join a field command, but could very well train troops to fight.
He stressed timing was everything. General Thomas was always slow. Johnston told them he believed they wouldn't start crossing till night on the 9th, and most wouldn't cross till the morning of October 10th. General Wheeler would use his men to delay the Yankees as much as possible till the night of the 9th, then pull back to the south bank of the creek.
General Johnston stressed they needed to hit them at exactly the right moment; too early, and not enough troops will have crossed to justify the risk; too late, and they will have entrenched and have enough troops and defenses to outnumber the Confederates. Johnston let them know the attack would begin at 1 PM.
Sherman had seen them evacuate Atlanta; that suited Johnston. Johnston had also 'allowed' so-called 'deserters' to be taken prisoner so that they could give the same information that troops were also being loaded on trains to reinforce Sherman's belief. Deserted trains moving south and southwest would also be sent to give credence to such reports.
**
In the Union camp, Sherman met with Thomas, Schofield, and McPherson. They did fall for it. Sherman smiled and declared he'd be entering the city within the next two or three days; he believed 'Uncle Joe' was going to give up without a fight.
Sherman decided the greatest threat was going to be to the east, and moved the cavalry to the left flank of the Army of the Tennessee to watch for any sign of the rebels. Thomas added he had no fears from his end, and let Sherman know he could take a few divisions from him as reinforcement if needed. The Union generals didn't believe the reports of massive training of freedmen by the rebels; they had seen scatterings here and there so far, so most generals in Sherman's army believed that pool of recruits had dried up.
The Army of the Cumberland would cross Peachtree Creek; the Army of the Tennessee would move to Decatur to cut the rail between Atlanta and Augusta to the east, and the Army of the Ohio would be on their right flank. Everyone would be in position on the morning of the 21st to enter the city by noon.
**
Some of the black recruits waved as General Cleburne rode past, shouting for 'ol' Marse Patrick'. Being called that kind of embarrassed him, as he'd never owned a slave. It was explained to him they called General Lee that also; it was their way of showing respect. Cleburne just wished they'd call him 'General Cleburne' or 'Mr. Patrick' but not 'Marse.'
He took his horse out for a ride on the morning of the 9th, getting the lay of the land long the creek. It was difficult to see more than a few hundred yards due to the trees. The terrain was hilly like his home in Arkansas, with occasional streams flowing away from Peachtree Creek.
"Good place for an ambush, William," Cleburne said with his still present Irish accent.
"Yes, you're right," Hardee agreed. "The trees will conceal the presence of our troops from the Yankees, assuming our picket line can keep their infantry at a good distance long enough."
"And the uneven forested terrain will keep them from deploying their artillery, which is one of their chief advantages over us," Cleburne added, taking in the place. "Will we have guides?"
"Yes," Hardee confirmed. "Many of the freedmen were recruited from around Atlanta and south of here. They know the area better than anyone. Three or four will be assigned to each brigade."
"Good. Too many foolish mistakes have cost us too many battles that could've been avoided by using locals to guide us," Cleburne said.
"Indeed. If this is to work, we can't afford to make the same mistakes we made in the past," Hardee added.
The pair trotted over to the creek, taking their time. It was unremarkable, but pretty. Stones protruding from the creek...but steep banks. Cleburne thought if he fell in, he couldn't get out without someone's help. A good natural barrier.
"I don't see any peach trees," Cleburne said out of the blue.
"What about it?"
"So...why is it called Peachtree Creek?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," Hardee replied.
**
Battle of Peachtree Creek (October 10)
For some time since Hood's death, General Johnston had placed his Army of Tennessee into 4 corps, under Stewart, Hardee, Cleburne, and Hindman, who took over Hood's Corps. Stewart's Division was transferred to the north to help face the Army of the Cumberland.
The minutes ticked away till one, and the Confederates struck. A series of low booms sounded across the field; artillery fire. The pops of muskets firing from the left and the right of the field. Stewart had joined the fight with Cleburne and Hardee's corps.
General Thomas was talking with one of his staff officers about getting some supply wagons for ammunition across their bridges, when he heard the sounds and his head snapped to the direction of the distinct musket firing. Too intense to be just a skirmish or a picket line. Over the general noise of the weaponry, he heard another unmistakable noise - the Rebel Yell. He wasn't a man given to fear, but his blood ran cold for a moment.
Thomas's men had their backs to the creek in an unfortified position and had been taken completely by surprise. After the moment passed, he grinned. "If it's a fight Uncle Joe wants, then it's a fight we'll give him." Thomas started shouting out orders; couriers started running to and fro.
**
Cleburne rode back and forth, shouting at his division to advance through sheer force of his will. All he had with him were Lt. Blythe and a private carrying the division colors. Not thirty minutes prior, they had burst out of the trees into the Yankees and caught them completely by surprise. The field had turned into a slaughterhouse and the fight had turned into a stalemate, with neither side gaining much ground; at best, the Confederates were very slowly moving forward. Bullets shot past Cleburne, missing by inches as he tried to urge his men forward, when an artillery shell knocked him off his horse. He waved to rally his men forward when his hearing cleared.
Two of Cleburne's brigades were deployed with a third in reserve. He also had two more divisions in reserve but wanted them brought up only at the last possible moment for the coup de grace. From being in Hardee's Corps, he had kept Govan's and Lowrey's brigades, on either side. Further right was Cheatham's division, which comforted Cleburne as they fought forward. Wounded soldiers walked back with bloody bandages to their faces or arms, various staff officers directing them back to the hospital tents.
The battle line nearer the creek was intact, but disorderly, as happened in so many battles before. Through the acrid and pungent smoke of the gunpowder, General Cleburne could barely make out the line of Union soldiers, clad in blue, which helped visibility in all that smoke. He felt, but didn't see, the artillery booming off to the right. Their men were firing, but the artillery was enfilading them; Cleburne ordered sharpshooters to bear.
Lowery and Govan were ordered to hold, but they couldn't move forward due to the valiant efforts of the Yankee troops. Cleburne had his reserve but wanted to wait till the right time to deploy. His forces already deployed were about 1/3 freedmen. The entire line looked solid, no flanks, no gaps, and no terrain that could be used to their advantage. If he could open a gap...
General Thomas was between the creek and the front, as the stream of wounded fell back. As he surveyed the field, it looked to him like the enemy was faltering, and ordered his men to speed up crossing the creek to support his troops. He felt it, the chance to repulse the rebels, throw them into disarray - the use of fresh divisions and brigades would do this. Thomas sent a note to Sherman that he had engaged the enemy, but said he believed he could hold position.
General Johnston was watching the battle as staff officers informed him of the situation and how it stalled in front of the creek. No more Rebel Yell; now, Union hurrahs were sounding. Out of the cloud of battle, a trickle, then a stream of Confederate gray coming off the battlefield, weaponless and scared. None of them were wounded, worse than that. The numbers grew as he shouted to stem the tide and rally his troops and lead them back in himself.
His staff officers took the hint and started moving, rallying the troops, reforming them into a thin line of troops; it was a fragile line, and could break again if the Yankees were to push. Artillery shells were falling around them. The Yankees were moving their cannon forward. There was a chance that his Army of Tennessee could be destroyed.
"You fellow men of the South! We must maintain this position! Reinforcements are coming! We have made too many retreats, too many sacrifices to give up now! The Yankees invaded Kentucky and we fell back. They invaded Tennessee and we fell back. They conquer and assimilate entire towns, stealing everything belonging to innocent civilians and violating our women. Not again! No more! The line must be drawn here!" He punctuated that by pointing his sword to the ground under his horse.
The men were silent and he could see their faces so he continued, "Will you the men of the Army of Tennessee hold the line?"
"Yes!"
"We will hold the line!" came the shout of another.
The men were glancing left and right, slowly regaining their courage from their comrades till the men were pumping their fists in the air. Infantry was coming up behind by one of Johnston's generals, Mackall.
"This far and no further!"*
Johnston glanced at the battle flag, that of the brigade of Brown. The officers formed up expertly; about 25% of the men were freedmen who joined in the last month. It came to Johnston they were fighting together for the freedom of the entire south, not just of one or another race. As his men fell over the last three or four months, they were gradually replaced with freedmen, he realized, and they'd fought as bravely and capably as any white soldier.
"Forward men!" shouted Johnston, intent on leading them himself.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, General Johnston?" yelled his aide, Mackall. "Get back from here! General Brown can lead his own men!"
"Let go of the bridle, Mackall!"
"I will not sir. You must retire to the rear, immediately!"
"Johnston, to the rear!" started the shouts of his men. For a moment, his face was red with anger at his aide; but his mind overtook his emotion and he realized he had acted irresponsibly. He let Mackall lead him back, and once he was clear, his men charged at the double-quick and into battle. The Rebel Yell erupted from the wave of gray, yelling like furies as both sides fired their muskets, and collided with each other. Johnston looked back to see General Reynolds fall from his horse, dead or wounded.
Confederate artillery came forward and loaded with canister, fired from all ten pieces towards the Union lines. Johnston viewed the battle as a whole now that he was distant from it, thinking if he could only tear a hole in the line he could roll them up and drive them back into the creek as he planned. After maybe 20 minutes or so he finally found General Hardee.
"What is your situation?" he asked giving a quick salute.
"Stewart's attack was repulsed; Cleburne's barely holding. We've taken many prisoners, thirteen battle flags, and a Union artillery battery. Resistance has mounted and we've lost a lot of men. Can I put the reserve in?" Hardee finally asked.
"Do it," Johnston said. "Deploy him where you need him."
"Yes sir," Hardee said as he saluted.
Elsewhere, Cleburne was ready for his move. He figured out what he needed to do. He had General Lowrey's brigade fall back about 650 yards, while at the same time, he brought up two more brigades of freedmen, and had them lay down in the vegetation, obscuring them, at a 45° angle to Lowrey's brigade. Granbury and Govan were given the task of enfilading.
Lowrey managed to make the difficult move, ten minutes later. Hardee found Cleburne and told him they had to make their move, now or never.
The soldiers lying down all had their rifles loaded, ready to fire, bayonets fixed. Several tense minutes passed, until Lowrey's men started running from the battle. But they weren't wearing the faces of defeat; many of them were reloading as they ran. And their faces were eerily calm.
Through the smoke came a large formation of Union troops, perhaps a division's worth, racing southward, in pursuit of what they believed to be a defeated foe. They yelled bravely. Captain José Cleary yelled "Stand up!"
Yankees kept running; their butternut uniforms seemed to give them a measure of camouflage in the smoke.
"Ready!" Cleary shouted. They raised their rifles.
"Right flank!" shouted some of the Yankees; "Left flank!" shouted others. Lowrey's brigade reformed quickly into line.
"Aim!" Cleary shouted.
"Fire!"
Instantly, the 4th Georgia Infantry and hundreds of other muskets fired off; Johnson was momentarily deafened from the noise. Moments later, he saw the effect on the enemy. Dozens upon dozens of Union troops were cut down in an instant. Seconds later, Lowrey's brigade, then Govan's fired. Those who remained appeared stunned at the fire coming from three sides.
They reloaded to fire again and again; the Union division melted away. Several threw their weapons down and ran away back to the north, unwilling to keep standing against what they faced.
"Charge bayonets!" Cleary shouted.
The 4th Georgia Infantry reloaded one last time, and when the order came to charge, every officer yelled and Johnson ordered the men of his own company, K, forward. In mere seconds, they closed the distance to the Yankee line. Already stunned by the fire from the Confederates, the Yankee resistance broke quickly. Many dropped their rifles, turned, and ran. A few held their ground bravely, swinging their muskets like clubs, or stabbing with their bayonets, but it was no use. Being stunned, finally outnumbered, and having lost a huge number of their men, what was left of the Union troops quickly collapsed. Now, most of them fled north to their comrades. The few remaining were either killed or captured.
"After them!" Cleary shouted, pointing his sword forward. The 4th Georgia's Company K ran forward; Johnson tried to keep them together as best as he could; they advanced over a field of dead Union soldiers, and he let his men reorganize and scavenge ammo from dead troops. The sparse Union soldiers in front of them who tried to rally together to fire back were quickly shot.
To Johnson's left, he saw a new group of gray-clad soldiers giving the rebel yell; it was one of Cleburne's divisions of freedmen. To the right, another. He suddenly realized Cleburne's corps had overall managed to punch a hole in the center of the Union line, and was rolling it up left and right.
Thomas's message finally arrived, letting Sherman know he was under attack; the acoustic shadow, a trick of the environment, had kept the sounds of war hidden for a good while. Sherman declined to let Schofield move his men to help, as Thomas's note said he was confident he could hold his position. From Sherman's position, he now believed he would capture both Atlanta and the Army of Tennessee. Another message to Sherman let him know the defenses of the city were held by regular army, not militia; Sherman ordered the aide to tell the generals to press the attack on the city.
Back at the creek, General Cheatham broke through as well, capturing two 4-gun batteries and turning them on the Yankees. Cleburne was now getting the lay of the battle, as one of his sergeants and a private came through the smoke, leading a group of nine Union prisoners; one of them bearing major's stripes on his uniform. The private held a rifle to the Yankees, the sergeant a flag.
"Which regiment are you from?" Cleburne asked.
"5th Georgia Infantry, sir!" answered the sergeant.
"Congratulations on capturing this flag. Which unit?"
"143rd New York Infantry," said the major with resignation.
"Your name?" Cleburne asked.
"Major Horace Boughton, sir."
"My men will treat you properly, Major. For you the war is over. Keep heading in that direction," Cleburne pointed directly south. The men vanished into the tree line behind him.
"143rd?" asked Cleburne's aid. "How can a single state raise that many regiments?"
"The Union possesses manpower and material we can never hope to match. We must always outthink and outmaneuver them," Cleburne answered. "Let us remain focused on the fight at hand."
General Thomas mounted his horse and rode forward as he heard a crash of muskets, then ominous silence. With the forest ahead, he couldn't see what was happening, but he decided riding forward was worth the risk.
As he rode forward, he could quickly see something had gone really wrong. Frantic soldiers running back alone or in groups; the look of defeat on their dirty and bloody faces. They were unarmed, running in panic away from the fight; others were just bewildered as if they'd been stunned with a hit to the head.
He looked around and found a captain. "You! What is happening!"
The man stopped and answered, "Captain Delano Robinson, sir! 82nd Ohio! It's a disaster, sir! Cleburne's freedmen punched a hole through our lines and a hole mess of other brigades are punching through too!"
"Where is General Ward?"
"Dead sir! I saw him get hit right through the head and fall. Lots of the officers have been killed or captured. The division's fallen apart!"
Thomas sent off his staff officers who were around him to find out the situation. It was a tight spot, but so was almost any other battle he'd been in on this campaign. He finally ordered his escort cavalry to fan out into a line and when the retreating infantry encountered the sword-wielding men on their horses, yelling to stop...the majority of the men kept running past them without stopping.
It had been two hours since punching through the Yankee line; Johnston's men had captured the battle flag of the 31st Wisconsin and 147th Pennsylvania. Bullets raced past his head as he ducked behind a tree. He heard three dull thuds hit the tree protecting him. There were still some Union soldiers with some fight left in them. He looked right, saw Robert and Darryl. Somehow they'd stayed near him through the whole thing. He motioned for them to circle round behind the Yankees while he and the others kept them occupied. A quick glance confirmed about them or so, reloading. He ducked again, missing another bullet, luckily.
He quickly fired and heard someone fall, and hid. Another three shots; one connected. Minutes passed.
"We have to run! The rebs are surrounding us!" called out a voice.
"Who're you?" shouted a Yankee with an Indiana accent. The midwestern accent sounded flat and dull to Johnson's ears.
"Private Willie Tanner, 143rd Pennsylvania!"
"Don't listen to him! It's a trick!" shouted another Yankee, this time with an irritating New York accent sounding both aggressive and arrogant while also sounding scared.
"I'm no rebel you idiot! You want to end up going to Andersonville? Let's get the hell out of here before we're all taken prisoner!"
Shots were fired near the Yankees, and Johnson ordered them to go. His men advanced, killing at least another two, while one of his own men, a freedman named Charles Turner, from Savannah, fell to a Yankee bullet. Charles had a wife and child there.
A Confederate captain on horseback came up and ordered them to take the Yankee prisoners to the rear, but Johnson told him his men would rather fight; the captain nodded and two of his men took the Yankees back. He ordered Johnson to take his men forward with him.
As they advanced, they passed several Yankees who'd thrown their weapons away, and just sat down, awaiting capture, too exhausted to keep running. Numerous Confederates had gotten separated from their units during the advance, and fell in with Johnson and the captain he was following. They continued picking up more of their own.
Thomas's cavalry escort advised him to move to the rear; they were too far forward.
"We are not going back, Captain! Nor is the Army of the Cumberland!"
"Respectfully sir, we're too far forward. Rebel troops are approaching this point, and it's dangerous for us to remain here any longer."
Thomas grunted, but he couldn't retire to the rear when he needed to prevent his army from doing the same thing. But he couldn't afford to stay. He was about to tell his escort to prepare for departure when he saw a large force of rebels approaching. They easily outnumbered him, and no doubt were fired up from their successes so far. His own troops in contrast had had their morale shattered.
Thomas feared ordering retreat, as it could fall apart almost instantly, and he couldn't just ride off himself, abandoning his men. It would be best for the cause of the Union, but his own conscience wouldn't bear it. He kicked his horse and pulled out his sword, yelling, "Send the traitors back to hell boys!"
The Union officers ordered their men to fire; the volley of musket fire appeared to work at first. Several Confederates fell dead or wounded, but the remaining troops fired back; when they struck his thin and fragile line, it cracked, and his men bolted.
"Stop! Stop men! Turn around and fight!" he shouted at them. They just ignored their general, continuing to run.
"General!"
He turned, and found himself staring down the barrel of a standard Enfield rifle.
"I must ask you to surrender, sir," came the voice of Sergeant Johnson.
Thomas considered swiping at this man with his saber, but even if he could the man would shoot him just as quick.
"Please dismount, General."
He did so. "To whom am I surrendering?"
"Sergeant James David Johnson, 4th Georgia Infantry."
"One of Cleburne's. Damn."
"Are you who I think you are?"
"I am George Thomas," he said, taking in a deep breath, mustering all his dignity. "The commander of the Army of the Cumberland."
"I thought so," Johnson said.
Thomas expected a yell or hollering, but the NCO just kept his rifle pointed at him calmly.
"Who's this?" asked a rebel captain who walked up to the situation.
"General Thomas, sir!" Johnson replied. "The Union commander."
"You're serious!"
"He's telling the truth," Thomas said. "I am General Thomas."
**
*Lines borrowed from Captain Picard, First Contact, mildly adapted.
**Situation of Peachtree Creek adapted from a book I read last year. I thought giving Johnston a reprieve from just retreat-retreat-retreat would be good for him.
Casualties:
-US: 8,200 killed; 10,000 captured, 2500 missing, 6,200 wounded
-CS: 6,800 killed; 2,977 captured, 1,344 missing, 3,811 wounded
At Dexter Niles's House, Johnston looked over the maps with General Mackall, swearing him to secrecy on his idea so that it would go according to plan. He explained, "Sherman is crossing the river as we speak. He won't move until the entire army is across. Over the course of our campaign, I've gotten to know how he works. Now that Hood is gone, and no longer scheming to replace me, I don't have to worry about him trying to backstab our army to try to take command of it. Sherman is going to take a third of his army or so, probably the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio and try to cut off our rail link to Augusta at the southeast, then move against the city from the east."
"That sounds plausible enough," Mackall said. "Being cut off from Augusta cuts us off from the Carolinas, from Virginia."
"Exactly," Johnston said. "For now we need to ignore that thread."
"Ignore it?" Mackall asked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Let me explain," Johnston said, as he moved towards the maps. "While the two smaller armies move to cut the rail, the Army of the Cumberland will march directly south towards Atlanta. General Thomas always does Sherman's dirty work while McPherson gets the plum assignments. The largest army is his distraction to the threat from the east. I don't believe they realize until it's too late that we are deliberately ignoring their demonstrations to the east of the city, focusing instead on Sherman's Army of the Cumberland. I want General Johnston to have the new enlistees building their works to the east, southeast, and north."
"I don't understand sir," Mackall replied. "If the advance of the Army of the Cumberland is only a diversion," he tapped the map where Johnston said the army was going to travel, "then what do we gain by repulsing it?"
"I don't plan on repulsing it, General Mackall," Johnston said with a smile. "I plan to destroy it."
Mackall's eyed widened in surprise. Not even Lee managed to destroy an entire army. "Destroy it?" he repeated, more as a question.
"Exactly. Or at least inflict such a blow as to render it unable to take any further action against us," Johnston said. "It will be the end of Sherman's Atlanta campaign."
"Forgive me general, but how will we accomplish such a feat?" Mackall asked.
"Here," Johnston pointed, his finger tracing the Peachtree Creek. "For Sherman's army under Thomas's command to pose a threat, they must cross Peachtree Creek."
"It's just a little stream, nothing important," Mackall said.
"Right. But, it's banks are quite steep. Imagine it dividing the land in two, like the river does," Johnston said. "When Thomas crosses the creek, he will be separated from the other armies by a physical barrier. Once a large enough portion is across, that is the time we strike. If we time it correctly, we will strike before the Yankees have enough time to entrench, and while many of the divisions in his army still remain north of the creek, unable to help. At that point, we catch him by surprise, his back to the creek. It would be very difficult to retreat and impossible for him to bring full force to bear against us. If we success, we utterly wreck his Army of the Cumberland, and with it, Sherman's chances of taking Atlanta."
"I see it," Mackall said, picturing the battle in his mind. "We will need to execute perfectly, especially in timing. But it could work."
"That's not the whole plan," Johnston said. "If we defeat Thomas, and advance our own armies just a few miles northward, we cut Sherman off from his own supplies and trap him on the southside of the river. And at that point, both our army, and General Johnston's new recruits will come about and destroy him. Since President Davis refused to send me Forrest to harry Sherman's supply lines, this is my second plan."
Mackall was silent a few moments as he processed everything. He smiled. "What you are proposing, General Johnston, could win us the war."
**
Sergeant James David Johnson was riding his horse into town, now just passing the Car Shed, where trains were loading people up to leave town to avoid the oncoming locust storm of Yankees. He saw a lot of very able-bodied men with very nice horses. He wondered why they weren't out serving their country. Did they value their own comfort over their own freedom? He remembered his mother reading to him when he was young from Patrick Henry...
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
She told tales of his great-great-great grandfather who worked with Patrick Henry right in the House of Burgesses when he said that. His family served in the Revolution and now he had his chance to participate in this one. He remembered the signers of the Declaration pledged "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," and yet these men were loading up useless furniture in wagons to evacuate.
He had been surprised last night when the Saylors had invited him into town for dinner. After three years of marching with the army, the thought of sitting at a home to what was likely a formal dinner seemed a bit surreal. Life in the army tends to skew your perspective a bit. His brigade commander even lent him a dress uniform for the occasion, considering Saylor's foundry was supplying them their munitions.
He remembered his conversation with his commander the night before...
"I'm not sure I can do this, sir. There's no way I can go."
"No, you can go."
"But the Yankees are just a few miles away."
"We're close enough to Atlanta that it should be alright."
"My uniform is a disgrace to the service."
"You can borrow one. I have an extra that will fit."
"I can't go."
"You can and you will. If you decline you will be disobeying your brigade commander."
"I can go."
"Yes, you can," smiled his brigade commander.
His musings ended when he finally reached the house, a very nicely appointed house with columns, just past Decatur Street on Calhoun St. He knocked, and was greeted by a pleasant black woman in her late 40s, early 50s.
"Sergeant Johnson?" she asked.
He nodded and smiled.
"Well, come in," she said, stepping aside as he entered the house. The central hall was nice, stairway to the right, with elegant and tasteful furniture inside. He could almost forget there was a war going on if he weren't careful. Plaster decorated ceilings, crown molding, mirrors on the walls where appropriate.
"The ladies will be with you shortly, Sergeant," she said, after letting him take it all in. "Mr. Saylor is in the study." She gestured to the room to the far right, past the drawing room.
"Sergeant Johnson!" said Mr. Saylor, welcoming him into the study. It was lined with books across each wall, had a nice, elegant wooden desk and a fireplace with twin chairs and a round table between them. "I'm so glad to see you again."
"Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Saylor. You have a beautiful home," Johnson said. "I appreciate you inviting me to dinner."
"Not at all, it was the least I could do," Mr. Saylor said. "You saved my life, and my daughter's. Whiskey?"
"Certainly," Johnson said, as he gazed about the bookshelves. He heard some klinks and turned. "Ice?"
"Yes, it's a marvelous invention. John Gorrie made up a way to cool water down into ice. His financials turned out well thanks to my family," he replied. "Makes a big difference on a hot Atlanta summer day."
"I'll bet," Johnson smiled as he took the whiskey and sipped.
"You like books, sergeant?" asked Mr. Saylor.
"I love them, sir," he replied. "I don't get much time to read out on the front, but my mother and father read to me every night when I was young."
"Do you have a favorite?" Mr. Saylor asked, waving to his books.
"I was raised on the Gospel," Johnson replied. "But I like a good adventure."
Mr. Saylor thought for a moment and smiled, and looked, finally picking out a book.
"The Count of Monte Cristo?" JD asked. The book was finely made with a fine leather binding, and luckily small enough to put in his pocket.
"A fine tale of adventure over in France. A man is wrongly imprisoned and has to escape and get his revenge on those who wronged him," Mr. Saylor said.
"Sounds like good reading," he smiled. "Are you sure you want to give this to me?"
"Of course, it's no trouble at all," Mr. Saylor said.
"Showing off your books, my dear?" came a new voice from a woman who didn't look her age in the least. (OOC: Xenia Seeburg today) "You could give away half those books and still have more to be read than you could hope to finish in a lifetime." She chuckled, and held her hand out. "Sergeant Johnson, I presume?"
"Indeed," said Mr. Saylor. "May I present Sergeant James David Johnson, to whom both Sarah Emma and I owe our lives. Sergeant, this is my wife Elisabeth Ann."
"How do you do ma'am?" he said, bowing his head respectfully.
She looked him up and down, as if she were inspecting him. She was clad in a nice blue dress, low cut, as her husband preferred, her strawberry blonde hair up in a bun; he could tell it was wavy if it were down. She was a little inscrutable though. "I do better now that my husband and daughter are safe, Sergeant. She will be down shortly."
It seemed she knew they were speaking of her, and Sarah Emma appeared, and Johnson's breath was taken away. She resembled her mother somewhat, now that he saw, but she took beauty to a new level in that dress. A light pink, low cut and form fitting as Mrs. Saylor's dress. He knew where she got her figure.
"I'm sorry I took so long, Sergeant. We haven't entertained in some time since the Yankees got so close," she said.
"I'm sure the army is doing all they can to repel them," Mr. Saylor said. He was being diplomatic, thankfully. "If more Atlanta men were as brave to enlist as Sergeant Johnson, perhaps they wouldn't have gotten this far."
"The war has been unkind to everyone," Mrs. Saylor added, "in many ways. But, enough war talk. We will be dining upon glazed ham, sweet potatoes, and green beans. Debbie is a fine cook."
Johnson's mouth watered at the thought. His hosts led him to the table, and the servants placed dishes on the table, and served the salad.
"In case you're wondering, they're all free men," Mr. Saylor said. "While we're southern, I don't care much for bonded servitude. I paid for their freedom and they earned enough to repay the price a few years back. Now they do little jobs here and there at the house for their own wages."
"Quite forward thinking of you," said the sergeant.
"Our Congress is leading the way in that matter it seems," said Mrs. Saylor. "Times change and the South must also. Just don't let anyone else hear us say such scandalous things."
"Perhaps that's why we don't get many guests," chuckled Mr. Saylor.
The four finished eating their salad in relative silence, and their dinner was placed in front of them. The family thanked the staff for the service, as they retired to allow them to eat together. The Saylors informed him they ate the same food as their four staff; they didn't think it fair to eat better. It would eat at their consciences if they had.
"So, tell us about your regiment," Mr. Saylor said, turning the conversation.
"I'm in the 5th Georgia Infantry," he replied.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Mrs. Saylor. Her daughter was confused, but her father clarified.
"The 5th had the highest casualties in Chickamauga and Murfreesboro," he said in a calm voice.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Sarah Emma said, looking at Johnson with sympathy. "I didn't know."
"That's war," Johnson replied, trying not to relive the experience. "But letters from home make it a little more bearable."
"When did you receive your last letter?" Mrs. Saylor asked.
"A little over two months," he answered. "My parents asked if we could possibly see the old country, the Highlands, where we came from before the 1670s."
The ham and sweet potatoes were delicious, as was the wine, a precious commodity at the moment due to the blockade. Elisabeth Ann and Sarah Emma told stories about life in Atlanta during the war, some silly, others sad. Sergeant Johnson and William Henry Saylor (born Wilhelm Heinrich, but he went by William Henry) spoke about the Armies of Tennessee and Northern Virginia and their similarities and differences, without getting too much into their commanders' strengths, being as tactful as possible.
J.D. could've gone back to his unit a happy man, but there was pumpkin pie to boot. He couldn't resist.
Complimenting his hosts on their food, Johnson left the house, giving the hosts his compliments and thanks, and expressed his desire to see them again.
**
Per orders from General Sherman, General Thomas moved his men north of Peachetree Creek, just a few miles north. His army's right flank was protected by the river, though his left was unprotected. He believed Sherman's plan of letting McPherson and Schofield attack from the east meant his army would pose the least threat to the city, and his flank wouldn't see much action.
Thomas was a Virginian, but one who felt his oath to the Union superseded that of his state. His sisters, he heard, now claimed they had no brother. What would they say, he wondered, when they heard their brother commanded the first Union army which entered the South's second-most important city?
**
In Johnston's war council, he finally made known his plan. The general didn't plan on contesting the crossing of Peachtree Creek. He planned on letting them cross, then fighting them with two corps of men - Cleburne and Hardee, with Polk towards the east, acting to distract Sherman and be a reserve force for him. Cleburne, since it was his idea, was going to be reinforced with 20,000 freedmen, trained by General A.S. Johnston, who was unable to join a field command, but could very well train troops to fight.
He stressed timing was everything. General Thomas was always slow. Johnston told them he believed they wouldn't start crossing till night on the 9th, and most wouldn't cross till the morning of October 10th. General Wheeler would use his men to delay the Yankees as much as possible till the night of the 9th, then pull back to the south bank of the creek.
General Johnston stressed they needed to hit them at exactly the right moment; too early, and not enough troops will have crossed to justify the risk; too late, and they will have entrenched and have enough troops and defenses to outnumber the Confederates. Johnston let them know the attack would begin at 1 PM.
Sherman had seen them evacuate Atlanta; that suited Johnston. Johnston had also 'allowed' so-called 'deserters' to be taken prisoner so that they could give the same information that troops were also being loaded on trains to reinforce Sherman's belief. Deserted trains moving south and southwest would also be sent to give credence to such reports.
**
In the Union camp, Sherman met with Thomas, Schofield, and McPherson. They did fall for it. Sherman smiled and declared he'd be entering the city within the next two or three days; he believed 'Uncle Joe' was going to give up without a fight.
Sherman decided the greatest threat was going to be to the east, and moved the cavalry to the left flank of the Army of the Tennessee to watch for any sign of the rebels. Thomas added he had no fears from his end, and let Sherman know he could take a few divisions from him as reinforcement if needed. The Union generals didn't believe the reports of massive training of freedmen by the rebels; they had seen scatterings here and there so far, so most generals in Sherman's army believed that pool of recruits had dried up.
The Army of the Cumberland would cross Peachtree Creek; the Army of the Tennessee would move to Decatur to cut the rail between Atlanta and Augusta to the east, and the Army of the Ohio would be on their right flank. Everyone would be in position on the morning of the 21st to enter the city by noon.
**
Some of the black recruits waved as General Cleburne rode past, shouting for 'ol' Marse Patrick'. Being called that kind of embarrassed him, as he'd never owned a slave. It was explained to him they called General Lee that also; it was their way of showing respect. Cleburne just wished they'd call him 'General Cleburne' or 'Mr. Patrick' but not 'Marse.'
He took his horse out for a ride on the morning of the 9th, getting the lay of the land long the creek. It was difficult to see more than a few hundred yards due to the trees. The terrain was hilly like his home in Arkansas, with occasional streams flowing away from Peachtree Creek.
"Good place for an ambush, William," Cleburne said with his still present Irish accent.
"Yes, you're right," Hardee agreed. "The trees will conceal the presence of our troops from the Yankees, assuming our picket line can keep their infantry at a good distance long enough."
"And the uneven forested terrain will keep them from deploying their artillery, which is one of their chief advantages over us," Cleburne added, taking in the place. "Will we have guides?"
"Yes," Hardee confirmed. "Many of the freedmen were recruited from around Atlanta and south of here. They know the area better than anyone. Three or four will be assigned to each brigade."
"Good. Too many foolish mistakes have cost us too many battles that could've been avoided by using locals to guide us," Cleburne said.
"Indeed. If this is to work, we can't afford to make the same mistakes we made in the past," Hardee added.
The pair trotted over to the creek, taking their time. It was unremarkable, but pretty. Stones protruding from the creek...but steep banks. Cleburne thought if he fell in, he couldn't get out without someone's help. A good natural barrier.
"I don't see any peach trees," Cleburne said out of the blue.
"What about it?"
"So...why is it called Peachtree Creek?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," Hardee replied.
**
Battle of Peachtree Creek (October 10)
For some time since Hood's death, General Johnston had placed his Army of Tennessee into 4 corps, under Stewart, Hardee, Cleburne, and Hindman, who took over Hood's Corps. Stewart's Division was transferred to the north to help face the Army of the Cumberland.
The minutes ticked away till one, and the Confederates struck. A series of low booms sounded across the field; artillery fire. The pops of muskets firing from the left and the right of the field. Stewart had joined the fight with Cleburne and Hardee's corps.
General Thomas was talking with one of his staff officers about getting some supply wagons for ammunition across their bridges, when he heard the sounds and his head snapped to the direction of the distinct musket firing. Too intense to be just a skirmish or a picket line. Over the general noise of the weaponry, he heard another unmistakable noise - the Rebel Yell. He wasn't a man given to fear, but his blood ran cold for a moment.
Thomas's men had their backs to the creek in an unfortified position and had been taken completely by surprise. After the moment passed, he grinned. "If it's a fight Uncle Joe wants, then it's a fight we'll give him." Thomas started shouting out orders; couriers started running to and fro.
**
Cleburne rode back and forth, shouting at his division to advance through sheer force of his will. All he had with him were Lt. Blythe and a private carrying the division colors. Not thirty minutes prior, they had burst out of the trees into the Yankees and caught them completely by surprise. The field had turned into a slaughterhouse and the fight had turned into a stalemate, with neither side gaining much ground; at best, the Confederates were very slowly moving forward. Bullets shot past Cleburne, missing by inches as he tried to urge his men forward, when an artillery shell knocked him off his horse. He waved to rally his men forward when his hearing cleared.
Two of Cleburne's brigades were deployed with a third in reserve. He also had two more divisions in reserve but wanted them brought up only at the last possible moment for the coup de grace. From being in Hardee's Corps, he had kept Govan's and Lowrey's brigades, on either side. Further right was Cheatham's division, which comforted Cleburne as they fought forward. Wounded soldiers walked back with bloody bandages to their faces or arms, various staff officers directing them back to the hospital tents.
The battle line nearer the creek was intact, but disorderly, as happened in so many battles before. Through the acrid and pungent smoke of the gunpowder, General Cleburne could barely make out the line of Union soldiers, clad in blue, which helped visibility in all that smoke. He felt, but didn't see, the artillery booming off to the right. Their men were firing, but the artillery was enfilading them; Cleburne ordered sharpshooters to bear.
Lowery and Govan were ordered to hold, but they couldn't move forward due to the valiant efforts of the Yankee troops. Cleburne had his reserve but wanted to wait till the right time to deploy. His forces already deployed were about 1/3 freedmen. The entire line looked solid, no flanks, no gaps, and no terrain that could be used to their advantage. If he could open a gap...
General Thomas was between the creek and the front, as the stream of wounded fell back. As he surveyed the field, it looked to him like the enemy was faltering, and ordered his men to speed up crossing the creek to support his troops. He felt it, the chance to repulse the rebels, throw them into disarray - the use of fresh divisions and brigades would do this. Thomas sent a note to Sherman that he had engaged the enemy, but said he believed he could hold position.
General Johnston was watching the battle as staff officers informed him of the situation and how it stalled in front of the creek. No more Rebel Yell; now, Union hurrahs were sounding. Out of the cloud of battle, a trickle, then a stream of Confederate gray coming off the battlefield, weaponless and scared. None of them were wounded, worse than that. The numbers grew as he shouted to stem the tide and rally his troops and lead them back in himself.
His staff officers took the hint and started moving, rallying the troops, reforming them into a thin line of troops; it was a fragile line, and could break again if the Yankees were to push. Artillery shells were falling around them. The Yankees were moving their cannon forward. There was a chance that his Army of Tennessee could be destroyed.
"You fellow men of the South! We must maintain this position! Reinforcements are coming! We have made too many retreats, too many sacrifices to give up now! The Yankees invaded Kentucky and we fell back. They invaded Tennessee and we fell back. They conquer and assimilate entire towns, stealing everything belonging to innocent civilians and violating our women. Not again! No more! The line must be drawn here!" He punctuated that by pointing his sword to the ground under his horse.
The men were silent and he could see their faces so he continued, "Will you the men of the Army of Tennessee hold the line?"
"Yes!"
"We will hold the line!" came the shout of another.
The men were glancing left and right, slowly regaining their courage from their comrades till the men were pumping their fists in the air. Infantry was coming up behind by one of Johnston's generals, Mackall.
"This far and no further!"*
Johnston glanced at the battle flag, that of the brigade of Brown. The officers formed up expertly; about 25% of the men were freedmen who joined in the last month. It came to Johnston they were fighting together for the freedom of the entire south, not just of one or another race. As his men fell over the last three or four months, they were gradually replaced with freedmen, he realized, and they'd fought as bravely and capably as any white soldier.
"Forward men!" shouted Johnston, intent on leading them himself.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, General Johnston?" yelled his aide, Mackall. "Get back from here! General Brown can lead his own men!"
"Let go of the bridle, Mackall!"
"I will not sir. You must retire to the rear, immediately!"
"Johnston, to the rear!" started the shouts of his men. For a moment, his face was red with anger at his aide; but his mind overtook his emotion and he realized he had acted irresponsibly. He let Mackall lead him back, and once he was clear, his men charged at the double-quick and into battle. The Rebel Yell erupted from the wave of gray, yelling like furies as both sides fired their muskets, and collided with each other. Johnston looked back to see General Reynolds fall from his horse, dead or wounded.
Confederate artillery came forward and loaded with canister, fired from all ten pieces towards the Union lines. Johnston viewed the battle as a whole now that he was distant from it, thinking if he could only tear a hole in the line he could roll them up and drive them back into the creek as he planned. After maybe 20 minutes or so he finally found General Hardee.
"What is your situation?" he asked giving a quick salute.
"Stewart's attack was repulsed; Cleburne's barely holding. We've taken many prisoners, thirteen battle flags, and a Union artillery battery. Resistance has mounted and we've lost a lot of men. Can I put the reserve in?" Hardee finally asked.
"Do it," Johnston said. "Deploy him where you need him."
"Yes sir," Hardee said as he saluted.
Elsewhere, Cleburne was ready for his move. He figured out what he needed to do. He had General Lowrey's brigade fall back about 650 yards, while at the same time, he brought up two more brigades of freedmen, and had them lay down in the vegetation, obscuring them, at a 45° angle to Lowrey's brigade. Granbury and Govan were given the task of enfilading.
Lowrey managed to make the difficult move, ten minutes later. Hardee found Cleburne and told him they had to make their move, now or never.
The soldiers lying down all had their rifles loaded, ready to fire, bayonets fixed. Several tense minutes passed, until Lowrey's men started running from the battle. But they weren't wearing the faces of defeat; many of them were reloading as they ran. And their faces were eerily calm.
Through the smoke came a large formation of Union troops, perhaps a division's worth, racing southward, in pursuit of what they believed to be a defeated foe. They yelled bravely. Captain José Cleary yelled "Stand up!"
Yankees kept running; their butternut uniforms seemed to give them a measure of camouflage in the smoke.
"Ready!" Cleary shouted. They raised their rifles.
"Right flank!" shouted some of the Yankees; "Left flank!" shouted others. Lowrey's brigade reformed quickly into line.
"Aim!" Cleary shouted.
"Fire!"
Instantly, the 4th Georgia Infantry and hundreds of other muskets fired off; Johnson was momentarily deafened from the noise. Moments later, he saw the effect on the enemy. Dozens upon dozens of Union troops were cut down in an instant. Seconds later, Lowrey's brigade, then Govan's fired. Those who remained appeared stunned at the fire coming from three sides.
They reloaded to fire again and again; the Union division melted away. Several threw their weapons down and ran away back to the north, unwilling to keep standing against what they faced.
"Charge bayonets!" Cleary shouted.
The 4th Georgia Infantry reloaded one last time, and when the order came to charge, every officer yelled and Johnson ordered the men of his own company, K, forward. In mere seconds, they closed the distance to the Yankee line. Already stunned by the fire from the Confederates, the Yankee resistance broke quickly. Many dropped their rifles, turned, and ran. A few held their ground bravely, swinging their muskets like clubs, or stabbing with their bayonets, but it was no use. Being stunned, finally outnumbered, and having lost a huge number of their men, what was left of the Union troops quickly collapsed. Now, most of them fled north to their comrades. The few remaining were either killed or captured.
"After them!" Cleary shouted, pointing his sword forward. The 4th Georgia's Company K ran forward; Johnson tried to keep them together as best as he could; they advanced over a field of dead Union soldiers, and he let his men reorganize and scavenge ammo from dead troops. The sparse Union soldiers in front of them who tried to rally together to fire back were quickly shot.
To Johnson's left, he saw a new group of gray-clad soldiers giving the rebel yell; it was one of Cleburne's divisions of freedmen. To the right, another. He suddenly realized Cleburne's corps had overall managed to punch a hole in the center of the Union line, and was rolling it up left and right.
Thomas's message finally arrived, letting Sherman know he was under attack; the acoustic shadow, a trick of the environment, had kept the sounds of war hidden for a good while. Sherman declined to let Schofield move his men to help, as Thomas's note said he was confident he could hold his position. From Sherman's position, he now believed he would capture both Atlanta and the Army of Tennessee. Another message to Sherman let him know the defenses of the city were held by regular army, not militia; Sherman ordered the aide to tell the generals to press the attack on the city.
Back at the creek, General Cheatham broke through as well, capturing two 4-gun batteries and turning them on the Yankees. Cleburne was now getting the lay of the battle, as one of his sergeants and a private came through the smoke, leading a group of nine Union prisoners; one of them bearing major's stripes on his uniform. The private held a rifle to the Yankees, the sergeant a flag.
"Which regiment are you from?" Cleburne asked.
"5th Georgia Infantry, sir!" answered the sergeant.
"Congratulations on capturing this flag. Which unit?"
"143rd New York Infantry," said the major with resignation.
"Your name?" Cleburne asked.
"Major Horace Boughton, sir."
"My men will treat you properly, Major. For you the war is over. Keep heading in that direction," Cleburne pointed directly south. The men vanished into the tree line behind him.
"143rd?" asked Cleburne's aid. "How can a single state raise that many regiments?"
"The Union possesses manpower and material we can never hope to match. We must always outthink and outmaneuver them," Cleburne answered. "Let us remain focused on the fight at hand."
General Thomas mounted his horse and rode forward as he heard a crash of muskets, then ominous silence. With the forest ahead, he couldn't see what was happening, but he decided riding forward was worth the risk.
As he rode forward, he could quickly see something had gone really wrong. Frantic soldiers running back alone or in groups; the look of defeat on their dirty and bloody faces. They were unarmed, running in panic away from the fight; others were just bewildered as if they'd been stunned with a hit to the head.
He looked around and found a captain. "You! What is happening!"
The man stopped and answered, "Captain Delano Robinson, sir! 82nd Ohio! It's a disaster, sir! Cleburne's freedmen punched a hole through our lines and a hole mess of other brigades are punching through too!"
"Where is General Ward?"
"Dead sir! I saw him get hit right through the head and fall. Lots of the officers have been killed or captured. The division's fallen apart!"
Thomas sent off his staff officers who were around him to find out the situation. It was a tight spot, but so was almost any other battle he'd been in on this campaign. He finally ordered his escort cavalry to fan out into a line and when the retreating infantry encountered the sword-wielding men on their horses, yelling to stop...the majority of the men kept running past them without stopping.
It had been two hours since punching through the Yankee line; Johnston's men had captured the battle flag of the 31st Wisconsin and 147th Pennsylvania. Bullets raced past his head as he ducked behind a tree. He heard three dull thuds hit the tree protecting him. There were still some Union soldiers with some fight left in them. He looked right, saw Robert and Darryl. Somehow they'd stayed near him through the whole thing. He motioned for them to circle round behind the Yankees while he and the others kept them occupied. A quick glance confirmed about them or so, reloading. He ducked again, missing another bullet, luckily.
He quickly fired and heard someone fall, and hid. Another three shots; one connected. Minutes passed.
"We have to run! The rebs are surrounding us!" called out a voice.
"Who're you?" shouted a Yankee with an Indiana accent. The midwestern accent sounded flat and dull to Johnson's ears.
"Private Willie Tanner, 143rd Pennsylvania!"
"Don't listen to him! It's a trick!" shouted another Yankee, this time with an irritating New York accent sounding both aggressive and arrogant while also sounding scared.
"I'm no rebel you idiot! You want to end up going to Andersonville? Let's get the hell out of here before we're all taken prisoner!"
Shots were fired near the Yankees, and Johnson ordered them to go. His men advanced, killing at least another two, while one of his own men, a freedman named Charles Turner, from Savannah, fell to a Yankee bullet. Charles had a wife and child there.
A Confederate captain on horseback came up and ordered them to take the Yankee prisoners to the rear, but Johnson told him his men would rather fight; the captain nodded and two of his men took the Yankees back. He ordered Johnson to take his men forward with him.
As they advanced, they passed several Yankees who'd thrown their weapons away, and just sat down, awaiting capture, too exhausted to keep running. Numerous Confederates had gotten separated from their units during the advance, and fell in with Johnson and the captain he was following. They continued picking up more of their own.
Thomas's cavalry escort advised him to move to the rear; they were too far forward.
"We are not going back, Captain! Nor is the Army of the Cumberland!"
"Respectfully sir, we're too far forward. Rebel troops are approaching this point, and it's dangerous for us to remain here any longer."
Thomas grunted, but he couldn't retire to the rear when he needed to prevent his army from doing the same thing. But he couldn't afford to stay. He was about to tell his escort to prepare for departure when he saw a large force of rebels approaching. They easily outnumbered him, and no doubt were fired up from their successes so far. His own troops in contrast had had their morale shattered.
Thomas feared ordering retreat, as it could fall apart almost instantly, and he couldn't just ride off himself, abandoning his men. It would be best for the cause of the Union, but his own conscience wouldn't bear it. He kicked his horse and pulled out his sword, yelling, "Send the traitors back to hell boys!"
The Union officers ordered their men to fire; the volley of musket fire appeared to work at first. Several Confederates fell dead or wounded, but the remaining troops fired back; when they struck his thin and fragile line, it cracked, and his men bolted.
"Stop! Stop men! Turn around and fight!" he shouted at them. They just ignored their general, continuing to run.
"General!"
He turned, and found himself staring down the barrel of a standard Enfield rifle.
"I must ask you to surrender, sir," came the voice of Sergeant Johnson.
Thomas considered swiping at this man with his saber, but even if he could the man would shoot him just as quick.
"Please dismount, General."
He did so. "To whom am I surrendering?"
"Sergeant James David Johnson, 4th Georgia Infantry."
"One of Cleburne's. Damn."
"Are you who I think you are?"
"I am George Thomas," he said, taking in a deep breath, mustering all his dignity. "The commander of the Army of the Cumberland."
"I thought so," Johnson said.
Thomas expected a yell or hollering, but the NCO just kept his rifle pointed at him calmly.
"Who's this?" asked a rebel captain who walked up to the situation.
"General Thomas, sir!" Johnson replied. "The Union commander."
"You're serious!"
"He's telling the truth," Thomas said. "I am General Thomas."
**
*Lines borrowed from Captain Picard, First Contact, mildly adapted.
**Situation of Peachtree Creek adapted from a book I read last year. I thought giving Johnston a reprieve from just retreat-retreat-retreat would be good for him.
Casualties:
-US: 8,200 killed; 10,000 captured, 2500 missing, 6,200 wounded
-CS: 6,800 killed; 2,977 captured, 1,344 missing, 3,811 wounded
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