Georgia Natural Wonder #259 - Battle of Atlanta - DeKalb County (7/22) - 1864

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Georgia Natural Wonder #259 - Battle of Atlanta - DeKalb Co.

The Battle of Atlanta…………….

We tinkered with this post and got a message too large. What we then did was cut off all the activity west of Moreland Avenue, for a future post on Fulton County, to include Grant Park, Oakland Cemetery, the Cyclorama, and most of the action in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood. Despite the implication of finality in its name, the battle occurred midway through the Atlanta campaign, and the city did not fall until September 2, 1864, after a Union siege and various attempts to seize railroads and supply lines leading to Atlanta.


Cyclorama focuses on the northern battlefield in Atlanta Fulton County, the DeKalb County portion is south, in the background, in the distance.

After Peachtree Creek, Hood decided to withdraw, enticing the Union troops to come forward. Sherman, when informed early on the morning of July 22 that the enemy seemed to have withdrawn from in front of McPherson and Schofield, at once concluded that Hood was evacuating Atlanta and so instructed Schofield to occupy the city while the rest of the army gave pursuit. Then, on discovering that strong Confederate forces still occupied a line closer to Atlanta, Sherman decided that Hood intended to hold the place after all and that therefore the time had come to execute the strategy for taking it that he had outlined to Grant back in April: cut its railroad connections to the Confederacy. 


 
One of these, the line between Atlanta and Montgomery, already had been severed by a recent raid out of Tennessee into Alabama by Major General Lovell Rousseau's cavalry. Hence Sherman ordered McPherson to send Dodge's XVI Corps back to the Decatur area to wreak further destruction on the Georgia Railroad to Augusta, after which the Army of the Tennessee would swing south, then west below Atlanta to strike the Macon & Western Railroad, the breaking of which would completely isolate the city.


McPherson did not like this order and he went to Sherman up by the present day Jimmy Carter Library to tell him why: large Confederate forces had been seen moving south and he feared an attack on his vulnerable left flank. Sherman, although he thought McPherson's concern was unwarranted, agreed to postpone the implementation of the order until 1 P.M. If by then the Rebels had not attacked, they never would. McPherson's army closed in from Decatur, Georgia, to the east side of Atlanta down where Memorial Drive and I-20 run parallel today. 


Sherman inside the Confederate defenses after the battle.

Meanwhile, Hood ordered Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps on a march around the Union left flank (below I-20), had Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry march near Sherman's supply line in Decatur, and had Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham's corps attack the Union front back up at present Moreland Avenue at DeKalb Avenue where the train tracks are beside Inman Park.


 Sherman watches battle from Jimmy Carter Library.

The morning passed and no attack came. At noon Sherman sent a message to McPherson instructing him to direct Dodge to send Brigadier General John Fuller's division of the XVI Corps back to Decatur to tear up tracks but to leave that corps other division, Sweeny's, where it was, namely to the rear of McPherson's flank to which point it had marched during the morning after having been posted the previous evening on the right flank of the Army of the Tennessee to plug a gap between it and the XXIII Corps. McPherson did as Sherman directed. But before his dispatch could reach Dodge, an increasingly loud sound of firing came from the southeast. 



It was Hardee, at long last launching his attack on the Union left and rear down along Memorial Drive today. It took longer than expected for Hardee to get his men in position, and during that time, McPherson had correctly deduced a possible threat to his left flank, and sent XVI Corps, his reserve, to help strengthen it. Hardee's force met this other force, and the battle began. His timing could not have been more unfavorable. Had it occurred either an hour sooner or an hour later, his two right divisions, Bate's and Walker's, would have met no opposition or only Sweeny's division. Instead, they encountered both Fuller and Sweeny. And to make matters worse, Bate's troops had to struggle across a swamp and Walker was killed by a Federal sniper before he could even deploy his division. As a result, the Confederate attack in this sector lacked cohesion and punch and soon was repulsed. Although the initial Confederate attack was repulsed, the Union left flank began to retreat.



Cleburne's troops under Hardee, enjoyed better luck upon going into action, for they happened to enter a wide gap between the right of XVI Corps and the left of the XVII Corps, which was at the south end of McPherson's line facing Atlanta. Furthermore, as they advanced McPherson himself, accompanied only by an orderly, came riding among them on his way to check the XVII Corps' situation after witnessing he XVI Corps beat back Bate's and Walker's attack. The Confederates yelled at him to surrender; instead he tried to escape and was shot dead from his horse. As he demonstrated on May 9 at Resaca, and two days earlier on the road to Atlanta, he was too lacking in aggressiveness to be a first-rate combat commander, but his caution served the Union cause well on July 22. He is still one of the highest ranking American officers to ever be killed in combat.


         
Pushing on, Cleburne's men struck the flank and rear of the XVII Corps while part of Cheatham's Division, still under Maney, assailed its front. These attacks, however, were uncoordinated, enabling the Federals to repel them by scrambling from one side of their entrenchments to the other. Not until after nearly two hours of bloody fighting did one of Cleburne's brigades join with one of Maney's to hit the Union line simultaneously in front and rear, causing the XVII Corps to fall back to a bald hill which, because of its height, dominated the battlefield and so was the key to it.



Hoping to help Hardee and Cleburne take the hill, Hood ordered Cheatham to use his other brigades to attack the XV Corps , which was astride the Georgia Railroad well north and to the right of the XVII Corps. Thanks to an inadequately defended railroad cut, two brigades from Brigadier General John C. Brown's Division (formerly Hindman's) penetrated the XV Corps' line and captured a four-gun battery. 



The main lines of battle now formed an "L" shape, with Hardee's attack forming the lower part of the "L" and Cheatham's attack on the Union front as the vertical member of the "L". Hood intended to attack the Union troops from both east and west. 



The fighting centered around the hill now located at I-20 and Moreland Avenue east of the city known as Bald (Leggett's ) Hill. The Federals had arrived two days earlier there and began to shell the city proper, killing several civilians. A savage struggle, sometimes hand-to-hand, developed around the hill. 



Hardee continued to assault the bald hill with both infantry and artillery until after it was dark, but to no avail as its defenders held on grimly. (The hill became known as Leggett's Hill after the commander of the XVII Corps division that defended it, Brigadier General Mortimer Leggett, who after the war purchased it.) The Federals held the hill while the Confederates retired to a point just south of there.


Leggett's Hill as painted in Cyclorama.
 
Meanwhile, two miles to the north, Cheatham's troops had broken through the Union lines at the Georgia railroad. Their success, however, was short-lived. In response, twenty artillery pieces were positioned near Sherman's headquarters at Copen Hill and shelled the Confederates. A Union counterattack, personally led by "Black Jack" Logan, who had assumed command of the Army of the Tennessee on McPherson's death, drove the Confederates back and restored the XV Corps' front. This is the image captured in the Cyclorama painting. After all he commissioned the painting for his political campaign.



Night ended what would be called the Battle of Atlanta, the largest engagement of the Atlanta campaign, one that cost the Confederates about 5,500 casualties and the Federals 3,641 casualties, including Maj. Gen. McPherson. A large proportion of that figure was prisoners from the XVII Corps. This was a devastating loss for the already reduced Confederate Army, but they still held the city. Again Hood failed in an attempt to smash a wing of Sherman's army, a failure he attributed to Hardee for allegedly not carrying out orders to strike the Union rear but which in truth was caused by the semifortuitous presence of the XVI Corps in position to protect that rear and the steady fortitude of the soldiers of the XVII Corps. On the other hand, Sherman deserved little credit for the Federal victory, a victory which probably would have been a defeat had not McPherson persuaded Sherman to modify his orders regarding the XVI Corps. Moreover, during Cheatham's attack on the XV Corps, Sherman rejected proposals from Schofield and Howard that their corps strike Cheatham's exposed left flank, a move that almost surely would have led to the rout of two-thirds of Hood's army.


Painting the Cyclorama.

Hood's report………………. 

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NEAR ATLANTA, July 22, 1864-10.30 p. m.
Honorable J. A. SEDDON, Richmond:

The army shifted its position last night, fronting Peach Tree Creek, and formed line of battle around the city with Stewart's and Cheatham's corps. General Hardee, with his corps, made a night march and attacked the enemy's extreme left at 1 o'clock to-day; drove him from his works, capturing 16 pieces of artillery and 5 stand of colors. Major-General Cheatham attacked the enemy at 4 p. m. with a portion of his command; drove the enemy, capturing 6 pieces of artillery. During the engagements we captured about 2,000 prisoners, but loss not fully ascertained. Major-General Walker killed; Brigadier-General Smith, Gist, and Mercer wounded. Our troops fought with great gallantry.

J. B. HOOD,General.

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 Spot where Hood watched Battle of Atlanta in present day Oakland Cemetery.

Sherman's report…………………..

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NEAR ATLANTA, GA., July 23, 1864-10.30 a. m.
Major General H. W. HALLECK, Washington, D. C.:

Yesterday morning the enemy fell back to the entrenchments proper of the city of Atlanta, which are in a general circle of a radius of one mile and a half we closed in. While we were forming our lines and selecting positions for batteries, the enemy appeared suddenly out of the dense woods in heavy masses on our extreme left, and struck the Seventeenth Corps (General Blair's) in flank, and was forcing it back, when the Sixteenth (General Dodge's) came up and checked the movement, but the enemy's cavalry got well to our rear and into Decatur, and for some hours our left was completely enveloped. The fighting that resulted was continuous until night, with heavy loss on both sides. The enemy took one of our batteries (Murray's, of the Regular Army) that was marching in its placing in column on the road unconscious of danger. About 4 p. m. the enemy sallied against the division of General Morgan L. Smith, which occupied an abandoned line of rifle-trenches near the railroad, east of the city, and forced it back some 400 yards, leaving in his hands for the time two batteries, but the ground and batteries were immediately after recovered by the same troops, re-enforced. 

I cannot well approximate our loss, which fell heaviest on the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps, but count it 3,000; but I know that, being on the defensive, we have inflicted equally heavy loss on the enemy. General McPherson, when arranging his troops, about 11 a. m., and passing from one column to another, unconsciously rode upon an ambuscade without apprehension and at some distance ahead of his staff and ordered and was shot dead. His body was sent in charge of his personal staff back to Marietta and Chattanooga. His loss at that moment was most serious, but General Logan at once arranged the troops, and had immediate direction of them during the rest of the day. Our left, though refused somewhat, is still within easy cannon-range of Atlanta. The enemy seems to man his extensive parapets and, at the same time, has to spare heavy assaulting columns; but to-day we will intrench our front lines, which will give me troops to spare to meet these assault. I cannot of the loss of more than a few wagons, taken by the enemy's cavalry his temporary pause in Decatur, whence all the trains had been securely removed to the rear of the main army, under of a brigade of infantry, commanded by Colonel Sprague. During the heavy attack on the left, the remainder of the line was not engaged.

W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.

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Sherman (illuminated) surveying the battlefield, in front of the Augustus Hurt House, east of Atlanta.


These famous Confederate fortification images never really saw battle.


Famous Ponder House images was from Tech Parkway near Means Street, on Tech Campus.

TRD Driving Tour

Here is my driving tour of the Battle of Atlanta. I have pasted what each Historical marker says, so you can follow it a bit better. You take I-20 from downtown toward Augusta. You get off at Glenwood Avenue. You go left or east on Glenwood. Take left to 1st three marker's.

Bate's Div. at Terry's Mill Pond Marker is at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue (Georgia Route 260) and Interstate 20, on the right when traveling east on Glenwood Avenue. 

View where pond was.

July 22, 1864. Bate's, together with Walker's div., Hardee's A.C., (CS) having moved up Sugar Cr. valley W. of Terry's mill pond, were deployed in this area for a surprise attack on Federal troops posted N.W. of here on Flat Shoals Rd. While Bate's div. was being hastily shifted E. of the creek, Lewis' "Orphan Brigade" and part of Tyler's were subjected to random artillery fire from Federal batteries northward, when crossing the upper end of the mill pond and its swampy margin. Bate aligned his forces E. of the creek and moved N. in the wooded area to be confronted by the Federal 16th A.C.

View of Old Terry's Mill Pond. View towards north end of what is now Memorial Park. Terry's Mill Pond Marker is at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue SE (County Route 260) and across from Wilkinson Drive SE on Glenwood Avenue SE. Near the overpass of Interstate 20, at the south end of DeKalb Memorial Park. 

 

The flat area S. was the bed of Terry's mill pond - the impounded waters of Sugar Cr. Tom Terry (1823-1861) operated the grist mill that stood 800 yds. downstream. It was burned by Federal troops July 29, 1864 & was rebuilt and operated some years after the war.The considerable area of the pond made it a notable landmark in the 1850's-1860's, & further prominence attached because it is cited in military annals recording the movements of Walker's & Bate's divs., Hardee's corps, (CS) to the battlefield of July 22, 1864, which indicate that Gen. Walker was killed near the upper end of the mill pond. 



Death of General Walker Marker is at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue (Georgia Route 260) and Wilkenson Dr SE, on the left when traveling east on Glenwood Avenue. 


Can see cannon in grassy island. 

July 22, 1864. Maj. Gen. W.H.T. Walker, commanding a div. of Hardee's A.C., (CS) while directing his troops toward the battlefield, reached a close proximity to this spot at noon where, pausing to reconnoiter the area, he was shot from horse by a Federal picket. Gen. Walker was succeeded by Gen. Hugh Mercer, who deployed the div. in Sugar Cr. valley just W. of this marker. Bate's div. advanced on this side of the creek. The northward movement of these troops, far from being a rear attack on the Federals, as contemplated, struck 2 divs. of the Federal 16th A.C. which happened to be in their front (at Clay St. & Memorial Dr.)

Tangent on General William Henry Talbot Walker

He was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1816. He was a son of Freeman Walker (a U.S. Senator and Augusta mayor) He was appointed to the US Senate to replace John Forsythe who had resigned in 1821. He resigned in 1823 to become Mayor of Augusta again. His wife was Mary Garlington Creswell; however his father died in 1827 when he was eleven years old. Walker then received his early education at Augusta's Richmond Academy. He would have four children with his wife Mary Townsend, two sons and two daughters.

Freeman and Mary.
Walker County, Georgia, was named for Senator Freeman Walker.

They lived at Bellevue in Augusta.





General Walker entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1832, and graduated four years later, standing 46th out of 59 cadets. Walker was appointed a brevet second lieutenant on July 1, 1837, and assigned to the 6th U.S. Infantry. On July 31 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. 



That winter he was serving in the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, Florida, where he was seriously wounded on December 25 in the neck, shoulder, chest, left arm, and also his leg. Walker was appointed a brevet first lieutenant to rank from that day as well. He was promoted to first lieutenant on February 1, 1838, and would resign his commission on October 31 of that year. Walker was reinstated in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant on November 18, 1840, to rank from his last promotion in early 1838. He was again assigned to the 6th U.S. Infantry, and was promoted to captain on November 7, 1845.


Battle of Contreras

During the Mexican-American War, he fought at the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco, both in August 1847. While engaged at Churubusco he was again wounded, and his performance there combined with his actions at Contreras won him brevet to the rank of major on August 20. Walker then participated in the Battle of Molino del Rey in early September and was once more wounded, this time in the back. For his actions there he was made a brevet lieutenant colonel on September 8.




Battle of Molino del Rey

After the war with Mexico concluded, Walker was on recruiting duty for the U.S. Army from 1849 to 1852. Walker served as commandant of the cadets at West Point from July 31, 1854, to May 22, 1856. Also during his time at West Point he taught military tactics and was promoted to major in the 10th U.S. Infantry on March 3, 1855. His nickname of "Shot Pouch" was due to his multiple woundings.



With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Walker chose to follow his home state of Georgia and the Confederate cause. He resigned his commission on December 20, 1860, and was appointed a colonel in the Georgia State Militia on February 1, 1861. He would hold this position until March 13, when he was appointed a major general in the 1st Division, Georgia Militia, until May.

 
Statue of Gen. Walker on the Augusta Georgia Confederate Monument.

Walker transferred to the Confederate Army infantry as a colonel on April 25. He was promoted to brigadier general on May 25 and assigned the 1st brigade, 4th Division of the Potomac District of the Department of Northern Virginia on October 22. Seven days later he resigned his commission, either due to his health or from being dissatisfied with his assignments for the Confederacy. Almost immediately after resigning, Walker served in the Georgia militia again as a brigadier general from November 1861 to January 1863, when he resigned to re-enter the Confederate States Army.


He is buried in a family cemetery now on the grounds of Augusta College.

Walker resumed his brigadier general rank in the Confederate Army on February 9, 1863, and in May was assigned to brigade command to the Confederate Department of the West. On May 21 he was given divisional command in the same department, and he was promoted to major general on May 23. This promotion was strongly endorsed by the department's commander, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who considered Walker "the only officer in his command competent to lead a division." Walker then participated in the Vicksburg Campaign that summer in Johnston's command. Walker and his division were transferred to the Department of Mississippi & Eastern Louisiana in July and served there until August 23, when his command was added to the Reserve Corps of the Army of Tennessee until November 4. During this time Walker fought in the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia that September as commander of that corps.

In December 1863, Walker and his division were made part of Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's First Corps of the Army of Tennessee. He would command it up to his death in combat on July 22, 1864 at the Battle of Atlanta. On his final day—July 22, 1864—as Walker led his division forward in the Confederate flank attack, he discovered his approach was covered in briars. He asked his commander, Gen. William Hardee, if he can move by a different rout. “This movement has been delayed too long already,” Hardee snapped. “Go and obey my orders!” Walker turned away, enraged, and on the ride back, muttered that when this was over, Hardee “must answer me for this.” Hardee sent an apology to Walker, but to no avail.

Walker gruffly led his men through the rough country only to find that, as he approached the Union lines, he was confronted by a large mill pond. Walker roared in anger and drew his revolver on his guide, 50-year-old Case Turner, a local worker at nearby Cobb’s Mill. Only the intervention of Walker’s adjutant saved Turner’s life. Turner quickly advised an alternate route and Walker continued on at the head of his column through a muddy expanse to the west of the pond.

Coming to a rise just north of the pond, Walker halted and raised his field glasses to examine a wooded area to his front. Then gunshot was heard. Walker tumbled from horse with his eighth wound—this one mortal, killing him instantly.

An upturned cannon waymark in the Glenwood Triangle of Atlanta currently marks the place where Walker was killed. Its front description plate reads: " In memory of Maj.Gen. William H.T. Walker, C.S.A." and the rear plate reads: "Born November 26, 1816; killed on this spot July 22, 1864." 


Postcards through the years.

A bronze bust of Walker was dedicated in 1916, made by American sculptor Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson, and is located at Vicksburg National Military Park.  Could not find image.


Fort Walker, also in Atlanta, is named in his honor. Only part of Confederate Earthworks remaining. Use to be a tower with fantastic view of Atlanta, I climbed as a kid.
 
 
Fort Walker in Atlanta. Was pretty fancy back in day, all cannons gone now.


Could see 1970's Atlanta. Capital left of wheel. First National Bank was tallest in Atlanta then.


Only a small cannon now.

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Back to TRD driving tour. Left Wilkenson Back up Wilkenson left Memorial Drive to Clay Street only 100 yards on right. Take right Clay marker right there on left.

Battle Atlanta starts here Marker is at the intersection of Clay Street SE and Memorial Drive SE (Georgia Route 154), on the left when traveling north on Clay Street SE. 



July 22, 1864. Sweeny's 2nd. div., Dodge's 16th A.C. (US), having been held in reserve N. of the Ga. R.R. (Candler Park), was ordered to support the left wing of Blair's 17th Corps in East Atlanta. Marching via Clay Rd., Sweeny's column halted here at noon to await further orders. Mersy's brigade led the advance, followed by Rice's. Thus, by mere accident, the two brigades were posted where they intercepted the surprise attach by Walker's and Bate's divs. (Hardee's A.C.) (CS), aimed at the rear of Blair's 17th A.C. entrenched along Flat Shoals Rd., 1 mile W. of this point, thereby precipitating the battle. 


 View of Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee's Corps attacking the Sixteenth Army Corps in the rear of the Army of the Tennessee, during the Battle of Atlanta, southeast of Atlanta, Georgia.

Go up Clay Street to two markers. Notice Kirkwood Urban Forest on right.

Sweeny's March South Marker is at the intersection of Clay Street NE and Hosea L. Williams Drive NE, on the right when traveling north on Clay Street NE. 



July 22, 1864. Sweeny's 16th A.C. div., ordered to support the left of the Federal line in E. Atlanta, was shifted from its camp of the previous night, N. of the Georgia Railroad. It marched S. on the Clay Road (now Clay St). These troops had been ordered to destroy the R.R. back to Decatur but McPherson requested them as reinforcement to his left, since his cavalry (Garrard's) had been sent eastward. Passing the Jesse Clay plantation, near this point, Sweeny's troops moved S. to the present intersection of Memorial Drive where they halted for further instructions - at the fateful moment of Hardee's surprise attack. 

Go Right Hosea Williams to Warren Street take a right. Go back to Memorial and take a right to go west. Next marker seems to be missing on left across from Dearborn.

Bate's Battle Line Marker is on Memorial Drive SE (County Route 154) 0.2 miles east of Wilkinson Drive SE, on the left when traveling west. July 22, 1864. 



Gen. Bate's div., Hardee's A.C. (CS) was deployed on the rt. of Walker's div. when they advanced N. from Terry's Mill pond. Being on the extreme rt. of the corps, Bate's troops moved up the east side of Sugar Cr., valley and swung westward to face Rice's 16th A.C. (US) brigade posted on the hill (Murphy High School) and northward along the old Clay Rd. (Clay St.). This attack failed to dislodge Rice's brigade. Bate's command consisted of three brigades - composed of Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky troops - the 5 regiments of the latter being the celebrated "Orphan Brigade" (CS) commanded by Brig. Gen. Joseph H. Lewis. 

Keep going west Memorial Drive past Clay Street and The Battle of Atlanta Starts Here marker. Go to Red Light with Clifton and Marker on left in Crim High School parking lot. Turn into parking lot and circle around.

Unexpected clash Marker is located on Alonzo Crim High School grounds. Note this use to be Murphy High School. 2nd Note Richard Dent (Chicago Bears) went to school here. 


3rd image has view towards The Battle of Atlanta Started Here Marker on Clay Street at Memorial Drive.

July 22, 1864. The attack by Walker's & Bate's divs. (Hardee's A.C.) (C.S) struck the two brigades Mersy's & Rices's, of Sweeny's 16th A.C. div. (U.S.) enroute to support the 17th in E. Atlanta. Walker's troops came up Sugar Cr. valley from the S.; Bates's from the high ground eastward. Sweeny's men hastily formed defensively-Rice facing E., Mersy S., the apex of the lines atop the hill where Laird's 14th Ohio Battery was posted & where Murphy High School stands. Blodgett's Missouri Battery H was at Rice's center, facing E. Though greatly outnumbered, Sweeny managed to hold the position, thereby foiling Hardee's thrust at the Federal rear. Marker is at the intersection of Clifton Street SE and Memorial Drive SE (Georgia Route 154), on the left when traveling east on Memorial Drive. 

Back to Memorial drive and take a left to keep going west Memorial Drive. Next Marker on Right. Pull in Car Wash parking lot.

Mersy's Brigade Marker is at the intersection of Memorial Drive SE (County Route 154) and Dixie St. SE on Memorial Drive SE. 



July 22, 1864. Col. August Mersy's brigade of Sweeny's div., 16th A.C. (US) was aligned on the rt. of the div. when it went into action to meet the assault of Walker's div. (CS) advancing up Sugar Creek valley (from Glenwood Ave.).The left of Mersy's line rested on the hill where Murphy High School stands. The rt. of the line extended S.W. to join Fuller's 4th div., 16th A.C. on the high ground beyond the valley (near McPherson's monument).Gen. McPherson saw this part of the battlefield from the hill 3/8 mile due W. of this marker (at Memorial Dr. & East Side Ave.) enroute to his rendezvous with death. 

Go right or still east Memorial Drive, next two marker's on left. Pull into Eastside Avenue and turn around. They will be on right coming back then, hard to see because Memorial Drive heavy traffic. McPherson's Last Ride Marker is right beside another Marker about Brig. Gen. Walter Q. Gresham who got a wound the day before here, that ended his military service. In 1893-1895 Gresham was Secretary of State in President Grover Cleveland's Cabinet. We covered that Marker in the post before this.



McPherson's last ride July 22, 1864. When Gen. McPherson heard the firing to the S.E. while at lunchen (Whiteford Ave. at R.R.), he mounted his horse & sending away most of his staff on various missions, galloped south to this hill.Here he observed Dodge's 16th A.C. troops in desperate combat with Bates's & Walker's divs.(CS) in Sugar Cr. valley. Anxious about the left of the 17th A.C. (at Glenwood & Flat Shoals), he proceeded on a road through the pines in that direction, accompanied by an orderly, & Signal Officer, Wm. Sherfy, who reluctantly followed after vainly warning the general that Confederate troops had seized the road. July 20, 1864. 

Keep going east Memorial and go right on Maynard Terrence. Cross I-20 and take 1st right on McPherson. Missing Marker was at intersection with Eastside Dr. on left.



Fuller's 16th AC July 22, 1864. Gen. John Fuller's only brigade -- Morrill's, which was in reserve near Leggett's Hill, was deployed S.E. of here to meet the advance of Walker's div. (CS) up Sugar Cr. valley. While so engaged, Cleburne's 2 brigades -- Govan's & Smith's, (CS) having penetrated the rear of the Federal line on Flat Shoals Rd., assailed the right flank of Morrill's four regiments, not only forcing repeated changes of front but entire withdrawal to a line extending eastward from Leggett's Hill. During this action, the 64th Ill. reg't. drove back Cleburne's troops long enough to remove McPherson's body in the forest where he fell.


Fuller's Division rallies.

Then we see death McPherson memorial with two Markers at the intersection of McPherson Avenue and Monument Avenue SE, on the left when traveling west on McPherson Avenue.



Historic Ground - In an area bound by Memorial Dr., Clifton, Glenwood & Moreland, was where the major part of the Battle of Atlanta was fought, July 22d.In terms of present landmarks, the battle began at Memorial Dr. & Clifton where Hardee's right wing (CS) was repulsed in an unexpected clash with Sweeny's 16th A.C. div. (US) This was followed by an assault of Hardee's left wing which crushed the left of the 17th A.C. at Flat Shoals Road & Glenwood & dislodged the right of the 16th A.C., forcing them north to a second line at & east of Leggett's Hill - eight hours of battle in which two major generals, Walker and McPherson, were killed.



Death of McPherson - The monument in the enclosure was erected by U.S. Army Engineers to mark the site where Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson was killed during the Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864.McPherson rode S. from the Ga. R.R. when he heard firing in Sugar Cr. valley, where the rear attack by Walker's & Bate's divs. (CS) fell upon Dodge's 16th A.C. After pausing to observe this part of the battle, he galloped towards the left of the 17th A.C. (Flat Shoals & Glenwood), on a road through the pines. At this point he was assailed by skirmishers of Cleburne's Div.; (CS) refusing to surrender he was shot while attempting to escape.


McPherson. Highest ranking US officer ever killed in battle.



 Spot McPherson killed. From the right half of a stereograph pair, from the Civil War glass negative collection (Library of Congress).


The spot where McPherson was killed was marked almost immediately - nailed to the tree hangs a wooden sign reading "Maj. Gen. J. B. McPherson, July 22, 1864", while also carved into the same tree below the sign is his name and date of death. Note also the detritus of war visible here: horse bones, the remains of a wagon or gun carriage, cannon balls, and clothing bits.



Another view years later.

Tangent on James Birdseye McPherson

McPherson was born near Hamer's Corners, Ohio (Clyde was founded in 1852). 

McPherson home Clyde Ohio.

He attended Norwalk Academy in Ohio, and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1853, first in his class, which included Philip H. Sheridan, John M. Schofield, and John Bell Hood; Hood would oppose him later in the Western Theater. McPherson was appointed to the Corps of Engineers with the rank of brevet second lieutenant. For a year after his graduation he was assistant instructor of practical engineering at the Military Academy, and was next engaged from 1854 to 1857 as assistant engineer upon the defenses of the harbor of New York and the improvement of Hudson River. In 1857 he superintended the building of Fort Delaware, and in 1857?61 was superintending engineer of the construction of the defenses of Alcatraz Island, at San Francisco, Cal.

Alcatraz.

At the start of the Civil War, he was stationed in San Francisco, California, but requested a transfer to the Corps of Engineers, rightly thinking that a transfer to the East would further his career. He departed California on August 1, 1861, and arrived soon after in New York. He requested a position on the staff of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, one of the senior Western commanders. He received this (while a captain in the Corps of Engineers), and was sent to St. Louis, Missouri. McPherson's career began rising after this assignment. He was a lieutenant colonel and the Chief Engineer in Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army during the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson. Following the Battle of Shiloh, he was promoted to brigadier general. 


Ft Henry, Ft. Donaldson, Shiloh.

On October 8, 1862, he was promoted to major general, and was soon after given command of the XVII Corps in Grant's Army of the Tennessee. On March 12, 1864, he was given command of the Army of the Tennessee, after its former commander, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, was promoted to command of all armies in the West (after Grant was appointed general-in-chief). His army was the Right Wing of Sherman's army, alongside the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Ohio. On May 5, 1864, Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign.


McPherson's chest and a lithograph from Vicksburg.

Sherman planned to have the bulk of his forces feint toward Dalton, Georgia, while McPherson would bear the brunt of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's attack, and attempt to trap them. However, the Confederate forces eventually escaped, and Sherman blamed McPherson (for being "slow"), although it was mainly faulty planning on Sherman's part that led to the escape. McPherson's troops followed the Confederates "vigorously", and were resupplied at Kingston, Georgia. The troops drew near Pumpkinvine Creek, where they attacked and drove the Confederates from Dallas, Georgia, even before Sherman's order to do so. Johnston and Sherman maneuvered against each other, until the Union disaster at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. McPherson then tried a flanking maneuver at the Battle of Marietta, but that failed as well.


McPherson Square Washington D.C. - Belt Buckle he was wearing, can see where bullet struck.

On July 17, Confederate President Jefferson Davis became frustrated with Johnston's strategy of maneuver and retreat, and replaced him with Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. With the Union armies closing in on Atlanta, Hood first attacked George Henry Thomas's Army of the Cumberland north of the city on July 20, at Peachtree Creek, hoping to drive Thomas back before other forces could come to his aid. The attack failed. Then Hood's cavalry reported that the left flank of McPherson's Army of the Tennessee, east of Atlanta, was unprotected. Hood visualized a glorious replay of Jackson's famous flank attack at Chancellorsville and ordered a new attack. McPherson had advanced his troops into Decatur, Georgia, and from there, they moved onto high ground on Bald Hill overlooking Atlanta. Lemuel P. Grant designed the city’s fortifications to protect his plantation on the east side of the city in what is now Grant Park. Because they placed the Confederate lines there, General McPherson place his Union forces on the high ground about a mile to the east in what is today East Atlanta. The Union troops were encamped along what is now Clifton Road at I-20 and a front line was dug in along Flat Shoals Road in what is now the East Atlanta Village.

 
After leaving the meeting with General Sherman up by the Jimmy Carter Library, McPherson was having lunch on his way back to the battle lines. The Noon Under the Trees Marker is at the intersection of Dekalb Avenue NE and Oakdale Road NE, on the left when traveling east on Dekalb Avenue NE. Located near a parking area for Iverson Park, near the Edgwood/Center Park Station for MARTA.

 
This marker was struck by a car and is in storage waiting to be put back up. 

July 22, 1864. Gen. McPerson & staff spent the forenoon in conference at Sherman's headquarters & inspecting Army of the Tenn. lines. Noon found them in an oak grove just S. of the R.R. where they were joined at luncheon by Logan & Blair, each with his staff. While here, McPherson wrote & dispatched an order to Dodge regarding the destruction of the Ga. R.R. This pleasant respite of discussion & cigars was broken by volley firing to the S.E. The battle of Atlanta had begun.All mounted & rode away. McPherson, sending most of his staff on various missions, galloped towards the sound of the guns. 

Sherman believed that the Confederates had been defeated and were evacuating; however, McPherson rightly believed that they were moving to attack the Union left and rear. While they were discussing this new development, however, four divisions under Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee flanked Maj. Gen. Grenville Dodge's XVI Corps. The McPherson's Last Ride Marker, discussed above, is on Memorial Drive on the way to his demise. While McPherson was riding his horse toward his old XVII Corps, a line of Confederate skirmishers appeared, yelling "Halt!". McPherson raised his hand to his head as if to remove his hat, but suddenly wheeled his horse, attempting to escape. The Confederates opened fire and mortally wounded McPherson.


McPherson shot and bullet that killed him.

His adversary, John Bell Hood wrote: I will record the death of my classmate and boyhood friend, General James B. McPherson, the announcement of which caused me sincere sorrow. Since we had graduated in 1853, and had each been ordered off on duty in different directions, it has not been our fortune to meet. Neither the years nor the difference of sentiment that had led us to range ourselves on opposite sides in the war had lessened my friendship; indeed the attachment formed in early youth was strengthened by my admiration and gratitude for his conduct toward our people in the vicinity of Vicksburg. His considerate and kind treatment of them stood in bright contrast to the course pursued by many Federal officers.


The ambulance taking his body from the field after Fuller's brigade retrieved it. Signage for Fort McPherson in Atlanta.

Fort McPherson in the Atlanta, Georgia, area was named in Gen. McPherson's honor on February 20, 1866. McPherson Square in Washington, D.C., and its Metro rail station are named in the general's honor. At the center of the square is a statue of McPherson on horseback. McPherson County, Kansas, and the town of McPherson, Kansas, are named in his honor. There is also an equestrian statue of him in the park across from the McPherson County Courthouse. McPherson County, South Dakota, founded in 1873, and organized in 1885, was also named in his honor. McPherson County, Nebraska, and


Vintage images Fort McPherson.

A monument marking the death of McPherson was established at the location of his death in East Atlanta, at the intersection of McPherson Avenue and Monument Avenue. McPherson Avenue in Atlanta was named for him. The spot is marked by a Union cannon once placed at Glenwood Road and Flat Shoals Road to protect the flank of the front line and return fire against the defensive positions built by Lemuel P. Grant.



Memorialized on the 1891 $2 Treasury Note, and one of 53 people depicted on United States banknotes. A distinctive engraved portrait of McPherson appeared on U.S. paper money in 1890 and 1891. The bills are called "treasury notes" or "coin notes" and are widely collected today because of their fine, detailed engraving. The $2 McPherson "fancyback" note of 1890, with an estimated 600-900 in existence relative to the 4.9 million printed, ranks as number 15 in the "100 Greatest American Currency Notes" compiled by Bowers and Sundman (2006).



The James B. McPherson Elementary School in the Ravenswood area of Chicago, Illinois, was named for McPherson. In his home town of Clyde, Ohio, James B. McPherson Highway (State Route 20), McPherson Middle School and McPherson National Cemetery, located near Maxwell, Nebraska, were named in his honor, and the National Cemetery was established on March 3, 1873. 



This 20-acre cemetery is located two miles south of Interstate 80, near Exit 190.


Statue at Cemetery and Marker.


Gates at Fort McPherson. Bringing in POW's from WWI.

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Left Patterson to next marker, just past Metropolitan. Cleburne's & Maney's Divs. Marker is at the intersection of Flat Shoals Avenue and Ormewood Avenue on Flat Shoals Avenue.



July 22, 1864. These troops, with Walker’s and Bate’s divs., Hardee’s A.C. (CS) made a 15-mi. night march from Atlanta to attack the rear of McPherson’s Army of the Tenn. (US) posted on Flat Shoals Road in East Atlanta. Cleburne’s & Maney’s move N.W. up Flat Shoals Rd. struck, not the rear but the left flank, of the Fed. 17th A.C. where its line bent eastward. Cleburne’s four brigades were deployed on & eastward of the road; Maney’s four brigades, W. of it. The immediate area was heavily wooded. Their attack was made somewhat later than Walker’s and Bate’s, 1 mile E. in the valley of Sugar Creek near Terry’s Mill Pond.

Cleburne's Div. in the Federal Rear Marker is at the intersection of Patterson Avenue and Metropolitan Avenue, on the right when traveling south on Patterson Avenue. 



July 22, 1864. Cleburne's 3 brigades, (CS) after over-running the Federal left (at Glenwood), moved on the rear of its line facing W. on Flat Shoals Rd., at the same time Maney's div. (CS) attached its front. Beset on both sides Giles Smith's 17th A.C. div (US) was swept N. to Leggett's Hill. Cleburne not only outflanked Smith's div., but forced Fuller's troops, on the rt. To withdraw to a line E. of Leggett's Hill. In the move towards Leggett's Hill, Cleburne's troops captured 8 Federal guns of the 2d Ill. & 2d U.S. Artillery. Gen. McPherson (US) was killed in front of Cleburne's skirmish line. 

Right or west on Metropolitan then take left Haas go down and next marker on left.

 

Cleburne Outflanked Left Wing, 17th A.C. Marker is on Haas Avenue 0.1 miles north of Glenwood Road (Georgia Route 260). July 22, 1864. The left wing (Giles Smith's div., 17th A.C.) of McPherson's Army of the Tenn. (US) occupied an intrenched line on Flat Shoals Rd. between Leggett's Hill & Glenwood, where it hooked eastward, facing to the south. Gen. P.R. Cleburne's three brigades, (CS) Lowrey's, Govan's & Smith's (Granbury's), struck the Federal flank at the hook, sweeping it aside by front & rear attacks, that with Maney's div. in support finally drove the entire Federal division north to Leggett's Hill. During this rear attack Gen. McPherson was killed by skirmishers of Smith's Texas brigade. 

Right Glenwood right Flat Shoals post around about right where Moreland crosses I - 20 to Leggett's Hill. Wheeler's Cav. Intrenched Marker next to this marker details events the days before, as covered in our last post.



Leggett's Hill - July 22, 1864. Blair's 17th A.C., McPherson's Army of the Tenn. (US) was aligned S. of Logan's 15th astride the Ga. R.R. Leggett's div. of the 17th held the line from Logan's left, to & including the hill. An extension S.E. on Flat Shoals Rd. to Glenwood was occupied by the other division of the 17th A.C., under Giles Smith. Smith's div., outflanked by Cleburne's troops, was driven to the S. slope of Leggett's Hill. This was followed by concerted attacks on front, flank & rear by Cleburne's & Maney's div. (Hardee's A.C.), together with Stevenson's (Cheatham's A.C.) (CS) - a battle regarded as the major engagement of the Atlanta Campaign.

Battle of Leggett’s Hill

The main lines of battle now formed an "L" shape, with Hardee's attack forming the lower part of the "L" and Cheatham's attack on the Union front as the vertical member of the "L". Hood intended to attack the Union troops from both east and west. The fighting centered around the hill now located at I-20 and Moreland Avenue east of the city known as Bald (Leggett's ) Hill. The Federals had arrived two days earlier there and began to shell the city proper, killing several civilians. A savage struggle, sometimes hand-to-hand, developed around the hill. 



                
Mortimer Dormer Leggett                                                  Giles Alexander Smith

                
Patrick Ronayne Cleburne                                                 George Earl Maney

General Blair´s plan was to attack at dawn, but due to an injury to Brig. Gen. Walter Q. Gresham command fell to Brig. Gen. Giles A. Smith. The order to attack reached General Leggett at about 8:00 a.m. The First Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Manning F. Force, was in front of Bald Hill. The 12th Wisconsin and the 16th Wisconsin regiments were in the front line with the 12th on the right. The 3 Illinois regiments of the Brigade would follow the two regiments from Wisconsin. As the Brigade emerged from the woods, they were met by a murderous fire. They not only faced the rifle fire of the infantry defending the hill, but from two batteries from Arkansas and Mississippi that opened fire from their flank. General Blair order them men down and then for them to fix bayonets. He the ordered them back up and to continue the assault. The confederate Calvary on the hill fled and the Union Brigade was able to reach the top of Bald Hill and gain the confederate breastworks. On the confederate left, General James A. Smith´s Brigade held their place and hand to hand combat ensued. 



With Cleburne´s Division in place, Wheeler was ordered to extend his line to the right to face the 1st Brigade of Col. Robert K. Scott. It was just as Wheelers men were moving that the Union forces attacked. Cleburne's men had spent the night reinforcing the hilltop position, but are unable to stop the Union assault. The Confederates withdraw slightly, then spend most of the rest of the day unsuccessfully attempting to retake the hill. Smith´s Brigade attempted to retake the hill and were able to temporarily gain 200 yards of breastworks on the hill, but they were forced to retreat before the rest of Cleburne´s Division could re-enforce them. 



With Union forces on the hill, Captain Gay´s 1st Iowa battery could no longer fire towards the northern slope of Bald Hill. The confederates took advantage of this and assaulted General Force´s right flank. The 20th Illinois found themselves in a crossfire from confederate forces attacking from the north and others firing from the shelter of trees north west of the hill.



To secure the right flank, General Blair ordered the 4th Division, commanded by Brigadier General Giles A. Smith, forward. The Division moved forward with the 1st Brigade commanded by Col. Benjamin F. Potts on the right (North) and the 3rd Brigade commanded by Col. William Hall on the left (south). The 3rd Brigade was aligned with the 15th Iowa on the left and the 13th Iowa on the right with the 11th and 16th Iowa in support. At first the terrain protected the Iowa men from the confederate defenders, but this changed as the approached the right of General Force´s position. They were as they reached the spine of the ridge they were met with a devastating barrage of musketry and artillery fire. The Iowans were forced to drop to the ground and fire from a prone position.


Leggett's Hill 1880.

To the north of Hall´s 3rd Brigade, Col. Potts 1st Brigade advanced with no support on their right flank was unable to advance. The Brigade retreated back to the protection of their earthwork. With the 1st Brigade falling back, now the 3rd Brigade right was exposed to a withering fire. By 8:45, the 13th Iowa´s, commanded by Col. Shanes, position on the right of the Brigade was deemed untenable and permission was given for them to also retreat. During the aborted attempt of the 4th Division, General Leggett was able to shift his right and to fire obliquely on Cleburne´s men. Battery H of the 1st Michigan Light Artillery, commanded by Captain Marcus D. Elliott, known as the "Black Horse Battery" due to the jet black horses that pulled the black Rodman cannon, was able to reach the top of Bald Hill. The battery soon opened fire on the confederates. With the 4th Division no longer on the right, Captain Gay´s 1st Iowa battery could now also fire. This ended the major action at bald Hill. 



With the loss of the high ground, it was feared that General McPherson might advance the entire Army of the Tennessee toward Atlanta. To help support Cleburne´s forces, General Hood sent Brigadier General George Maney´s Division to the right of Cleburne. While the struggle for Bald Hill was taking place, General Scott´s Second Brigade had moved unopposed to the south of the hill. In the afternoon general Blair shifted the 4th Division under Giles Smith to the south of the hill, eventually extending the union left a half mile south of the hill. The 1st Brigade command by Potts, tied in with Leggett´s left. The 3rd Brigade formed the left of the Army of the Tennessee. In honor of his men's heroics, the hilltop is renamed Leggett's Hill, which the area still bears on some maps today. The Union capture and hold of that hill was the critical element to the Union victory in that battle. Atlanta has often been blasted in historical preservation circles as unfriendly at best to the preservation of the past, but the destruction of not only the majority of an entire battlefield but the central and most important element of it, and even the very hill it took place on is especially painful for those trying to retrace the Civil War campaigns here! Leggett's Hill, was nearly entirely removed during construction of I-20 east of downtown. Union Maj. Gen. Francis Blair's total military experience consisted of being the son Lincoln's Postmaster General. He proved to be one of the few "political generals" who actually had some talent for the job as his men today defeated renown Southern artillerist Patrick Cleburne. From the top of this hill by the end of the day, Blair and his men looked down on the city of Atlanta. 


Just an exit off I-20 at Moreland Avenue now, on DeKalb County side.
 
Hardee continued to assault the bald hill with both infantry and artillery until after it was dark, but to no avail as its defenders held on grimly. (The hill became known as Leggett's Hill after the commander of the XVII Corps division that defended it, Brigadier General Mortimer Leggett, who after the war purchased it.) The Federals held the hill while the Confederates retired to a point just south of there.

Multiple Congressional Medals of Honor given for this battle.

Manning Force led his brigade in a desperate defense of his critical position on Bald Hill (soon to be renamed Leggett's Hill). While standing on the front line at the top of the hill, a minie bullet smashed into his face below the left eye, shattered his palate, passed behind his right eye, and exited from the upper right side of his skull. His wound at first was believed to be mortal, and so Manning was sent home to die. However, Force miraculously survived his wound, though he was scarred for life. He returned to active duty on October 22, 1864, and Sherman promoted Force to Brevet Major General for his bravery at Atlanta. In 1892, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his successful defense of Leggett's Hill. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "Charged upon the works, and after their capture defended his position against assaults of the enemy until he was severely wounded"


Manning Ferguson Force

Leggett's Hill "In this charge, the color bearer of the 78th was killed. Before the colors touched the ground, they were seized and borne by Pvt. Sean Elliott, of Company F of the 20th. In a moment he was killed. His brother, Robert Elliott of the same Company, snatched them from falling. He, too, was at once killed, and then Private John Morris, also of the same Company, took the colors and brought them safely back to the works." All three awarded.


Confederate defense looking across way to Leggett's Hill.

Milton Lorenzo Haney was the Chaplain of the 55th Illinois Infantry. He voluntarily carried a musket in the ranks of his regiment and rendered heroic service in retaking the Federal works which had been captured by the enemy.


Milton Haney.

Charles Francis Xavier Sancrainte for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Voluntarily scaled the enemy's breastworks and signaled to his commanding officer in charge; also in single combat captured the colors of the 5th Texas Regiment (C.S.A.).



Our GNW Gals today have Leggs for Leggett's Hill.



TRD Legs Nugget.