01-12-2025, 08:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-14-2025, 03:26 PM by Top Row Dawg.)
Battle Ezra Church
The third of the four battles for Atlanta, the Battle of Ezra Church was fought today. With the destruction of the railroad to Augusta on the east side of Atlanta, Sherman ordered his hard-fighting Army of the Tennessee, now under the command of Major General Oliver Howard, to swing around to the West to destroy the railroads near East Point. Although Sherman attempted to conceal the maneuver around to the west side of Atlanta for the purpose of cutting the Macon railroad, Hood quickly discerned both it and its purpose. His reaction was to send the depleted Corps of Lt Generals Alexander Stewart and Stephen Lee (Hood's former Corps) to stop the advance. Lee with two divisions of his corps (John C. Brown's and Major General Henry D. Clayton's) travelled out on the Lick Skillet road west of Atlanta with instructions to block Howard's southward advance while Stewart's Corps circled around by way of that road to attack Howard from the rear the following morning. In brief, Hood again sought to ambush and crush a major portion of Sherman's army, with the Army of the Tennessee once more his target.
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Again he failed. Instead of taking up a defensive position covering the Lick Skillet road, the impulsive and overaggressive Lee thought he saw an opportunity to hit Howard before his troops could entrench and so attacked near a small Methodist chapel called Ezra Church. Howard however, anticipated the move, and quickly had his army fortify on some hills near Ezra Church, some troops using the pews of the church to create entrenchments. Unfortunately for Lee - or rather for his soldiers - Howard, who equaled McPherson in prudence, had anticipated the Rebel onslaught despite assurances from Sherman that there was no danger of such and therefore had ordered his lead corps, the XV, to halt and fortify, which it did. There was no surprise for Howard, who had predicted such a maneuver based on his knowledge of Hood from their time together at West Point before the war. His troops were already waiting in their trenches when Hood reached them. Shaped like a reverse "L", the main Union line extended north with a short line running west. This area, along with the angle and part of the line running north, was held by Major General John Logan's veteran XV Corps.
https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=http%3a%2f%2f...Cx8XqQ--~B Ezra Church then and now. Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
Deploying his men, Lee directed Major General John C. Brown's division to attack north against the east-west portion of the Union line. What ensued was more a massacre than a battle. Brown's Division attacked and were immediately slaughtered by the well-guarded, entrenched Federals. The Confederate army attacked before the Union army's improvised breastwork of logs and rails. Advancing, Brown's men came under intense fire from the divisions of Brigadier Generals Morgan Smith and William Harrow. Taking immense losses, the remnants of Brown's division fell back. Logan's veterans mowed down the oncoming Confederates by the hundreds, stopping their assault cold. Undeterred, Lee sent Major General Henry D. Clayton's division forward just north of the angle in the Union line. Encountering heavy resistance from Brigadier General Charles Woods' division, they were forced to fall back.
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Ezra Church.
Having wrecked his two divisions against the enemy's defenses, Lee soon was reinforced by Stewart. Not content with slaughtering his own troops, Lee thereupon asked Stewart, who had arrived on the scene with his corps, to throw Walthall's Division into the fray. Stewart did so and Walthall's men suffered the same fate as those of Lee's Corps. When Maj Gen Edward Walthall's forces attacked in support they were cut down as well. Federal forces fired so ferociously that rifles overheated and burned or exploded in their owner's hands. With the failure of Brown's, Clayton's and Walthall's attacks, Stewart ordered forward his final division, under Maj Gen William Loring. However, at that point, Gen Stewart was wounded by a spent shell. Minutes later, Loring went down with a severe wound as well. With Lee, Brown, and Brigadier Generals George Johnson and Randall Gibson all wounded in the fight as well, command went to Walthall, who wisely halted the fight near nightfall. When the firing ceased, about 3,642 men were casualties. There were 3,000 on the Confederate side and 642 on the Union side. A lopsided Union victory here - one of the most one-sided of the war - resulted from a disjointed series of Confederate attacks against strong Union positions. This battle was the last of Hood's grand offensives during which he lost nearly a third of his infantry in 10 days.
"How many men have you left?" a Union soldier called over to the "Rebs."
"Oh, enough for another killing or two," came the reply.
Tangent Stephen Dill Lee (September 22, 1833 - May 28, 1908) was an American soldier, planter, legislator, and author. He was the youngest Confederate lieutenant general during the American Civil War, and later served as the first president of Mississippi A&M College (Mississippi State). Late in life, Lee was the commander-in-chief of the United Confederate Veterans.
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Lee was born in 1833 in Charleston, South Carolina, to Thomas Lee and his wife Caroline Allison. He was raised in Abbeville, South Carolina. He possibly volunteered for service with the United States Army during the Mexican - American War. Lee entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1850, graduating four years later and standing 17th out of 46 cadets. On July 1, 1854, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Regiment. Lee was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant on October 31, 1856. He served as the 4th Regiment's Quartermaster from Sept. 18, 1857, to February 8, 1861.
Lee was serving as adjutant of Florida as well as his regiment's quartermaster in 1857 during the Seminole Wars. From 1858 to 1861 he was assigned to the western frontier, posted in Kansas and then in the newly created Dakota Territory. Lee then resigned his U.S. Army commission twelve days later to enter the Confederate service.
Civil War Service
After resigning from the U.S. Army in 1861, Lee entered the Confederate forces as a captain in the South Carolina Militia. On March 6 he was assigned as the Assistant Adjutant General and Assistant Inspector General of the Forces at Charleston, and on March 16 he was appointed a captain in the Regular Confederate States Artillery. Beginning on April 11 Lee was aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard.
That same day he delivered an ultimatum from Beauregard to Union Maj. Robert Anderson, demanding the evacuation of Fort Sumter, which was refused and after bombardment the fort fell on April 14, precipitating the start of the Civil War. When Beauregard received permission to organize two regular companies of artillery on May 11, Lee was assigned to command one of them (the other went to Capt. Charles S. Winder.) Lee's company was assigned to Castle Pinckney until May 30, when it was sent to Fort Palmetto on Cole's Island, arriving June 1.
In June 1861 Lee resumed his position in the South Carolina Militia, and then in November he was promoted to the rank of major in the Confederate Army. Lee commanded a light battery in Hampton's Legion in Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army later in 1861. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1862, and was the artillery chief for Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws's division of the Army of Northern Virginia from April to June 17, and then in the same role under Brig. Gen. John B. Magruder until July.
Lee participated in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, notably during the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 and June 1, the Battle of Savage's Station on June 29, during the Seven Days Battles from June 25 to July 1, and the Battle of Malvern Hill also on July 1. He briefly served in the 4th Virginia Cavalry in July, was promoted to colonel on July 9, and assumed command of an artillery battalion of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's Corps that same month. Under Longstreet, Lee fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run that August and then Battle of Antietam on September 17, where his guns played a prominent role in defending the ground near the famed Dunker Church.
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Overview of the 1862 Battle of Antietam
The following is a summary of Lee's involvement at Antietam:
He deployed late on the 15th on the West side of Antietam Creek. He exchanged fire with the Federal batteries [across] the creek on the 16th the fight becoming more intense as sundown approached. On the morning of the 17th he positioned his batteries on the high ground near the Dunkard Church, and was heavily engaged against the assaults of the Federal I and XII Corps through the Cornfield and to the West Woods. About 10AM, he was ordered to the vicinity of Sharpsburg in the face of Burnside's afternoon drive from the Lower Bridge, and was furiously engaged there as well.
On November 6, 1862, Lee was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Leaving the artillery branch, Lee briefly led an infantry division during the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou from December 26?29, where he repulsed the attacks of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Beginning in January 1863 he led a brigade in the Department of Mississippi & Eastern Louisiana until that May, when he was ordered to take command of Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's artillery defending access to the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. Lee fought notably during the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, where he was wounded when he was hit in a shoulder. Military historian Jon L. Wakelyn praises Lee's performance in this action, saying "he was the hero of the battle of Champion Hills."
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Dedication ceremony of the monument to S.D. Lee at Vicksburg National Military Park
Lee served throughout the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg until Pemberton's surrender to Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, becoming a prisoner of war. While on parole, he was promoted to the rank of major general on August 3, 1863. Beginning on August 16 Lee was assigned to command the cavalry of Department of Mississippi & Eastern Louisiana, and he was officially exchanged on October 13. He was then given command of the Department of Alabama & East Louisiana on May 9, 1864. Troops in Lee's department under Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest scored a victory at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, and seriously threatened Union supply lines supporting Sherman in Georgia. Lee personally reinforced Forrest but the combined Confederate force was defeated at the Battle of Tupelo, ensuring the safety of Sherman's supply lines.
Lee was promoted to lieutenant general on June 23, 1864, making Lee the youngest at this grade in the Confederate Army. On July 26 he was assigned to lead the Second Corps, Army of Tennessee, commanded by John B. Hood. During the Atlanta Campaign, Lee fought at the Battle of Ezra Church on July 28 and was in command of the extended line in south west Atlanta in August 1864. His troops with the attachment of William B. Bates Division and a Brigade of Georgia Militia defeated Schofield's movement to break the railroad lines at East Point at Utoy Creek. For this action he published a general order recognizing Bates Division for defeating the attack of the combined US XXIII and XIV Corps.
He was also in command of his corps at the Battle of Jonesborough on August 31 and September 1. Lee fought in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign and was severely wounded in the foot at the Battle of Spring Hill on November 29, but did not give up the command until an organized rearguard took over the post of danger. In regard to the confused and disappointing fight at Spring Hill, Lee considered it "one of the most disgraceful and lamentable occurrences of the war, one that is in my opinion unpardonable."
He then participated in the Battle of Franklin on November 30. Lee's men arrived at Franklin at 4 p.m. with orders from Hood to support Benjamin F. Cheatham's force if necessary. Meeting with Cheatham, Lee decided the situation was dire and attacked at 9 p.m., taking serious losses from the Union position and from Confederate artillery as well. Following the campaign's Battle of Nashville on December 15?16, Lee kept his troops closed up and well in hand despite the general rout of the rest of the Confederate forces. For three consecutive days, they would form the fighting rearguard of the otherwise disintegrated Army of Tennessee. Lee was wounded in the foot by shell fragments on December 17.
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Lee in later life
Upon recovery, Lee joined Gen. Joseph E. Johnston during the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. On February 9 he married Regina Harrison, with whom Lee would have one child, a son named Blewett Harrison Lee. When the remnants of the Johnston's Army of Tennessee was re-organized in early 1865, Lee was left without a command matching his rank, and his commission as a lieutenant general was canceled on February 23; however, on March 23 he was appointed a "temporary" lieutenant general. Lee surrendered at that rank with Johnston's forces in April and was paroled on May 1.
Postbellum career
After the war Lee settled in Columbus, Mississippi, which was his wife's home state and during the greater part of the war his own territorial command, and devoted himself to planting. He served as a state senator in 1878, and was the first president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi (modern-day Mississippi State University) from 1880 to 1899. Lee served as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention in 1890, was the head of the Vicksburg National Park Association in 1899. He also was an active member (and from 1904 commander-in-chief) of the United Confederate Veterans society.
In 1887 Lee wrote an article for the first volume of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, and he published Sherman's Meridian Expedition and Sooy Smith's Raid to West Point in 1880. Lee died in 1908 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was buried in Friendship Cemetery located in Columbus. He fell sick after giving a speech to former Union soldiers from Wisconsin and Iowa, four of the regiments whom he had faced in battle 45 years earlier at Vicksburg. The cause of his death was attributed to a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time Lee was also planning the next reunion of the United Confederate Veterans, held on June 9, 1908.
Legacy
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Lee (left) during a Confederate Veteran's reunion march
Based on Lee's familiarity with the three major arms of an Civil War-era army, military historian Ezra J. Warner summarized him as an able and versatile corps commander, saying "Despite his youth and comparative lack of experience, Lee's prior close acquaintanceship with all three branches of the service - artillery, cavalry, and infantry - rendered him one of the most capable corps commanders in the army."
Lee is also memorialized with a statue in the Vicksburg National Military Park, as well busts in the center of the Drill Field at Mississippi State University and Friendship Cemetery in Columbus. Lee Hall at Mississippi State University is also named in his honor.
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The Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee Camp #545 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Vicksburg, the Stephen D. Lee's Caledonia Rifles Camp #2140 in Caledonia and the Captain Stephen Dill Lee Chapter of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars in Charleston, SC were named in his honor.
On April 25, 1906, in a speech given at New Orleans, Louisiana, Lee gave the following charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans
"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish."
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Engraving of the battle by Theodore R. Davis for Harper's Weekly.
Among the wounded was General Alexander P. Stewart, who led a corps under Hood. Another notable participant was Ernst R. Torgler, a 24-year old sergeant in the 37th Ohio Infantry, who was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his action during the battle. Torgler saved the life of his commanding officer, Major Charles Hipp. Major Hipp was shot from his horse and Torgler rushed through a hail of Bullets to rescue him. His citation reads (in part): "At great hazard of his life he saved his commanding officer, then badly wounded, from capture".
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NEAR ATLANTA, GA., July 28, 1864 - 9 p. m.
Major-General HALLECK, Washington, D. C.:
The enemy again assaulted to-day; this time on our extreme right, to which flank I had shifted the Army of the Tennessee, to gain ground toward the railroad. The blow fell upon the Fifteenth Corps, which handsomely repulsed it, capturing 4 regimental flags. The attack was kept up for five hours. Our men were partially covered, while the enemy were exposed. Our loss is comparatively small, while that of the enemy is represented as heavy. I will give approximate figures to-morrow. The cavalry has now been out two days, and to-morrow should show the effect. I feel confident they will reach the Macon road. Our right is about a mile distant from the railroad, but the ground is very difficult. I may be forced to extend still farther to command it. We had heavy cannonading all day, the enemy using ordnance as heavy as 6-inch rifled guns. Bragg has been to Atlanta on a second visit.
W. T. SHERMAN.
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My driving tour of battlefield starts by taking I-20 west to the MLK exit. Go right on MLK and Mozley Park will be on your left. There are several Historical markers in Mozley Park at 1565 Mozley Place SW, Atlanta GA 30314 They help explain the action here at the site of Ezra Church. Two markers are missing, then there is a group of Markers in a circle.
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Battle Hill Marker was in Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County. Marker was at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW and Mathewson Place SW, on the right when traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr.
The name "Battle Hill" is associated with the area because of an engagement fought here on July 28, 1864. This was the 3d attempt of the Confederate forces under General John B. Hood to repel the 3 Federal armies, commanded by General Sherman, endeavoring to capture Atlanta. The same Federal forces that fought East of the city July 22, had been shifted to the W. side to cut the 2 remaining railroads which entered the city from the southwest. Hood attacked with S. D. Lee's & A. P. Stewart's corps; their repeated assaults struck the Federal 15th A.C. but failed to dislodge it. Siege operations persisted until August 25. At some point this post had replaced the original concrete/rebar metal-clad post. Plaques in the background describe Civil War action in the area.
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Site of Ezra Church Marker was at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW and Mathewson Place SW, on the right when traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW.The plaques in the background in Mozley Park described Civil War action in the area. Here stood the little frame edifice known as Ezra Church (Methodist), on a half-acre plot deeded by James & Nancy Coursey to the trustees Oct. 31, 1853. As a landmark, its name was given to the battle fought here July 28, 1864. Col. Hugo Wangelin's brigade, Woods' div. 15th A. C. [US] was posted here during the battle & lacking intrenchments, fought behind a barricade of benches removed from the church. During Federal siege operations after the battle, the church was demolished. Miss Sarah Huff, who visited the site the following December, recalled seeing the carcasses of the horses still on the frozen ground.
These are the main markers in the circle.
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THE BATTLE OF EZRA CHURCH July 28, 1864
The Battle of Ezra Church was the third of three desperate Confederate attacks on the forces of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, which were closing in on Atlanta. The battle lines formed an irregular V extending southeast from the northwest corner of the Happy Haven Nursing Home grounds (Battle Hill Sanitarium), on the Union right, through those grounds and the Frank L. Stanton School grounds, and on across Mozley Drive, at Racine Street, to the intersection of Archer Street and Laurel Avenue. There it turned sharply northeast along old Chapel Road (obliterated save for a few yards north from this site), recrossed Mozley Drive, passed east of Ezra Church (which occupied this site), and crossed the ACL RR west of Chappell Road. The left of the battle line rested some 200 yards north of the railroad. Although heavy fighting occurred here along the old Chapel Road, and at the strong salient formed by the point of the V, at Archer and Laurel, the most determined Confederate attackes were directed at the right of the Union position, entrenched on Battle Hill, and all along the line extending from the nursing home grounds to the Frank L. Stanton School.
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS
Almost three months of fighting had preceded the Battle of Ezra Church. After 70 days of slow retreat from Dalton (88 miles north of Atlanta), forcing Sherman's men to fight for every mile, Gen' Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate Army of Tennessee (Hardee's, Hood's and Stewart's corps, and Wheeler's cavalry corps) had crossed the Chattahoochee River at Bolton late on July 9th and retired toward Atlanta.
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THE PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS CONTINUED
The city was encircled by 12 miles of fortification which Sherman later deemed "unassailable". Johnston was confident that he could hold Atlanta "forever", but he did not intend to become besieged. He had watched for a time when Sherman´s wings might be separated beyond mutual support. Now he sensed that the right wing - Maj. Gen. Geo. H. Thomas´ Army of the Cumberland (4th, 14th and 20th Corps) - would cross the river north of Atlanta and move south over Peachtree Creek while the left wing - Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson´s Army of the Tennessee (15th, 16th and 17th Corps.) - would cross upriver and approach from the east. While they were separated, he planned to smash Thomas at Peachtree Creek, then mass his army against McPherson. To delay McPherson while he defeated Thomas, he posted Hood´s Corps east of Atlanta. Hardee´s and Stewart´s corps remained north of Atlanta to attack Thomas at Peachtree Creek. On the 17th, Johnston announced his plans; but that night he was replaced by Gen. John B. Hood, a far less able commander. As Johnston had foreseen, Thomas moved to cross Peachtree Creek while McPherson crossed upriver (at Roswell) and approached from the east. On the 20th, Hood ordered Hardee and Stewart to attack Thomas. Although their men fought valiantly, without Johnston´s leadership matters became confused. When the Battle of Peachtree Creek ended, Hood has lost 4,796 officers and men, killed, wounded and missing. Thomas had lost but 1,779. On the 21st, McPherson was within artillery range of downtown Atlanta. Leaving Stewart to hold the city, Hood sent Hardee´s Corps southeast of Atlanta where, about noon on the 22nd, it struck McPherson left. Later, Hood´s Corps attacked McPherson´s right. Both attacks attained temporary successes, but when dark ended the Battle of Atlanta Hood´s reported loss was 8,499, the Union loss 3,722. McPherson himself lay among the dead. Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard was assigned to succeed him. Immediately, the Army of the Tennessee was shifted from the left to the right of Sherman´s lines to attempt to cut the railroads near East Point. Before noon on the 28th, Dodge´s 16th and Blair´s 17th Corps were in position along Chappell Road, facing Atlanta. Logan´s 15th Corps, which was the bear the brunt of the fighting, was about to become engaged in the Battle of Ezra Church.
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Map of Battle.
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The Battle of Ezra Church July 28, 1864 - The Confederate Attack
On July 27th, Lieut. Gen. Stephen D. Lee assumed command of Hood´s former corps. Both he and Stewart directed to hold their respective corps "in readiness" and to report at Hood´s headquarters. After explaining his plan to attack Sherman´s threatening right flank, and drive it back from the railroad, Hood ordered Lee to move Brown´s and Claytron´s divisions from the eastern fortifications of Atlanta to White Hall (West End), southwest of the city, leaving Stevenson´s divisions in the lines. Stewart was ordered to follow with Loring´s and Walthall´s division, leaving French´s in place. Early the next morning, all four divisions were at White Hall. At 10:00 a.m. on the 28th, Lee ordered Brown and Clayton to move out the Lickskillet Road (Gordon Street and Road), which led from White Hall to Lickskillet (Adamsville), to the Poor House (on Gordon Street south of the main gate of Westview Cemetery). At the Poor House, Brown met Brig. Gen. Wm. H. Jackson whose cavalry division had contested Howard´s advance. His skirmishers had pressed back steadily, yet Jackson´s information indicated "the enemy´s infantry to be small". Lee also having arrived at the Poor House, he immediately ordered Brown to deploy his division on the left (southwest) side of the road, in the present cemetery Grounds. Brown deployed his four brigades with Johnston´s on the right, Sharp´s in the center, Brantly´s on the left and Manigault´s in reserve. Clayton was ordered to deploy on the right of the road, facing north. He deployed his three brigades with Gibson´s on the left, Holtzclaw´s on the right and Baker´s in reserve. Hood had ordered Lee to "move out the Lickskillet Road, attack the enemy´s right flank, and drive him from the road and the one leading from it by Mount Ezra Church (old Chapel Road)." Accordingly, Lee ordered Brown to "attack and drive the enemy to Ezra Church and hold the position" and Clayton to attack on Brown´s right. Brown´s men drove Smith´s skirmishers from Lickskillet Road and up the steep slopes to the first ridge beyond it (Anderson Park and southeastward). Finding that Logan´s right, which he was expected to turn, would overlap his own, Brown shifted his lines 250 yards to the left. Realigned, his men swept over the first ridge, driving off enemy skirmishers, charged across the intervening ground, and assaulted the Union barricades; but despite the shift to the left, Logan´s refused right was still beyond reach.
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The Confederate Attack, Cont.
Dense woods screened the extent of the Union line until revealed by storms of musketry which swept Brown's ranks, in front and on the right where Williams' fire enfiladed Johnston's exposed flank. On the left, Brantly pierced Lightburn's line but was beaten off with heavy loss. In the center, oblique fire from Martin's line decimated Sharp's regiments, forcing them to retire. On the right, Johnston was wounded. His brigade was unable to advance beyond the first ridge until Manigault's brigade joined it. Together, they assaulted Martin's line, only to be forced back by devastating cross fires. After desperate fighting, Brown reformed under fire for a second attack. Again beaten back, he withdrew his shattered division to the first ridge where it remained until relieved by Walthall's division shortly after 2:30 p.m. Ten minutes after Brown advanced, Gibson had formed his brigade and was with Clayton, conferring with Holtzclaw, who was deploying. Sudden firing brought Gibson galloping back to find that his brigade had been ordered forward by a staff officer. Unsupported, it struck Harrow's salient and suffered a costly repulse. Baker was ordered forward and the two brigades made repeated attacks on the salient, losing "one-half of their original numbers." Holtzclaw was moved to the left in reserve and was not engaged. Although Stewart had been sent to follow up Lee's "success", he found Lee in desperate straits. Holding Loring in reserve, he ordered Walthall to deploy with Reynolds' brigade on the right, Cantey's (O'Neal's) on the left, and Quarles' in reserve. About 2:30 p.m., they advanced over ground strewn with Brown's wounded and dead. Learning the extent of the enemy's line, Walthall ordered Quarles to form on O'Neal's left, but still he was overlapped. After Walthall had lost "over one-third" of his men in vain attempts which "double the force could not have accomplished" Stewart ordered Loring to relieve him; but before Loring could move, both he and Stewart were wounded, leaving Walthall in command. Knowing the futility of further attacks, Walthall ordered Loring's division to remain in place and withdrew his own to join it. The Army of Tennessee had suffered its third costly defeat under Hood's command. Logan had repulsed "six successive charges", losing 562 men. Blair and Dodge, who had sent ten regiments to replace men "whose guns had become so heated as to be useless", lost 45. Hood's estimated loss was 4,632, almost a third of his force.
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Estimated strength of Confederate forces present: 12,723
Actual losses (killed, wounded and missing): 4,632
Estimated strength of Union troops actually engaged: 25,954
Actual losses (killed, wounded and missing): 1,779
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From Mozley Park you go back toward I-20 on MLK. Take a left on Laurel Avenue. Go about 200 yards.
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Clayton's Div., Lee's A.C. Marker is at the intersection of Laurel Avenue SW and Archer Street SW, on the left on Laurel Avenue SW.
July 28, 1864. Dep1oyed a1ong the old Greensferry Rd. (West View Dr.) were Gibson's, Holtzclaw's & Baker's brigades (Alabama & Louisiana troops), Clayton's div., forming the right flank of Gen. S. D. Lee's A. C. [CS] in the Battle Of Ezra Church. Moving northward in the heavily wooded area, their assault fell upon the Federal line at the salient angle (at Laurel Ave. & Archer. St.), occupied by the left flank, Logan's 15th A. C. Unsupported on the left & counter-attacked in front, Clayton's troops withdrew after two attempts to dislodge the Federals. Loring's div., Stewart's A. C., deployed in this vicinity, was not ordered into the battle.
A missing marker, The Federal Salient Marker, was at the intersection of Laurel Avenue SW and Archer Street SW, on the left when traveling south on Laurel Avenue SW.
July 28, 1864. The N.E. cor. of Laurel & Archer was the location of a salient angle in the line of Logan's 15th Corps troops [US] in the Battle of Ezra Church. N.W. from the angle, Harrow's & M. L. Smith's divs. extended to Anderson Ave.; Wood's div. was deployed N.E. along the old Lick Skillet Rd. (no longer there) to Ezra Ch. (S.E. cor. Mozley Park) & beyond, where it joined the Right of the 17th Corps.Clayton's div. (S, D. Lee's A. C.) attacked the angle with Gibson's, Baker's & Holtzclaw's brigades [CS]. This was the Right of the Confederate line.The post-war structure, Battle Hill school, stood at the S.E. cor. of Laurel Ave. & Archer St.
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Come back to MLK and next marker on left. Hard to stop here.
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Battle of Ezra Church Gen. Stewart Wounded Marker is at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Gordon Terrace, on the left when traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
July 28, 1864. Gen. A.P. Stewart, with Walthall's and Long's divisions of his A.C. [CS], reached the field in time to renew the attack. Walthall, on left, fared no better than Brown, in the same area.Stewart, riding forward to this hill, learned of Walthall's failure, but before he could order Loring into action, he was struck by a spent bullet. Walthall succeeded Stewart and withdrew his division (under Quarles) and ordered no further attack by Loring's division. At 10:00 p.m. Hood [CS] withdrew the troops to Atlanta. This battle was the 3rd attempt, outside the city, to halt Federal operations against it.
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Go under I-20 and take a right on Anderson Avenue to next marker right there at the MARTA Station.
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Battle of Ezra Church (Right of 15th Corp) Marker is at the intersection of Anderson Avenue and Entrance to MARTA West Lake Station Parking Lot, on the right when traveling north on Anderson Avenue.
July 28, 1864. This marks the extreme right of Howard's Army of the Tennessee during the Battle of Ezra Church. Lightburn's brigade of M. L. Smith's div., Logan's A. C., occupied the immediate sector. From here the line ran S. E. to a salient angle (Laurel Avenue at Archer) where it turned N. E. to and beyond Ezra Church. The battle began with an assault by Brown's 4 brigades of S. D. Lee's A. C. (Confederate) endeavoring to roll up the Federal Rt. Failing to dislodge Logan, another attempt was made by Walthall's div. of Stewart's A. C. which traversed the same area but with a like result.
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Keep going on Anderson and road turns left and becomes Waterbury.
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Battle of Ezra Church (Gen. J. C. Brown's Div.) Marker is on Waterbury Drive 0.1 miles west of Anderson Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
July 28, 1864. The 4 brigades of Brown's Div., S. D. Lee's A. C. [CS], deployed in this area, made the initial assaults on the Federal right flank posted on the ridge just N. E. Their combined attacks struck Lightburn's & Martin's brigades of Morgan L. Smith's Div. of Logan's 15th A. C. Brown's brigades, L. to R., were Brantly's, Sharp's & Johnston's, Manigault's in reserve. Brantly's Mississippians carried the log barricades of the 83d Indiana (Lightburn's brigade) but were swept back by a counter-assault. A 2d attempt was made on the same ground by Walthall's Div. (Stewart's Corps), but with like results.
Come back to MLK and take a right, but get ready to take a U turn to the side of the fence at the West View Cemetery.
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Battle of Ezra Ch. Marker (S.D. Lee's Corps) is on Martin Luther King Jr Drive SW (Georgia Route 139) 0.1 miles west of Anderson Avenue, on the right when traveling east. The marker stands at the fence enclosing West View Cemetery.
July 28, 1864. Brown's & Clayton's divs., Lee's Corps [CS] led off the attack on the 15th corps [US] posted some 400 yds. N. of this rd. Brown's brigades: Johnston's, Sharp's & Brantly's, were deployed W. of the cemetery Gate House ~ Manigault's in reserve. Clayton's brigades: Gibson's, Holtzclaw's & Baker's, were posted E. of the Gate House (along West View Drive). Brown's troops crossed the rd & astride the present Anderson Ave., pressed up to the Fed. lines beyond the R.R. cut. Clayton's brigades struck the salient at Laurel & Archer. These attacks failed to dislodge the 15th corps.
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Flag of the 46-55 Tn which they lost at Ezra Church, July 28, 1864
Nearby Westview Cemetery is another protected part of the battlefield, where Confederates rushed up to charge the center of the Union line. Keep going east a few yards on MLK, but veer right on Ralph David Abernathy to go to the entrance of Westview Cemetery. Pull in the welcome center for them to mark a driving map to save you some headache. This is the largest cemetery in the Southern United States.
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First I go to the Confederate Memorial. It was erected by The Confederate Veterans Association of Fulton County to honor its fallen soldiers from the nearby Civil War Veterens home. The monument features a stone soldier holding a flag and standing on top of small cannon balls. Two cannons lie just beyond a circle of Confederate graves and mark a path leading to the historic monument. One of the few monuments ever erected by Confederate veterans, stands guard over fallen comrades. The inscription speaks of peace: "Nation shall not rise up against nation. They shall beat their swords into plough shares and their spears into pruning hooks. Neither shall they learn war anymore. Of Liberty born of a Patriots dream; of a storm cradled Nation that fell."
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The solitary grave of Lt. Edward Clingman, killed at Ezra Church, is marked with engravings of a saber, pistol and Confederate flag, and is located along the eastern outer drive. Behind the grave is a section of Confederate trenches.
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Map of Westview. G marks Confederate Memporial. R marks Ezra Church battle marker. S marks Clingman grave and trenches.
Lastly, there is a marker back near MLK Drive.
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Here are some Yankee reports…………
HDQRS. THIRD DIVISION, FOURTH ARMY CORPS, Near Atlanta, Ga., July 29, 1864.
Lieutenant Colonel J. S. FULLERTON;
COLONEL: Moore, a scout, whom I sent out on the 26th in the forenoon, returned this p. m. and make the following statement: General S. D. Lee arrived about the 25th instant from Mississippi and brought 3,500 troops with him. These were dismounted cavalry, are now used as infantry, and are in the intrenchments. Moore says he went to the depot every time the cars came into Atlanta, and that the trains were loaded with re-enforcements of the Georgia militia. He says many arriving in this way. Moore says he heard Judge Wright and Ridley, citizens, say that there would be enough of the re-enforcements to make a small corps for General Cheatman. Moore says the rebels acknowledge they were defeated yesterday, and he heard officers talking who said they had lost between 8, 0000 and 9,000. Moore says he heard in Atlanta yesterday afternoon that there had been an engagement yesterday at 11 a. m., between our cavalry, under General Garrard, and the rebel cavalry, under Wheeler, in the direction of Yellow River, but he was not able to learn any of the details. Moore says that the understanding prevails in the rebel army that Atlanta is to be defended to the last extremity, but that much dissatisfaction prevails among the common soldierly about the removal of General Johnston and the manner in which General Hood has handled the army since taking command of it. The soldierly were dissatisfied with the attacks that Hood has made. Moore says the supply of forage and subsistence is very short indeed, produced by there being now but one line of railroad. When he was in Atlanta he could get no corn for his horse; hitherto he had got plenty. He says he heard it sid that if the rebels were driven out of Atlanta they would try to make their first stand at East Point. Moore says Stewart's and Lee's corps made the attack yesterday morning, but were subsequently re-enforced by a part of Hardee's corps, which had been left in the works. After the fighting ceased a part of the troops were brought back to occupy the intrenchments around the town. Moore says they kept a strong line in their works. Moore says our shells fall into the town and annoy them very much, though they have inflicted no great loss. General Bragg is still in Atlanta. General Johnston is in Macon. General Loring was wounded in the fight yesterday severely. Moore says he heard officers saying that they would get re-enforcements of militia and constricts to make up for their late losses. Moore brings a paper of this date.
Respectfully submitted, with the newspaper, for the information of the corps and department commanders.
TH. J. WOOD, Brigadier-General of Volunteers, Commanding.
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Dead in brook by Ezra Church.
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT AND ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, Before Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1864.
Major General W. T. SHERMAN,Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi:
GENERAL: The corps of Hood attacked us to-day at 11.30 a. m. on the right of my line, mainly opposite the Fifteenth Corps, with lines extending beyond my right flank. The assaults were pertinaciously kept up for four with scarcely any intermission, and were invariably repulsed. The enemy's dead lie thickly on our front. We took several stand of colors and quite a number of prisoners. General Logan bore the burnt of the battle, and his command acquitted itself nobly. Generals Blair and Dodge weakened their lines to the lowest limits on order to extend his flank and re-enforce him at any point. Our casualties are small, owing to the fact that we had just covered ourselves with rough barricades. Some of Polk's command was engaged in the last assaults. I will make a more specific report as soon as I can get the requisite returns from the different commands.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, O. O. HOWARD, Major-General.
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HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, In the Field, near Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1864.
General SCHOFIELD:
General Howard's conduct today had an excellent effect on his command. After the firing has ceased he walked the line, and the men gathered about him in the most affectionable manner, and he at once gained their hearts and confidence. I deem this a perfect restoration to confidence in themselves and leader of that army.
W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General, Commanding.
The third of the four battles for Atlanta, the Battle of Ezra Church was fought today. With the destruction of the railroad to Augusta on the east side of Atlanta, Sherman ordered his hard-fighting Army of the Tennessee, now under the command of Major General Oliver Howard, to swing around to the West to destroy the railroads near East Point. Although Sherman attempted to conceal the maneuver around to the west side of Atlanta for the purpose of cutting the Macon railroad, Hood quickly discerned both it and its purpose. His reaction was to send the depleted Corps of Lt Generals Alexander Stewart and Stephen Lee (Hood's former Corps) to stop the advance. Lee with two divisions of his corps (John C. Brown's and Major General Henry D. Clayton's) travelled out on the Lick Skillet road west of Atlanta with instructions to block Howard's southward advance while Stewart's Corps circled around by way of that road to attack Howard from the rear the following morning. In brief, Hood again sought to ambush and crush a major portion of Sherman's army, with the Army of the Tennessee once more his target.
Again he failed. Instead of taking up a defensive position covering the Lick Skillet road, the impulsive and overaggressive Lee thought he saw an opportunity to hit Howard before his troops could entrench and so attacked near a small Methodist chapel called Ezra Church. Howard however, anticipated the move, and quickly had his army fortify on some hills near Ezra Church, some troops using the pews of the church to create entrenchments. Unfortunately for Lee - or rather for his soldiers - Howard, who equaled McPherson in prudence, had anticipated the Rebel onslaught despite assurances from Sherman that there was no danger of such and therefore had ordered his lead corps, the XV, to halt and fortify, which it did. There was no surprise for Howard, who had predicted such a maneuver based on his knowledge of Hood from their time together at West Point before the war. His troops were already waiting in their trenches when Hood reached them. Shaped like a reverse "L", the main Union line extended north with a short line running west. This area, along with the angle and part of the line running north, was held by Major General John Logan's veteran XV Corps.
https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=http%3a%2f%2f...Cx8XqQ--~B Ezra Church then and now. Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
Deploying his men, Lee directed Major General John C. Brown's division to attack north against the east-west portion of the Union line. What ensued was more a massacre than a battle. Brown's Division attacked and were immediately slaughtered by the well-guarded, entrenched Federals. The Confederate army attacked before the Union army's improvised breastwork of logs and rails. Advancing, Brown's men came under intense fire from the divisions of Brigadier Generals Morgan Smith and William Harrow. Taking immense losses, the remnants of Brown's division fell back. Logan's veterans mowed down the oncoming Confederates by the hundreds, stopping their assault cold. Undeterred, Lee sent Major General Henry D. Clayton's division forward just north of the angle in the Union line. Encountering heavy resistance from Brigadier General Charles Woods' division, they were forced to fall back.
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Ezra Church.
Having wrecked his two divisions against the enemy's defenses, Lee soon was reinforced by Stewart. Not content with slaughtering his own troops, Lee thereupon asked Stewart, who had arrived on the scene with his corps, to throw Walthall's Division into the fray. Stewart did so and Walthall's men suffered the same fate as those of Lee's Corps. When Maj Gen Edward Walthall's forces attacked in support they were cut down as well. Federal forces fired so ferociously that rifles overheated and burned or exploded in their owner's hands. With the failure of Brown's, Clayton's and Walthall's attacks, Stewart ordered forward his final division, under Maj Gen William Loring. However, at that point, Gen Stewart was wounded by a spent shell. Minutes later, Loring went down with a severe wound as well. With Lee, Brown, and Brigadier Generals George Johnson and Randall Gibson all wounded in the fight as well, command went to Walthall, who wisely halted the fight near nightfall. When the firing ceased, about 3,642 men were casualties. There were 3,000 on the Confederate side and 642 on the Union side. A lopsided Union victory here - one of the most one-sided of the war - resulted from a disjointed series of Confederate attacks against strong Union positions. This battle was the last of Hood's grand offensives during which he lost nearly a third of his infantry in 10 days.
"How many men have you left?" a Union soldier called over to the "Rebs."
"Oh, enough for another killing or two," came the reply.
Tangent Stephen Dill Lee (September 22, 1833 - May 28, 1908) was an American soldier, planter, legislator, and author. He was the youngest Confederate lieutenant general during the American Civil War, and later served as the first president of Mississippi A&M College (Mississippi State). Late in life, Lee was the commander-in-chief of the United Confederate Veterans.
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Lee was born in 1833 in Charleston, South Carolina, to Thomas Lee and his wife Caroline Allison. He was raised in Abbeville, South Carolina. He possibly volunteered for service with the United States Army during the Mexican - American War. Lee entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1850, graduating four years later and standing 17th out of 46 cadets. On July 1, 1854, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Regiment. Lee was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant on October 31, 1856. He served as the 4th Regiment's Quartermaster from Sept. 18, 1857, to February 8, 1861.
Lee was serving as adjutant of Florida as well as his regiment's quartermaster in 1857 during the Seminole Wars. From 1858 to 1861 he was assigned to the western frontier, posted in Kansas and then in the newly created Dakota Territory. Lee then resigned his U.S. Army commission twelve days later to enter the Confederate service.
Civil War Service
After resigning from the U.S. Army in 1861, Lee entered the Confederate forces as a captain in the South Carolina Militia. On March 6 he was assigned as the Assistant Adjutant General and Assistant Inspector General of the Forces at Charleston, and on March 16 he was appointed a captain in the Regular Confederate States Artillery. Beginning on April 11 Lee was aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard.
That same day he delivered an ultimatum from Beauregard to Union Maj. Robert Anderson, demanding the evacuation of Fort Sumter, which was refused and after bombardment the fort fell on April 14, precipitating the start of the Civil War. When Beauregard received permission to organize two regular companies of artillery on May 11, Lee was assigned to command one of them (the other went to Capt. Charles S. Winder.) Lee's company was assigned to Castle Pinckney until May 30, when it was sent to Fort Palmetto on Cole's Island, arriving June 1.
In June 1861 Lee resumed his position in the South Carolina Militia, and then in November he was promoted to the rank of major in the Confederate Army. Lee commanded a light battery in Hampton's Legion in Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army later in 1861. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1862, and was the artillery chief for Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws's division of the Army of Northern Virginia from April to June 17, and then in the same role under Brig. Gen. John B. Magruder until July.
Lee participated in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, notably during the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 and June 1, the Battle of Savage's Station on June 29, during the Seven Days Battles from June 25 to July 1, and the Battle of Malvern Hill also on July 1. He briefly served in the 4th Virginia Cavalry in July, was promoted to colonel on July 9, and assumed command of an artillery battalion of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's Corps that same month. Under Longstreet, Lee fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run that August and then Battle of Antietam on September 17, where his guns played a prominent role in defending the ground near the famed Dunker Church.
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Overview of the 1862 Battle of Antietam
The following is a summary of Lee's involvement at Antietam:
He deployed late on the 15th on the West side of Antietam Creek. He exchanged fire with the Federal batteries [across] the creek on the 16th the fight becoming more intense as sundown approached. On the morning of the 17th he positioned his batteries on the high ground near the Dunkard Church, and was heavily engaged against the assaults of the Federal I and XII Corps through the Cornfield and to the West Woods. About 10AM, he was ordered to the vicinity of Sharpsburg in the face of Burnside's afternoon drive from the Lower Bridge, and was furiously engaged there as well.
On November 6, 1862, Lee was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Leaving the artillery branch, Lee briefly led an infantry division during the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou from December 26?29, where he repulsed the attacks of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Beginning in January 1863 he led a brigade in the Department of Mississippi & Eastern Louisiana until that May, when he was ordered to take command of Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's artillery defending access to the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. Lee fought notably during the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, where he was wounded when he was hit in a shoulder. Military historian Jon L. Wakelyn praises Lee's performance in this action, saying "he was the hero of the battle of Champion Hills."
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Dedication ceremony of the monument to S.D. Lee at Vicksburg National Military Park
Lee served throughout the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg until Pemberton's surrender to Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, becoming a prisoner of war. While on parole, he was promoted to the rank of major general on August 3, 1863. Beginning on August 16 Lee was assigned to command the cavalry of Department of Mississippi & Eastern Louisiana, and he was officially exchanged on October 13. He was then given command of the Department of Alabama & East Louisiana on May 9, 1864. Troops in Lee's department under Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest scored a victory at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, and seriously threatened Union supply lines supporting Sherman in Georgia. Lee personally reinforced Forrest but the combined Confederate force was defeated at the Battle of Tupelo, ensuring the safety of Sherman's supply lines.
Lee was promoted to lieutenant general on June 23, 1864, making Lee the youngest at this grade in the Confederate Army. On July 26 he was assigned to lead the Second Corps, Army of Tennessee, commanded by John B. Hood. During the Atlanta Campaign, Lee fought at the Battle of Ezra Church on July 28 and was in command of the extended line in south west Atlanta in August 1864. His troops with the attachment of William B. Bates Division and a Brigade of Georgia Militia defeated Schofield's movement to break the railroad lines at East Point at Utoy Creek. For this action he published a general order recognizing Bates Division for defeating the attack of the combined US XXIII and XIV Corps.
He was also in command of his corps at the Battle of Jonesborough on August 31 and September 1. Lee fought in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign and was severely wounded in the foot at the Battle of Spring Hill on November 29, but did not give up the command until an organized rearguard took over the post of danger. In regard to the confused and disappointing fight at Spring Hill, Lee considered it "one of the most disgraceful and lamentable occurrences of the war, one that is in my opinion unpardonable."
He then participated in the Battle of Franklin on November 30. Lee's men arrived at Franklin at 4 p.m. with orders from Hood to support Benjamin F. Cheatham's force if necessary. Meeting with Cheatham, Lee decided the situation was dire and attacked at 9 p.m., taking serious losses from the Union position and from Confederate artillery as well. Following the campaign's Battle of Nashville on December 15?16, Lee kept his troops closed up and well in hand despite the general rout of the rest of the Confederate forces. For three consecutive days, they would form the fighting rearguard of the otherwise disintegrated Army of Tennessee. Lee was wounded in the foot by shell fragments on December 17.
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Lee in later life
Upon recovery, Lee joined Gen. Joseph E. Johnston during the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. On February 9 he married Regina Harrison, with whom Lee would have one child, a son named Blewett Harrison Lee. When the remnants of the Johnston's Army of Tennessee was re-organized in early 1865, Lee was left without a command matching his rank, and his commission as a lieutenant general was canceled on February 23; however, on March 23 he was appointed a "temporary" lieutenant general. Lee surrendered at that rank with Johnston's forces in April and was paroled on May 1.
Postbellum career
After the war Lee settled in Columbus, Mississippi, which was his wife's home state and during the greater part of the war his own territorial command, and devoted himself to planting. He served as a state senator in 1878, and was the first president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi (modern-day Mississippi State University) from 1880 to 1899. Lee served as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention in 1890, was the head of the Vicksburg National Park Association in 1899. He also was an active member (and from 1904 commander-in-chief) of the United Confederate Veterans society.
In 1887 Lee wrote an article for the first volume of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, and he published Sherman's Meridian Expedition and Sooy Smith's Raid to West Point in 1880. Lee died in 1908 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was buried in Friendship Cemetery located in Columbus. He fell sick after giving a speech to former Union soldiers from Wisconsin and Iowa, four of the regiments whom he had faced in battle 45 years earlier at Vicksburg. The cause of his death was attributed to a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time Lee was also planning the next reunion of the United Confederate Veterans, held on June 9, 1908.
Legacy
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Lee (left) during a Confederate Veteran's reunion march
Based on Lee's familiarity with the three major arms of an Civil War-era army, military historian Ezra J. Warner summarized him as an able and versatile corps commander, saying "Despite his youth and comparative lack of experience, Lee's prior close acquaintanceship with all three branches of the service - artillery, cavalry, and infantry - rendered him one of the most capable corps commanders in the army."
Lee is also memorialized with a statue in the Vicksburg National Military Park, as well busts in the center of the Drill Field at Mississippi State University and Friendship Cemetery in Columbus. Lee Hall at Mississippi State University is also named in his honor.
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The Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee Camp #545 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Vicksburg, the Stephen D. Lee's Caledonia Rifles Camp #2140 in Caledonia and the Captain Stephen Dill Lee Chapter of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars in Charleston, SC were named in his honor.
On April 25, 1906, in a speech given at New Orleans, Louisiana, Lee gave the following charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans
"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish."
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Engraving of the battle by Theodore R. Davis for Harper's Weekly.
Among the wounded was General Alexander P. Stewart, who led a corps under Hood. Another notable participant was Ernst R. Torgler, a 24-year old sergeant in the 37th Ohio Infantry, who was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his action during the battle. Torgler saved the life of his commanding officer, Major Charles Hipp. Major Hipp was shot from his horse and Torgler rushed through a hail of Bullets to rescue him. His citation reads (in part): "At great hazard of his life he saved his commanding officer, then badly wounded, from capture".
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NEAR ATLANTA, GA., July 28, 1864 - 9 p. m.
Major-General HALLECK, Washington, D. C.:
The enemy again assaulted to-day; this time on our extreme right, to which flank I had shifted the Army of the Tennessee, to gain ground toward the railroad. The blow fell upon the Fifteenth Corps, which handsomely repulsed it, capturing 4 regimental flags. The attack was kept up for five hours. Our men were partially covered, while the enemy were exposed. Our loss is comparatively small, while that of the enemy is represented as heavy. I will give approximate figures to-morrow. The cavalry has now been out two days, and to-morrow should show the effect. I feel confident they will reach the Macon road. Our right is about a mile distant from the railroad, but the ground is very difficult. I may be forced to extend still farther to command it. We had heavy cannonading all day, the enemy using ordnance as heavy as 6-inch rifled guns. Bragg has been to Atlanta on a second visit.
W. T. SHERMAN.
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My driving tour of battlefield starts by taking I-20 west to the MLK exit. Go right on MLK and Mozley Park will be on your left. There are several Historical markers in Mozley Park at 1565 Mozley Place SW, Atlanta GA 30314 They help explain the action here at the site of Ezra Church. Two markers are missing, then there is a group of Markers in a circle.
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Battle Hill Marker was in Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County. Marker was at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW and Mathewson Place SW, on the right when traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr.
The name "Battle Hill" is associated with the area because of an engagement fought here on July 28, 1864. This was the 3d attempt of the Confederate forces under General John B. Hood to repel the 3 Federal armies, commanded by General Sherman, endeavoring to capture Atlanta. The same Federal forces that fought East of the city July 22, had been shifted to the W. side to cut the 2 remaining railroads which entered the city from the southwest. Hood attacked with S. D. Lee's & A. P. Stewart's corps; their repeated assaults struck the Federal 15th A.C. but failed to dislodge it. Siege operations persisted until August 25. At some point this post had replaced the original concrete/rebar metal-clad post. Plaques in the background describe Civil War action in the area.
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Site of Ezra Church Marker was at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW and Mathewson Place SW, on the right when traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW.The plaques in the background in Mozley Park described Civil War action in the area. Here stood the little frame edifice known as Ezra Church (Methodist), on a half-acre plot deeded by James & Nancy Coursey to the trustees Oct. 31, 1853. As a landmark, its name was given to the battle fought here July 28, 1864. Col. Hugo Wangelin's brigade, Woods' div. 15th A. C. [US] was posted here during the battle & lacking intrenchments, fought behind a barricade of benches removed from the church. During Federal siege operations after the battle, the church was demolished. Miss Sarah Huff, who visited the site the following December, recalled seeing the carcasses of the horses still on the frozen ground.
These are the main markers in the circle.
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THE BATTLE OF EZRA CHURCH July 28, 1864
The Battle of Ezra Church was the third of three desperate Confederate attacks on the forces of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, which were closing in on Atlanta. The battle lines formed an irregular V extending southeast from the northwest corner of the Happy Haven Nursing Home grounds (Battle Hill Sanitarium), on the Union right, through those grounds and the Frank L. Stanton School grounds, and on across Mozley Drive, at Racine Street, to the intersection of Archer Street and Laurel Avenue. There it turned sharply northeast along old Chapel Road (obliterated save for a few yards north from this site), recrossed Mozley Drive, passed east of Ezra Church (which occupied this site), and crossed the ACL RR west of Chappell Road. The left of the battle line rested some 200 yards north of the railroad. Although heavy fighting occurred here along the old Chapel Road, and at the strong salient formed by the point of the V, at Archer and Laurel, the most determined Confederate attackes were directed at the right of the Union position, entrenched on Battle Hill, and all along the line extending from the nursing home grounds to the Frank L. Stanton School.
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS
Almost three months of fighting had preceded the Battle of Ezra Church. After 70 days of slow retreat from Dalton (88 miles north of Atlanta), forcing Sherman's men to fight for every mile, Gen' Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate Army of Tennessee (Hardee's, Hood's and Stewart's corps, and Wheeler's cavalry corps) had crossed the Chattahoochee River at Bolton late on July 9th and retired toward Atlanta.
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THE PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS CONTINUED
The city was encircled by 12 miles of fortification which Sherman later deemed "unassailable". Johnston was confident that he could hold Atlanta "forever", but he did not intend to become besieged. He had watched for a time when Sherman´s wings might be separated beyond mutual support. Now he sensed that the right wing - Maj. Gen. Geo. H. Thomas´ Army of the Cumberland (4th, 14th and 20th Corps) - would cross the river north of Atlanta and move south over Peachtree Creek while the left wing - Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson´s Army of the Tennessee (15th, 16th and 17th Corps.) - would cross upriver and approach from the east. While they were separated, he planned to smash Thomas at Peachtree Creek, then mass his army against McPherson. To delay McPherson while he defeated Thomas, he posted Hood´s Corps east of Atlanta. Hardee´s and Stewart´s corps remained north of Atlanta to attack Thomas at Peachtree Creek. On the 17th, Johnston announced his plans; but that night he was replaced by Gen. John B. Hood, a far less able commander. As Johnston had foreseen, Thomas moved to cross Peachtree Creek while McPherson crossed upriver (at Roswell) and approached from the east. On the 20th, Hood ordered Hardee and Stewart to attack Thomas. Although their men fought valiantly, without Johnston´s leadership matters became confused. When the Battle of Peachtree Creek ended, Hood has lost 4,796 officers and men, killed, wounded and missing. Thomas had lost but 1,779. On the 21st, McPherson was within artillery range of downtown Atlanta. Leaving Stewart to hold the city, Hood sent Hardee´s Corps southeast of Atlanta where, about noon on the 22nd, it struck McPherson left. Later, Hood´s Corps attacked McPherson´s right. Both attacks attained temporary successes, but when dark ended the Battle of Atlanta Hood´s reported loss was 8,499, the Union loss 3,722. McPherson himself lay among the dead. Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard was assigned to succeed him. Immediately, the Army of the Tennessee was shifted from the left to the right of Sherman´s lines to attempt to cut the railroads near East Point. Before noon on the 28th, Dodge´s 16th and Blair´s 17th Corps were in position along Chappell Road, facing Atlanta. Logan´s 15th Corps, which was the bear the brunt of the fighting, was about to become engaged in the Battle of Ezra Church.
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Map of Battle.
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The Battle of Ezra Church July 28, 1864 - The Confederate Attack
On July 27th, Lieut. Gen. Stephen D. Lee assumed command of Hood´s former corps. Both he and Stewart directed to hold their respective corps "in readiness" and to report at Hood´s headquarters. After explaining his plan to attack Sherman´s threatening right flank, and drive it back from the railroad, Hood ordered Lee to move Brown´s and Claytron´s divisions from the eastern fortifications of Atlanta to White Hall (West End), southwest of the city, leaving Stevenson´s divisions in the lines. Stewart was ordered to follow with Loring´s and Walthall´s division, leaving French´s in place. Early the next morning, all four divisions were at White Hall. At 10:00 a.m. on the 28th, Lee ordered Brown and Clayton to move out the Lickskillet Road (Gordon Street and Road), which led from White Hall to Lickskillet (Adamsville), to the Poor House (on Gordon Street south of the main gate of Westview Cemetery). At the Poor House, Brown met Brig. Gen. Wm. H. Jackson whose cavalry division had contested Howard´s advance. His skirmishers had pressed back steadily, yet Jackson´s information indicated "the enemy´s infantry to be small". Lee also having arrived at the Poor House, he immediately ordered Brown to deploy his division on the left (southwest) side of the road, in the present cemetery Grounds. Brown deployed his four brigades with Johnston´s on the right, Sharp´s in the center, Brantly´s on the left and Manigault´s in reserve. Clayton was ordered to deploy on the right of the road, facing north. He deployed his three brigades with Gibson´s on the left, Holtzclaw´s on the right and Baker´s in reserve. Hood had ordered Lee to "move out the Lickskillet Road, attack the enemy´s right flank, and drive him from the road and the one leading from it by Mount Ezra Church (old Chapel Road)." Accordingly, Lee ordered Brown to "attack and drive the enemy to Ezra Church and hold the position" and Clayton to attack on Brown´s right. Brown´s men drove Smith´s skirmishers from Lickskillet Road and up the steep slopes to the first ridge beyond it (Anderson Park and southeastward). Finding that Logan´s right, which he was expected to turn, would overlap his own, Brown shifted his lines 250 yards to the left. Realigned, his men swept over the first ridge, driving off enemy skirmishers, charged across the intervening ground, and assaulted the Union barricades; but despite the shift to the left, Logan´s refused right was still beyond reach.
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The Confederate Attack, Cont.
Dense woods screened the extent of the Union line until revealed by storms of musketry which swept Brown's ranks, in front and on the right where Williams' fire enfiladed Johnston's exposed flank. On the left, Brantly pierced Lightburn's line but was beaten off with heavy loss. In the center, oblique fire from Martin's line decimated Sharp's regiments, forcing them to retire. On the right, Johnston was wounded. His brigade was unable to advance beyond the first ridge until Manigault's brigade joined it. Together, they assaulted Martin's line, only to be forced back by devastating cross fires. After desperate fighting, Brown reformed under fire for a second attack. Again beaten back, he withdrew his shattered division to the first ridge where it remained until relieved by Walthall's division shortly after 2:30 p.m. Ten minutes after Brown advanced, Gibson had formed his brigade and was with Clayton, conferring with Holtzclaw, who was deploying. Sudden firing brought Gibson galloping back to find that his brigade had been ordered forward by a staff officer. Unsupported, it struck Harrow's salient and suffered a costly repulse. Baker was ordered forward and the two brigades made repeated attacks on the salient, losing "one-half of their original numbers." Holtzclaw was moved to the left in reserve and was not engaged. Although Stewart had been sent to follow up Lee's "success", he found Lee in desperate straits. Holding Loring in reserve, he ordered Walthall to deploy with Reynolds' brigade on the right, Cantey's (O'Neal's) on the left, and Quarles' in reserve. About 2:30 p.m., they advanced over ground strewn with Brown's wounded and dead. Learning the extent of the enemy's line, Walthall ordered Quarles to form on O'Neal's left, but still he was overlapped. After Walthall had lost "over one-third" of his men in vain attempts which "double the force could not have accomplished" Stewart ordered Loring to relieve him; but before Loring could move, both he and Stewart were wounded, leaving Walthall in command. Knowing the futility of further attacks, Walthall ordered Loring's division to remain in place and withdrew his own to join it. The Army of Tennessee had suffered its third costly defeat under Hood's command. Logan had repulsed "six successive charges", losing 562 men. Blair and Dodge, who had sent ten regiments to replace men "whose guns had become so heated as to be useless", lost 45. Hood's estimated loss was 4,632, almost a third of his force.
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Estimated strength of Confederate forces present: 12,723
Actual losses (killed, wounded and missing): 4,632
Estimated strength of Union troops actually engaged: 25,954
Actual losses (killed, wounded and missing): 1,779
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From Mozley Park you go back toward I-20 on MLK. Take a left on Laurel Avenue. Go about 200 yards.
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Clayton's Div., Lee's A.C. Marker is at the intersection of Laurel Avenue SW and Archer Street SW, on the left on Laurel Avenue SW.
July 28, 1864. Dep1oyed a1ong the old Greensferry Rd. (West View Dr.) were Gibson's, Holtzclaw's & Baker's brigades (Alabama & Louisiana troops), Clayton's div., forming the right flank of Gen. S. D. Lee's A. C. [CS] in the Battle Of Ezra Church. Moving northward in the heavily wooded area, their assault fell upon the Federal line at the salient angle (at Laurel Ave. & Archer. St.), occupied by the left flank, Logan's 15th A. C. Unsupported on the left & counter-attacked in front, Clayton's troops withdrew after two attempts to dislodge the Federals. Loring's div., Stewart's A. C., deployed in this vicinity, was not ordered into the battle.
A missing marker, The Federal Salient Marker, was at the intersection of Laurel Avenue SW and Archer Street SW, on the left when traveling south on Laurel Avenue SW.
July 28, 1864. The N.E. cor. of Laurel & Archer was the location of a salient angle in the line of Logan's 15th Corps troops [US] in the Battle of Ezra Church. N.W. from the angle, Harrow's & M. L. Smith's divs. extended to Anderson Ave.; Wood's div. was deployed N.E. along the old Lick Skillet Rd. (no longer there) to Ezra Ch. (S.E. cor. Mozley Park) & beyond, where it joined the Right of the 17th Corps.Clayton's div. (S, D. Lee's A. C.) attacked the angle with Gibson's, Baker's & Holtzclaw's brigades [CS]. This was the Right of the Confederate line.The post-war structure, Battle Hill school, stood at the S.E. cor. of Laurel Ave. & Archer St.
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Come back to MLK and next marker on left. Hard to stop here.
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Battle of Ezra Church Gen. Stewart Wounded Marker is at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Gordon Terrace, on the left when traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
July 28, 1864. Gen. A.P. Stewart, with Walthall's and Long's divisions of his A.C. [CS], reached the field in time to renew the attack. Walthall, on left, fared no better than Brown, in the same area.Stewart, riding forward to this hill, learned of Walthall's failure, but before he could order Loring into action, he was struck by a spent bullet. Walthall succeeded Stewart and withdrew his division (under Quarles) and ordered no further attack by Loring's division. At 10:00 p.m. Hood [CS] withdrew the troops to Atlanta. This battle was the 3rd attempt, outside the city, to halt Federal operations against it.
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Go under I-20 and take a right on Anderson Avenue to next marker right there at the MARTA Station.
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Battle of Ezra Church (Right of 15th Corp) Marker is at the intersection of Anderson Avenue and Entrance to MARTA West Lake Station Parking Lot, on the right when traveling north on Anderson Avenue.
July 28, 1864. This marks the extreme right of Howard's Army of the Tennessee during the Battle of Ezra Church. Lightburn's brigade of M. L. Smith's div., Logan's A. C., occupied the immediate sector. From here the line ran S. E. to a salient angle (Laurel Avenue at Archer) where it turned N. E. to and beyond Ezra Church. The battle began with an assault by Brown's 4 brigades of S. D. Lee's A. C. (Confederate) endeavoring to roll up the Federal Rt. Failing to dislodge Logan, another attempt was made by Walthall's div. of Stewart's A. C. which traversed the same area but with a like result.
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Keep going on Anderson and road turns left and becomes Waterbury.
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Battle of Ezra Church (Gen. J. C. Brown's Div.) Marker is on Waterbury Drive 0.1 miles west of Anderson Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
July 28, 1864. The 4 brigades of Brown's Div., S. D. Lee's A. C. [CS], deployed in this area, made the initial assaults on the Federal right flank posted on the ridge just N. E. Their combined attacks struck Lightburn's & Martin's brigades of Morgan L. Smith's Div. of Logan's 15th A. C. Brown's brigades, L. to R., were Brantly's, Sharp's & Johnston's, Manigault's in reserve. Brantly's Mississippians carried the log barricades of the 83d Indiana (Lightburn's brigade) but were swept back by a counter-assault. A 2d attempt was made on the same ground by Walthall's Div. (Stewart's Corps), but with like results.
Come back to MLK and take a right, but get ready to take a U turn to the side of the fence at the West View Cemetery.
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Battle of Ezra Ch. Marker (S.D. Lee's Corps) is on Martin Luther King Jr Drive SW (Georgia Route 139) 0.1 miles west of Anderson Avenue, on the right when traveling east. The marker stands at the fence enclosing West View Cemetery.
July 28, 1864. Brown's & Clayton's divs., Lee's Corps [CS] led off the attack on the 15th corps [US] posted some 400 yds. N. of this rd. Brown's brigades: Johnston's, Sharp's & Brantly's, were deployed W. of the cemetery Gate House ~ Manigault's in reserve. Clayton's brigades: Gibson's, Holtzclaw's & Baker's, were posted E. of the Gate House (along West View Drive). Brown's troops crossed the rd & astride the present Anderson Ave., pressed up to the Fed. lines beyond the R.R. cut. Clayton's brigades struck the salient at Laurel & Archer. These attacks failed to dislodge the 15th corps.
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Flag of the 46-55 Tn which they lost at Ezra Church, July 28, 1864
Nearby Westview Cemetery is another protected part of the battlefield, where Confederates rushed up to charge the center of the Union line. Keep going east a few yards on MLK, but veer right on Ralph David Abernathy to go to the entrance of Westview Cemetery. Pull in the welcome center for them to mark a driving map to save you some headache. This is the largest cemetery in the Southern United States.
https://adventuresincemeteryhopping.file...wabbey.jpg
First I go to the Confederate Memorial. It was erected by The Confederate Veterans Association of Fulton County to honor its fallen soldiers from the nearby Civil War Veterens home. The monument features a stone soldier holding a flag and standing on top of small cannon balls. Two cannons lie just beyond a circle of Confederate graves and mark a path leading to the historic monument. One of the few monuments ever erected by Confederate veterans, stands guard over fallen comrades. The inscription speaks of peace: "Nation shall not rise up against nation. They shall beat their swords into plough shares and their spears into pruning hooks. Neither shall they learn war anymore. Of Liberty born of a Patriots dream; of a storm cradled Nation that fell."
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The solitary grave of Lt. Edward Clingman, killed at Ezra Church, is marked with engravings of a saber, pistol and Confederate flag, and is located along the eastern outer drive. Behind the grave is a section of Confederate trenches.
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Map of Westview. G marks Confederate Memporial. R marks Ezra Church battle marker. S marks Clingman grave and trenches.
Lastly, there is a marker back near MLK Drive.
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Here are some Yankee reports…………
HDQRS. THIRD DIVISION, FOURTH ARMY CORPS, Near Atlanta, Ga., July 29, 1864.
Lieutenant Colonel J. S. FULLERTON;
COLONEL: Moore, a scout, whom I sent out on the 26th in the forenoon, returned this p. m. and make the following statement: General S. D. Lee arrived about the 25th instant from Mississippi and brought 3,500 troops with him. These were dismounted cavalry, are now used as infantry, and are in the intrenchments. Moore says he went to the depot every time the cars came into Atlanta, and that the trains were loaded with re-enforcements of the Georgia militia. He says many arriving in this way. Moore says he heard Judge Wright and Ridley, citizens, say that there would be enough of the re-enforcements to make a small corps for General Cheatman. Moore says the rebels acknowledge they were defeated yesterday, and he heard officers talking who said they had lost between 8, 0000 and 9,000. Moore says he heard in Atlanta yesterday afternoon that there had been an engagement yesterday at 11 a. m., between our cavalry, under General Garrard, and the rebel cavalry, under Wheeler, in the direction of Yellow River, but he was not able to learn any of the details. Moore says that the understanding prevails in the rebel army that Atlanta is to be defended to the last extremity, but that much dissatisfaction prevails among the common soldierly about the removal of General Johnston and the manner in which General Hood has handled the army since taking command of it. The soldierly were dissatisfied with the attacks that Hood has made. Moore says the supply of forage and subsistence is very short indeed, produced by there being now but one line of railroad. When he was in Atlanta he could get no corn for his horse; hitherto he had got plenty. He says he heard it sid that if the rebels were driven out of Atlanta they would try to make their first stand at East Point. Moore says Stewart's and Lee's corps made the attack yesterday morning, but were subsequently re-enforced by a part of Hardee's corps, which had been left in the works. After the fighting ceased a part of the troops were brought back to occupy the intrenchments around the town. Moore says they kept a strong line in their works. Moore says our shells fall into the town and annoy them very much, though they have inflicted no great loss. General Bragg is still in Atlanta. General Johnston is in Macon. General Loring was wounded in the fight yesterday severely. Moore says he heard officers saying that they would get re-enforcements of militia and constricts to make up for their late losses. Moore brings a paper of this date.
Respectfully submitted, with the newspaper, for the information of the corps and department commanders.
TH. J. WOOD, Brigadier-General of Volunteers, Commanding.
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Dead in brook by Ezra Church.
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT AND ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, Before Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1864.
Major General W. T. SHERMAN,Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi:
GENERAL: The corps of Hood attacked us to-day at 11.30 a. m. on the right of my line, mainly opposite the Fifteenth Corps, with lines extending beyond my right flank. The assaults were pertinaciously kept up for four with scarcely any intermission, and were invariably repulsed. The enemy's dead lie thickly on our front. We took several stand of colors and quite a number of prisoners. General Logan bore the burnt of the battle, and his command acquitted itself nobly. Generals Blair and Dodge weakened their lines to the lowest limits on order to extend his flank and re-enforce him at any point. Our casualties are small, owing to the fact that we had just covered ourselves with rough barricades. Some of Polk's command was engaged in the last assaults. I will make a more specific report as soon as I can get the requisite returns from the different commands.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, O. O. HOWARD, Major-General.
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HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, In the Field, near Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1864.
General SCHOFIELD:
General Howard's conduct today had an excellent effect on his command. After the firing has ceased he walked the line, and the men gathered about him in the most affectionable manner, and he at once gained their hearts and confidence. I deem this a perfect restoration to confidence in themselves and leader of that army.
W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General, Commanding.
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