From the Rapidan to Atlanta

2nd Lieut. Ebenezer B. Fenton, 20th Connecticut, Co. A

The tremendous losses of our army at Chickamauga, in the early fall of 1863, compelled the prompt reinforcement of General Rosecrans in his new position about Chattanooga, where he was closely invested with Confederate troops, about double the number of his own. The Confederates occupied Lookout Mountain, the railroad and the river, thus compelling General Rosecrans to transport his supplies over the mountain for a distance of nearly sixty miles. The utmost effort possible could not supply the army with food, even with half rations. The horses and mules "died by the thousands," and hardly enough serviceable animals could be obtained to haul a respectable sized train. In his stronghold General Rosecrans had the "bull by the horns." But he could neither let go nor hold on with safety.

This was the situation of the Army of the Cumberland, and was the urgent necessity which caused the transfer of two veteran corps of the Army of the Potomac. Within ten days after the movement began the entire Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were transferred by rail from Virginia to lower Tennessee.

September 16th we broke camp at Kelly's Ford, Va., crossed the Rappahannock River, and marched to Stevensburg, a distance of twelve miles.

September 17th we marched to Raccoon Ford, on the Rapidan, distance seven miles, went into camp for the night, in line of battle

September 18th Company B furnished a detail of two men to the firing party, at the execution of several deserters. (p.4)

September 20th we advanced about two miles, to a point beyond the range of the rebel batteries, on the opposite bank of the Rapidan, remaining there four days.

On the 24th we advanced to Brandy Station, about twelve miles, from there to Bealton Station on the 26th , and at 11 P. M. the same evening took the cars for Washington, arriving early in the morning of the 27th . From Washington we started on our trip West, our objective point being Atlanta, Ga. Well do I remember that beautiful morning, as train after train steamed out of the depot, at our National Capital, amid the cheers of a great crowd of people who has assembled to witness our departure.

The journey was made in ordinary freight cars, into which we were packed, from fifty to seventy in each car, making it impossible for us all either to sit or lie down at the same time. To get any sleep under such circumstances was next to an impossibility. Bur comfort was the last thing to be considered especially where haste was so important as in this case. Crossing the Ohio River at Bellaire, where everything was ferried over, we were again packed into freight cars of the Central Ohio Railroad, reaching Louisville, Ky., on the morning of October 1st.

All through Ohio and Indiana we received a perfect ovation given by the people of those loyal states. At every stopping place they turned out by hundreds and thousands, the women honored us with gifts of flowers, and filled our haversacks so full of good things, as to bring the most abundant rations of pork and hardtack for sometimes afterwards, into the utmost contempt.

The journey from Louisville to Tullahoma took until Oct. 6th . On arriving at the latter place, it was found that rebel cavalry held the railroad between Tullahoma and Murfresboro, and was given a three days' chase by the 1st Division of the 12th Corps, (of which our regiment formed a part), by (p. 5)   which, further depredations in that direction was prevented; Evidently contemplated by the rebels in hope to cut off our supplies from Chattanooga, to the forwarding of which the two re-inforcing corps were first directed, and so successfully that "hard crackers" which had commanded an exorbitant price, became plenty in camp.

On the 19th of October , General Rosecrans was relieved, and was succeeded by Major General Geo. H. Thomas, in command of the Army of the Cumberland; three days previous to which, the Department of the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee, had been constituted the military division of the Mississippi under the command of Major General Grant, who arrived at Chattanooga on the 21st and took charge of the operations about to commence there. Meantime the rebels came down from Lookout Mountain and took position at "Brown's Ferry."

General Grant ordered the Twelfth Corps to co-operate with the Eleventh Corps in cleaning the rebels out of Lookout Valley that were hindering the navigation of the river. This had been successfully accomplished by the 28th.

From Lookout Mountain the rebels saw General Geary's corps encamped in the valley. They stole silently down upon them, under command of General Longstreet, who was, by the assistance of General Hooker, quickly defeated. During the night about two hundred mules belonging to the train broke loose and stampeded, rushing through the rebel ranks with such vigor as to put an entire brigade to flight, - the rebels supposing the mules to have been a company of cavalry. It was said that the "Charge of the Mule Brigade," as it was afterwards called, contributed not a little to the final victorious result, and afforded an immense amount of amusement at the expense of the enemy.

This victory of Generals Hooker and Geary over Longstreet (p. 6)   was characterized by General Thomas as "among the most distinguished feats of the war."

In order to dispossess the rebels of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, upon which they were strongly entrenched, General Grant ordered General Sherman, in command of the Army of the Tennessee, to join the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga, thereby making a force sufficient to take the offensive against General Bragg. General Sherman arrived about the 20th of November with his forces, consisting of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps.

General Bragg, being unaware of this strengthening of our forces, thought his position safe, and dispatched General Longstreet's corps to East Tennessee to operate against Burnside. General Grant immediately took advantage of this movement and prepared for the rebels a grand surprise. In an about Chattanooga he had nearly one hundred thousand men, composed almost entirely of veterans upon whom he could rely, men who were the heroes of Vicksburg, Chicamauga, and Gettysburg.

On the morning of the 24th, as if preparing for a grand review, General Grant paraded the entire Army of the Cumberland in full view of the rebels, who crowded Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, amazed at the magnificent display. While this apparent parade of our troops was going on, a signal gun, fired from one of our forts, announced that everything was ready, when suddenly a division of troops under General Wood, which had been well advanced under cove of the parade, dashed across the field, before the rebels apprehended the design of the movement, an elevation of Missionary Ridge was taken, immediately fortified, and, for a time, was the headquarters of General Grant.

During the night General Sherman crossed the river, and on the morning of the 25th entrenched himself in a position to carry the right of the enemy's line. (p. 7)  In the fog, at early dawn, on the right and left the attack began. General Sherman charged upon the entrenchments on the enemy's right, but was repulsed. Again and again did the heroes of Vicksburg march over their dead to the assault, finally succeeding in occupying the works. At daylight General Hooker advanced against the rebel left, on Lookout Mountain, up the sides of which he had discovered a path. While a portion of this troops were engaged in another direction he led the second division of the Twelfth Corps and two brigades from the Army of the Tennessee over a very rugged way, landing early in the forenoon on the top of the rock in the rebel rear. Hastily forming, our troops advanced to the attack. It was a complete surprise. The enemy were in strong force, but General Hooker's resistless column carried everything before it. The rebel column broke, confusion took possession of the men, and they scattered in every direction. Hundreds of prisoners and several pieces of artillery were among the fruits of this famous "battle above the clouds." The fog settled about the sides of the rock, hiding from view those below and the strife of their comrades among the ragged and rugged peaks of Lookout Mountain, on whose very crest General Hooker bivouached for the night. His gleaming camp fires proclaimed to the anxious watchers at Chattanooga how well the battle in that direction had progressed. Morning came, and with it General Sherman renewed the assault upon the rebel right; on the other hand General Hooker pressed forward, driving the enemy through the valley towards Missionary Ridge, and, sweeping 'round, threatened the rebel left. To meet this, General Bragg, with a portion of this troops from the centre, pressed against Hooker with the energy of despair, but the veterans of the Army of the Potomac met them at every point and drove them back. On the rebel right the contest was still more severe.

General Bragg sent brigade after (p. 8)   brigade to reinforce that portion of his line, until our troops seemed in danger of annihilation. Till three o'clock the battle raged. Stationed on that part of Missionary Ridge captured in the first day's battle stood General Grant, quietly smoking his cigar. He looked on with the utmost coolness, watching the progress of the battle on the flanks, and waited for the time to come to press forward his troops against the centre. To resist this attack on his flanks General Bragg had greatly weakened his centre. The order for the attack was now given, the Army of the Cumberland from its place of concealment, under Generals Granger and Palmar, pushed forward and crossed the valley to Missionary Ridge. Soon the stars and stripes floating over Fort Hindman announced the success of the assault. General Grant now appeared on Missionary Ridge, and was received with cheers of wildest enthusiasm. Inspired by the presence of our great, leader, the remaining strongholds, one after another, were easily taken. By night fall, the whole chain of works were in possession of our troops, while the army of Bragg was flying in confusion along the route to Ringold and Dalton. The results, as were stated, were the relief of Chattanooga, the opening of communication by rail to Nashville, the isolation of the rebel force sent against Knoxville, and a loss to the defeated rebel army of some "twelve or fifteen thousand men, with seven thousand stand of arms." Our own loss was about "thirty-two hundred."

The main business of the army was now to guard the line of railroad, from Knoxville to Chattanooga and then back to Nashville and Louisville, so that supplies could be gathered at Chattanooga for the spring campaign. The 12th Corps guarded the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, and was found to be no easy task. With the most infernal malignity the rebels lay in ambush the entire distance, ready to blow up the passing trains with torpedoes, or by tearing up rails (p. 9)   to wreck the trains loaded with soldiers. If one of our boys were caught outside of the lines, he was first robbed and then murdered by hanging or otherwise.

These acts of violence became so unbearable, that General Grant took vigorous measures for holding the people of the whole country 'round about responsible, unless they at once gave information of the presence of these guerillas. Contributions were also levied upon the wealthy secessionists, for the support of the non-combatant Union citizens who were sufferers from the raiders. In pursuance of this order, a portion of the 12th Corps was sent out for twenty miles to gather in supplies, by which more than ten thousand people were provided for. While out on this foraging expedition, some of our men were attacked, and, after surrendering, three of them were shot. Ascertaining who the guerillas, committing the deed, were, a levy of thirty thousand dollars was made, by order of General Slocum, upon their property and that of their neighbors. This sum was collected, and distributed equally to the families of each of the murdered soldiers, by the hand of an officer detailed for the duty. After a few weeks of this vigorous treatment, and an occasional retaliative court marshal shooting party, bushwhacking became very unpopular. The Tennessee Union Cavalry were ordered out in pursuit of these raiders, known as "Wheeler's Cavalry." But they only succeeded in capturing a few stragglers whom they "lost" in a very peculiar way to themselves, before getting into camp, so that they could never more be found.

On the 11th of April an order was issued dissolving the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps and forming the same the Twentieth Corps. General A. S. Williams was assigned to the command of the first division, General John W. Geary the second, and General Butterfield the third. Prior to this, General Grant had been, as Lieutenant-General, assigned (p.10)   to the command of the Armies of the United States, General Sherman succeeding him in the Military Department of the Mississippi. General Thomas commanded the Army of the Cumberland, General McPherson the Army of the Tennessee, and General Schofield the Army of the Ohio. Everything was now all bustle and preparation for a forward movement. Every train brought in re-enlisted veterans; and from every headquarters newspaper correspondents were informing the public of the grand campaign about to open, and praising the commanders in proportion to the amount of whiskey furnished them. At length everything was in readiness, and they only awaited the order for a forward movement,

Heretofore, when the Army of the Potomac fought, the Army of the Cumberland was lying by for repairs, and vice versa, by reason of which the rebels between could, by short marches, concentrate upon either. General Grant determined to put a stop to all this, and issued his famous order, "That henceforth there should be but one campaign, and that should last through summer and winter to the end of the war." Both of the main armies were to march simultaneously, the one toward Richmond, and other into the heart of Georgia.

On the 27th of April our regiment, having joined the second brigade, third division, of the Twentieth Corps, advanced on to the Lookout Valley. On the second day of May we moved forward, and, with other divisions, concentrated at Ringold.

The objective point, as hereinbefore stated, for this great army, numbering one hundred thousand men, was Atlanta, Georgia, a place of great importance by reason of the railroads converging there, and being a great place for manufacturing articles of war.

On the 7th of May the army was put in motion; the Army of the Ohio moving down the Cleveland & Dalton Railroad, (p.11)   and the Army of the Cumberland (with the exception of the Twentieth Corps) moving down the Chattanooga & Dalton Railroad. The Twentieth Corps proceeded through Taylor's Ridge to a fortified hill in front of Buzzard's Roost, which was, after a short contest, taken possession of. The railroad from Cleveland passes through a range of hills east of Rocky Face Mountain and enters Dalton from the north. The Army of the Ohio, under command of General Schofield, approached the place from this direction, while the remainder of the army confronted Rocky Face Mountain from the west.

On the 9th of May Colonel Coburn of the Thirty-third Indiana arrived, and, as senior officer, assumed command of the second brigade. Our regiment with the Nineteenth Michigan were ordered, under command of Colonel Ross, to proceed to Boyd's Trail, seize and hold it at all hazards. Leaving camp about one o'clock P. M., after a march of seven or eight miles the enemy were overtaken, and driven in perfect pandemonium over the mountain some twenty miles to the right. General McPherson passed to the rear of the enemy at Snake Creek Gap, and was in a position to threaten the rebel line of communication near Resaca.

On the night of the 10th the Twentieth Corps was ordered down to the support of McPherson. At Snake Creek Gap the two regiments just mentioned, under command of Colonel Ross, joined the second brigade, to which they belonged. Here the Fourteenth and Twenty-third Corps were once more dispatched to the assistance of McPherson, against whom the enemy were rapidly concentrating; meanwhile the Twentieth Corps were engaged in making a double track through the Gap to facilitate the passage of our troops and trains.

On the 13th of May General Sherman came from Buzzards Roost, announcing that General Howard, having taken possession of Dalton, was moving down on the east of the (p.12)   mountain to join his forces below. After several hours of skirmishing, in the afternoon and next morning, the forces of the rebels were discovered to be drawn up behind a deep creek, facing the west and north, covering the railroad and Resaca, with their right resting on Connasauger river. The centre of their position was a high ridge, which had been strongly fortified during the night and morning. General Sherman therefore determined to make an assault upon both flanks of the enemy, at the same time making a strong feint against the centre. At about 2 o'clock P. M. our line moved forward to the attack. Soon the action became general, and continued with varying fortunes until it became so dark that the firing gradually ceased. Our troops bivouacked in the places where darkness overtook them, while on the occasional crack of some picket's rifle, "or the doleful sound of the whip-poor-will disturbed the stillness of the summer night." Though fatigued and sleepy, nothing could steal away our senses so entirely that the wicked "zip" of an occasional bullet passing over, or striking or awaking some poor fellow, could not be heard, still it was rest for the weary body, and occasionally the weary spirit within would busy itself among the peaceful scenes of home, only to be suddenly awakened to the terrible realities of the position, perhaps by the dreaded bugle call at reveille, which, to a soldier, was worse than death to disobey.

The forenoon was comparatively quiet. About noon came the order for General Butterfield to move forward to an assault, for the purpose of recovering ground lost by the operations of these two great opposing armies, made a busy and bloody afternoon.

The evening of the 15th found as results of the struggle, so far, that the enemy had been driven from its position on the right and left, and was otherwise so badly crippled that (p.13) & nbsp it seemed as if on the morrow it must be defeated or perhaps annihilated.

During the evening our Lieutenant-Colonel was detailed to take command of a detachment of troops, numbering about 250 men, of which my company formed a part, with orders to capture a murderous little battery which was making it lively for us, and situated on a ridge right in front of our division, along the front of which was an embankment, forming a natural redoubt. The gunners had been driven from their guns after a fearful struggle, which covered the ground in front with dead and wounded, but neither side was able to take away the pieces. They remained, as it were, on disputed ground. The detachment moved out about 9 P. M. After groping 'round in the dark we found the position, and formed around the side of the hill below the battery. We proceeded to reconnoiter and examine the location in order to determine upon a course of action, the result of which was that two plans were presented for the accomplishment of the object One was to charge against the main works of the enemy, under cover of which the guns should be run towards the revel lines, around the end of the bluff on which they were situated, and thus into our lines. The other was to dig them out. After a short council of war the latter course was adopted. Commencing some two or three rods down the hill, a trench was dug towards the muzzle of each gun, wide enough to admit the carriages. About 2 o'clock in the morning the trenches were completed, ropes were attached to the pieces and they were dragged silently through the trenches down the hill, and into our lines. The battery proved to have been composed of four nice, new, brass twelve pounders, only just out of the Confederate arsenal at Atlanta. They were found loaded with a double charge of grape shot.

The mission was accomplished without the loss of a man. The rebels seemed to have been aware that some movement was (p.14)   on foot for the capture of the guns. Several times during the night they opened a brisk fire in the direction of the works, but it was evidently expected that the attempt would be made to take the guns over on their side of the bluff, thinking it impossible, from the nature of the ground, that it could be done on the front. But the Yankees had dug out too many foxes and woodchucks on old Connecticut Hillside to stick at a little job like that of digging through the top of a mountain, to get whatever they might want on the other side.

Early in the morning it was discovered that there was no enemy in our front. General Johnson, during the night, built bridges and quickly withdrew, crossing the Connasauga River with his whole army, abandoning everything that would impede his march. Even his dead and wounded were left to the care of our army.

"Among the stores abandoned were twenty-three thousand sacks of corn and oats and more than one hundred thousand rounds of ammunition." At 8 A. M. the whole army again started in pursuit, the route being over the battlefield.

Near where the battery was captured a letter was found, written by its commanding officer to his wife, stating that "some Yankees, who wore stars on their hats (the badge of the Twentieth Corps), had captured his battery; none but Joe Hooker's men would have done it," and that "when they charged his battery, they did not mind shot any more than a duck would water."

The enemy had been forced from its strongest position, and compelled to retreat in the direction of Atlanta. Crossing the river upon the bridges abandoned by the rebels, who were in too much of a hurry to burn them, our troops kept up a hot pursuit, now and then coming up with the enemy's (p. 15)   rear, when there would ensue a smart skirmish or a severe battle.

Upon coming up to the village of Cassville it was found to be alive with rebel troops. As it was found necessary to occupy this place, the Nineteenth Michigan and our regiment were detailed to accomplish this task. The Wolverines and Connecticut Yankees went in with fixed bayonets, and Cassville fell into our hands in a very short time.

The villagers had all fled in great alarm, having been told that if the Yankees occupied the place it would be shelled by the forts on the hill and destroyed. One sick man was found deserted by his wife and children. In a cellar three or four old ladies had concluded to "stand the storm; In one house a table was spread for dinner, upon which was a smoking boiled ham, fried chicken, young onions, strawberries and warm biscuit, all of which we partook with great satisfaction after our hard day's work.

During the night the rebels could be heard strengthening their long line of works, and it was expected that here they would make a stand. But the movements of General Sherman were such that Johnson concluded to withdraw, which he did very silently about daylight.

General Schofield, with the Army of the Ohio, now took the advance in pursuit of the retreating enemy, forcing them across the Etawah river in great confusion, capturing many prisoners.

A portion of the fourteenth Corps moved off to the right, occupied Rome, captured a large amount of stores, destroyed several mills for the manufacture of ordnance and other goods contraband of war. Farther up the river several large cotton mills were seized, which were running under contract for the Southern Confederacy. The mills were burned, and some hundreds of female operatives were sent north within our lines.

The Twentieth Corps, for next three days encamped in the edge of the woods near Cassville, fighting wood ticks and other beautiful insects so common among soldiers at that time.

At three o'clock on the morning of the 23rd of May, the army was again on the move towards the Etawah river. General Johnson expected that General Sherman would attempt to cross at Altoona. To prevent this, if possible, the rebel general made extensive preparations; but General Sherman, proving a little obstinate in the premises, concluded to find his own crossingplaces, which he did during the day and night without any serious trouble at various points between Rome and Altoona.

On the morning of the 24th, without much opposition, the army found itself on the move to the right of Altoona Ridge, and among some of the finest lands in Northern Georgia.

As a sample of the desolation that must have followed in the track of the armies in that famous march through Georgia, the following has been taken from a letter written by one of our officers to his father, which may be of interest to those present who served in that corps:

The people have so long obeyed the behests of Jeff, Davis, that, instead of cotton and tobacco, formerly raised, all the arable land has been planted with corn, or sown with wheat. It is said that the rebel soldiers were detailed in the spring to assist in planting the crops; but in the track of the army not much will be reaped, for, spreading over the country like a swarm of locusts, the troops have eaten up and destroyed everything green.

From the crossing of the Etawah river at Altoona, on the 23d, to the middle of July, when General Sherman was preparing at Marietta to take the last step in the grand campaign that was to place him in possession of Atlanta, it was almost a daily struggle with a deadly foe, who, as he retreated before our victorious forces, seized every opportunity for entrenching himself from time to time in strong positions, (p. 17)   from which he had to be driven at the point of the bayonet, or "wormed out" by superior tactics or sagacity. In connection with this a good story is told:

On one occasion, when Kenesaw Mountain was being held by Johnson's forces, a story had been circulated that General Sherman had been killed. The lines of the two opposing armies were but a few rods apart, so that a man could not raise his head above the works without getting a bullet through it. One morning a rebel cried out: "I say, Yank, who commands your army now?" "Billy Sherman," replied one of the boys. "What makes you ask that question?" "'Cause," said the rebel, "they said he was killed; but I knew he wasn't, for he has corkscrewed us out of some place every day. He's see-sawed us out of every place we stopped," said another. "So fur," said another, "ef he gets us out of this, we're going fur Cedar Mountain. If you'ns' follow and worm us out of that, we're going to take a position nine miles t'other side of hell, and see ef you'll follow us through that place." "Who commands your army now, Johnny?" says one of our boys. "Oh, General Sherman, of course," was the reply. "Thought Johnson was in command?" said the Yank. "Well, he was, at first," said the rebel: "but now we allers move when Sherman gets ready to have us."

Among the incidents of the march was a two hours' battle at Pumpkinvine creek on the 25th of May, in which the Twentieth Corps were exclusively engaged. Some of the regiments were nearly decimated. The first and second divisions of this corps lost over 1,500 men. General A. S. Williams, of Detroit, had a horse shot from under him, afterward gallantly leading his troops on foot in a charge to the very muzzle of rebel battery.

During this historic pursuit of the enemy, a loss of 500 to 1,000 men each day was counted as but skirmishing. Over (p. 18)   one hundred miles had the retreat and the pursuit been kept up, leaving behind a track of blood, an almost continuous line of graves, and a desolate country, in which innocent women wee left to death by slow starvation by the merciless conscription of their fathers, brothers and sons.

On the 17th of June there was a sharp battle at Lost Mountain, resulting, as usual, in our favor.

The enemy retreating to Kenesaw Mountain, was found by General Sherman to be so strongly fortified that, after a good deal of fighting, he abandoned the assault.

The rebels, on the 3d of July, once more retreated to a line of works thrown up in advance by negro pioneers at Chattahoochie, from which they were eventually forced to retire. The time was now at hand when the decisive battle was to be fought which was to determine the fate of Atlanta.

On the 19th of July General Johnson was found with a line of entrenchments environing the city at a distance of about three miles on the north and east, while our line extended from the Chattanooga railroad in the form of a semi-circle round to the Augusta road, fronting to the south and southwest, and about five miles from Atlanta.

While the Union army was thundering at the very gates of the ill-fated city, General Johnson, the man who, by his skill and caution, had so often saved this portion of the rebel army from destruction, was removed, and General Hood placed in command of the rebel forces. Upon assuming command, Hood issued an order to his troops, telling them they had done retreating, that he would show them hot to fight, rather than retreat, and would lead them to victory.

On the morning of the 20th of July commenced the bloody battle of Peach Tree Creek. The third division of the Twentieth Corps crossed the creek and filled up the gap between our second division and the fourth Corps. By noon our whole right was across the creek. The men had stacked (p. 19)   arms and were taking a little rest. Some prisoners, brought in from the skirmish line, gave the information that a strong line of entrenchments was about a mile in advance, behind which the rebels were awaiting an attack. At once the bugle sounded the assembly, the men rushed to their places, seized their arms and deployed into line. About 3 P. M. the rebels advanced to the attack, and our forces were immediately put in motion to meet the assault. Inclining a little to the right, the whole third division advanced in an open field and was soon hotly engaged. For a short time our regiment was in an extremely critical condition, the rebels firing into it from the front, flank and rear. But it maintained its ground with unfaltering courage and steadiness. The bugle now sounded the charge, and the whole pressed forward with loud cheers. Our regiment advanced over an open field under a heavy fire, with an almost perfect line, as if on parade, reserving our fire until within a few rods of the rebel line, when we delivered a volley, driving the rebels our of their position up to a crest of a hill in front, where the whole line of our division was halted. After the battle was over General Newton, commanding a division of the Fourth Corps on our left, sent an officer to know what regiment was on his right and authorized him to say to its commanding officer "that it was deserving of all praise, that he never saw a regiment advance with such steadliness and precision in the face of such a terrible fire as this one."

Four times during that afternoon the rebels tried to carry our line, but were as often sent reeling back. From 3 o'clock until 8 we stood with no cover, and without assistance or relief, and yet maintained our position and repulsed every assault of the enemy. In front of us were found the dead and wounded of the Thirty-third, Forty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Mississippi regiments, who had been brought against our (p.20)   regiment, which itself sustained a loss of nearly half its officers and forty-eight men.

This first attempt of General Hood to show the rebel army "how to fight instead of how to retreat" resulted in a loss of his part of more than 6,000 men, as admitted by the rebel newspapers.

Myself having been seriously wounded at the battle of Peach Tree Creek, this narrative is no longer a story of weary marches, sleepless nights, battle, danger and death, but on the contrary a triumphal march to the rear, where the surgeons held court supreme. The roar and crash of battle had ceased; the sulphurous smoke had cleared away, but how strange the scenes about us! The plains and hillsides were strewn with corpses of men where they fell. The dead and dying were lying close together, where a few short hours before all was excitement - the excitement of many a brave comrade's last battle - now an oppressive silence prevails; there is the groaning and the crying of the wounded. In quiet tones we speak to each other. The question passes back and forth - "Where are you wounded?" "Through the body." "And you?" "An arm broken," "My knee smashed with a piece of shell," or "A minnie bullet through the foot," so the low replies pass around. Words of cheer are spoken, while over the faces of some the strange, pale look is coming that betokens the approach of death.

One lies near who has always been jolly and full of fun in the ranks, but now jesting is forgotten. A few feet away lies an officer - lately promoted - the smile still on his face, so suddenly had the bullet cut the thread of life.

The ambulance corps with their stretchers are kept busy. The hospital tent is full of the wounded. The long and weary night draws to a close. In the early dawn, as we begin to distinguish our comrades here and there, we speak to them. Some of them answer with feebler voices that (p. 21)   before, and some are silent forever, having entered their last sleep in the night.

The sun rises, and another day wears on, the living among the dead, wounds are growing sorer and more painful, cries begin to be heard from those whose wounds are in the body and very serious. One poor fellow, an Irishman, lay near to me, so badly wounded that the surgeon exclaimed, shaking his head, "There is no hope whatever of saving this man, he cannot possibly live" An ugly wound in the head and a shattered hand told the sad story. The surgeons passed him by, giving close attention to those whose chances for recovery seemed reasonably sure.

Another long and weary night passes, the morning finds us with fewer alive than the day before. Learning that our Irish friend was still alive, and the surgeon ready to attend to him, his wounds were dressed, and with others of the wounded was sent back to the hospital. His recovery did seem impossible, but he ultimately recovered.

Several years later I chanced to meet him, and his gratitude knew no bounds, with tears in his eyes he related to me how I "had saved his life" and, drawing me aside, said: "Let us take a drop for the sake of auld times."

While on our way to the hospital we learned of the death of General McPherson (which occurred on the 22d), and that General Logan, upon assuming command of the Army of the Tennessee, called upon the men to avenge the death of their late leader.

History will record this march from Chattanooga to Atlanta as one of the most brilliant of modern times. A march in which one of two great conflicting armies gradually crowded the other back, inch by inch, and day by day, through storm an sunshine, over hills, mountains and rivers, (p. 22)   leaving in their footsteps innumerable graves, broken hearts, and a blighted and blasted country.

As we view these terrible battlefields through the distant haze of the years which have passed and gone, we leave the hope of future greatness and glory to the now united and prosperous Union.