ARMY OPERATIONS. 



69 



At this time the headquarters of the armies 

 of the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the 

 Ohio, were respectively at Huntsville, Chat- 

 tanooga, and Knoxville ; and on the 27th, 

 Gen. Sherman having been notified by Gen.' 

 Grant that the Army of the Potomac would 

 march from Culpepper on or about May 5th, 

 and that he wished the movement from Chat- 

 tanooga to commence at the same time, put 

 his troops in motion toward the latter place. 

 The total force under his command for offen- 

 sive purposes, was as follows : 



Army of the Cumberland, Major-Gen, Thomas Com- 

 manding. 



Infantry 



ArtillerY 



Cavalry 



Total 60.773 



Guns 130 



Army of the Tcnnt-isee, Jfator-Gen, JfcPherson, Com- 

 manding. 



Infantry 



Artillery 1.4M4 



Cavalry 624 



Total. 

 Guns. 



.24.4<>5 



Army of the Ohio, Jfajor-Gen. Sdiofield Commanding. 



Infantry H.lsS 



Artillery 679 



Cavalry 1.679 



Total 13,559 



Guns .'> 



making a grand aggregate of 88,188 infantry, 

 4,460 artillery, and 6,U9 cavalry, or 98,797 

 men and 254 guns. The Army of the Cumber- 

 land comprised the 4th corps, Gen. Howard ; 

 the 14th corps, Gen. Palmer, and the 20th 

 corps, Gen. Hooker ; the Army of the Tennes- 

 see, the 15th corps, Gen. Logan; the 16th 

 corps, Gen. Dodge ; and later in the campaign, 

 the 17th corps, Gen. Blair ; and the Army of 

 the Ohio, the 23d corps, Gen. Schotield. These 

 armies were grouped on the morning of May 

 6th as follows: That of the Cumberland at 

 Ringgold, on the Western and Atlantic Rail- 

 road, 23 miles southeast of Chattanooga ; that 

 of the Tennessee at Gordon's Mill, on the 

 Chickauiauga, eight miles west of Ringgold ; and 

 that of the Ohio, near Red Clay, on the Georgia 

 line, about ten miles northeast of Ringgold. 

 The enemy, comprising Gens. Hardee's, Hood's, 

 and Polk's corps of infantry and artillery, and 

 "Wheeler's division of cavalry, the whole com- 

 manded by Lieut.-General Joseph E. Johnston, 

 of the Confederate Army, lay in and about 

 Dalton, fifteen miles south of Ringgold, on the 

 railroad, the advance being at Tunnel Hill, a 

 station about midway between the two places. 

 Their cavalry were estimated by Gen. Sherman 

 at 10,000 men, and the infantry and artillery at 

 from 45,000 to 50,000, of whom much the 

 greater part were veteran troops. 



Topographically considered, the State of 

 Georgia admits of three distinct divisions: 1. 

 A mountainous region, embracing the north- 

 west corner of the State, and which terminates 

 at the Keuesaw Mountain, near Marietta, 120 

 miles from Chattanooga; 2. A gently undulat- 



ing country extending from the mountainous 

 region to a line passing in a northeasterly di- 

 rection through Columbus, Macon, and Augusta; 

 and 3. A level country extending to the sea- 

 board, for the most part sandy and thickly 

 covered with pine woods, and along the coa^t 

 bordered by extensive swamps. The north- 

 western portion of the State, as far south as 

 Atlanta, is almost exclusively a grain and g 

 bearing region; the middle and eastern divi- 

 sions being devoted chiefly to the cultivation 

 of cotton. But its mineral wealth, particularly 

 in iron ores, which abound among the moun- 

 tains, has. since the commencement of the war, 

 rendered the possession^of this first-mentioned 

 division a matter of prime importance to the 

 Confederates. At Etowah, Rome, and Atlanta 

 were large iron works in the employ of the 

 rebel government, the capture and permanent 

 occupation of which by a Union force would 

 be likely to cause much embarrassment, not to 

 speak of cotton and woollen mills at Roswell, 

 Rome, and else where*,' which turned out large 

 quantities of fabrics for the use of the rebel 

 troops. 



Atlanta, lying near the boundary between 

 the northwestern and middle divisions had, 

 previous to the war, become an important cen- 

 tre of railroad communication and trade be- 

 tvveen the western and Atlantic and Gulf States, 

 and one of the chief manufacturing towns of 

 the South. It is laid out in a circle, two miles 

 in diameter, in the centre of which was the 

 passenger depot (since destroyed) of railroads 

 radiating to Chattanooga, Augusta, Macon, and 

 Montgomery ; and the business portion of the 

 town contained many fine blocks of warehouses 

 for storing goods consigned from the north and 

 northwest to the cotton regions of the South. 

 Here also were established the machine shops of 

 the principal railroads, the most extensive roll- 

 ing mill in the South, foundries, pistol, and tent 

 factories, and numerous works under the di- 

 rection of the Confederate Government for 

 casting shot and shell, and the manufacture of 

 gun-carriages, cartridges, caps, shoes, clothing, 

 and other military supplies. The population, 

 numbering in 1860 about 15,000, had, subse- 

 quent to the commencement of the war, been 

 increased by the arrival of refugees and gov- 

 ernment officials and employes to fully 20,000. 

 In any event the capture of the place, with its 

 vast stores and costly machinery, would so 

 cripple the rebel resources, that the simple sug- 

 gestion of such a contingency sent a thrill of 

 alarm through the entire Confederacy. In the 

 opinion of many its importance was not second 

 even to that of Richmond. Strenuous efforts 

 were accordingly put forth for its defence, and 

 the line of approach along the "VT extern and At- 

 lantic Railroad, which is crossed by the Oosta- 

 naula and Etowah, branches of the Coosa River, 

 which in turn is a brunch of the Alabama, and 

 by the Chattahoochee, and is girt as far as 

 Marietta by ranges of rugged hills, was ren- 

 dered as difficult for Sherman as the abundant 



