ARMY OPERATIONS. 



81 



3oa took advantage of a temporary lull in the 

 fighting to ride through the woods to Gen. 

 Giles A. Smith's division, which held the left 

 of the 17th corps. A report that the enemy in 

 heavy force were moving around the left of the 

 17th' corps, and were pushing in through the 

 gap above mentioned, as existing between it 

 and the 16th (the attack on the 16th corps 

 having, in fact, been a feint to draw attention 

 from the real point of attack), induced him to 

 hasten in that direction. After reaching the 

 gap he gave directions to the only member of 

 his staff who accompanied him, the rest having 

 been sent with orders to different portions of 

 the field, to obtain a brigade from Gen. Logan's 

 command and throw it across the gap, and 

 then, with a single orderly, struck into a cross 

 road leading directly to Gen. Smith's position. 

 Already, however, unknown to him, the ene- 

 my's skirmish line had advanced close up to this 

 road, and when it was too late to retrace his 

 steps he found himself within fifty feet of it. 

 The rebel officer in command called upon him 

 to surrender, but he only dashed his horse to 

 the right of the road, and was almost imme- 

 diately brought to the ground, mortally wound- 

 ed, by a volley from the skirmishers. His body 

 was for a time in the possession of the enemy, 

 bnt was subsequently recovered and brought 

 within the Federal lines. Upon hearing of this 

 disaster, Gen. Sherman ordered Gen. Logan to 

 assume command of the Army of the Tennes- 

 see. 



The brigade ("Wangelin's) ordered up from 

 Gen. Logan's corps, arrived in time to partially 

 check the enemy, but could not prevent him 

 from getting a portion of his force in the rear 

 of the 17th corps, while heavy masses of troops, 

 principally from Gen. Stewart's corps, were 

 pushed against the works held by Gen. Leggett 

 on the hill, wrested from Gen. Cleburne the day 

 before, and which they were evidently determin- 

 ed to retake at any sacrifice. Sweeping up in 

 their advance the working party engaged upon 

 the fortifications, the enemy bore heavily against 

 Gens. Smith's and Leggett' s divisions, which, at- 

 tacked in front and rear, were obliged to fire al- 

 ternately from behind then- own breastwork and 

 the old abandoned parapet of the enemy. Gen. 

 Leggett's troops clung firmly to their important 

 position on the top of the hill, against the 

 fortified angle of which the rebels dashed their 

 columns with desperate but fruitless energy. 

 Gen. Smith had meanwhile been compelled to 

 abandon his more exposed lines, but by a skil- 

 ful movement he gradually withdrew his men, 

 regiment by regiment, to a new line connecting 

 on the right with Gen. Leggett, his left, refused, 

 facing to the southeast. In executing this 

 movement he was obliged to abandon t\vo 

 guns to the enemy. Against this new forma- 

 tion of the 17th corps the enemy could make no 

 impression, hut recoiled again and again before 

 the deadly fire of the Federal troops, which 

 mowed down whole ranks at a time, and cov- 

 ered the ground and ditches with dead and 

 TOL. rv. 6 A 



wounded men. A part of the rebel force that 

 pushed for the gap between the 16th and 17th 

 corps renewed the attack upon the right flank 

 of the former, and upon its first advance cap- 

 tured a six-gun battery of the regular army, 

 which was moving along unsupported and un- 

 apprehensive of danger. Gens. Sweeney's and 

 Fuller's divisions soon checked the enemy's ad- 

 vance, and finally drove him back in confusion 

 with the loss of many prisoners. At a critical pe- 

 riod of the battle several of Gen. Sweeney's regi- 

 ments were found to be without ammunition ; 

 but as it was indispensable that they should 

 hold their position, their commander ordered 

 them to meet the enemy with the bayonet, 

 whereupon the latter broke and fled to the 

 rear. At about half-past three o'clock the 

 enemy desisted from his attack on our left 

 flank, having gained no ground and suffered 

 enormous losses, for which his capture of eight 

 guns ill compensated. 



Meanwhile two divisions of Gen. "Wheeler's 

 cavalry, with a section of artillery, took a wide 

 circuit to the east and fell upon Decatur, now 

 three miles in our rear, where Col. Sprague, 

 with three infantry regiments, and a battery, 

 was guarding a number of wagon trains filled 

 with commissary and ammunition supplies. 

 By a skilful disposition of his small force, Col. 

 Sprague held the enemy in complete check until 

 every wagon except three was sent to the 

 rear of Gens. Schofield and Thomas, when he 

 also fell back nearer the main body, having in- 

 flicted considerable damage upon the enemy and 

 secured a number of prisoners. Gen. Wheeler's 

 unopposed approach to Decatur was owing to 

 the absence of Gen. Garrard's cavalry on a 

 raid southeast of Atlanta. 



About 4 P. M. a pause occurred in the bat- 

 tle, occasioned by Gen. Hood's massing troops 

 for an assault upon Gen. Logan's (loth) corps, 

 temporarily commanded by Gen. Morgan L. 

 Smith, which held the right of the Army of the 

 Tennessee behind substantial breastworks, im- 

 mediately adjoining the 17th corps. At half- 

 past 4 P. M., while just enough of an attack 

 was maintained against the extreme left to 

 occupy the attention of the troops in that 

 quarter, a heavy force two lines deep marched 

 directly toward the left of the 15th corps, driv- 

 ing before it a couple of regiments of skirmish- 

 ers and capturing two guns. Protected by 

 their works, Gen. Lightburn's brigade, which 

 held this part of the line, for half an hour kept 

 the enemy at bay by well-directed discharges 

 from a battery of 20-pounder Parrotts; but a 

 second strong rebel column now approached, 

 which scarcely faltered beneath the volleys 

 which ploughed its ranks in long furrows, and 

 presently, to add to the perplexity of the situa- 

 tion, a third column was seen pouring in at the 

 rear through a deep cut in the Georgia rail- 

 road. Finding that to hold their position 

 would insure capture, Gen. Lightburn's troops 

 retired in considerable confusion to the second 

 line of breastworks, five hundred yards from 



