84 



AEMY OPEEATIONS. 



ing of the 30th lie turned northward again, 

 skirmishing on the way ; and on the morning 

 of the 31st, when about twenty miles from Ma- 

 con, encountered a heavy force in his front. 

 The country heing unfavorable for cavalry 

 operations, he dismounted a portion of his com- 

 mand, and threw them forward as skirmishers, 

 but soon found himself surrounded. After va- 

 rious fruitless attempts to make head against 

 the enemy, he gave directions to the greater 

 part of his force to break through the opposing 

 lines, and escape in the readiest manner possi- 

 ble, while he, with several hundred men and a 

 section of artillery, occupied the attention of 

 the enemy. He was finally overpowered and 

 compelled to surrender. Of his three brigades 

 one arrived safely within the Federal lines, 

 one was attacked and somewhat scattered on 

 the way back, and the third was captured with 

 him. Gen. Garrard meanwhile, after waiting 

 at Flat Eock for orders from Stoneman until 

 the 29th, moved toward Covington, and learn- 

 ing that he had gone south from that point, 

 returned to his position on the left flank of the 

 army. 



Gen. McCook, after reaching the neighbor- 

 hood of Eivertown on the Ohattahoochee, 

 crossed on pontoons and made for Palmetto 

 Station on the Atlanta and West Point Eail- 

 road, twenty -five miles south of Atlanta, where 

 he destroyed a section of the road. He thence 

 moved eastward upon Fayetteville and burned 

 five hundred wagons belonging to the rebel 

 army, besides killing eight hundred mules and 

 capturing several hundred quartermasters' men, 

 and reached Lovejoy's on the night of the 28th. 

 Here he destroyed a section of the Macon and 

 Western Eailroad, but, hearing nothing from 

 Stoneman, and finding his progress eastward 

 barred by a constantly accumulating force of 

 the enemy, he turned oft* to the southwest, and 

 at Newman, a station on the Atlanta and West 

 Point Eailroad fifteen miles south of Palmetto, 

 encountered a rebel infantry force coming up 

 from Mississippi to Atlanta. After a severe 

 fight with superior numbers he finally cut his 

 way out, with the loss of five hundred men and 

 all his prisoners, and reached the Chattahoochee, 

 whence he arrived safely within the Federal 

 lines. The damage done by the several expe- 

 ditions scarcely compensated for the severe 

 losses sustained by Gens. Stoneman and Mc- 

 Cook, amounting to upward of fifteen hundred. 

 Owing to the failure of Gen. Stoneman to con- 

 centrate with Gen. McCook at Lovejoy's, the 

 communications with Atlanta were only tempo- 

 rarily interrupted, and the enemy gained at 

 least a month's respite from their final catas- 

 trophe. 



While the cavalry raid was in progress, the 

 Army of the Tennessee was, pursuant to in- 

 structions, drawn out of its intrenchments on 

 the left flank and moved en echelon to a position 

 on the extreme right, the right flank being 

 held by Gen. Logan's corps. This movement 

 was directed by' Gen. Howard, who on the 



27th, by appointment of the President, assumed 

 the command vacated by the death of Gen. 

 McPherson. The line was thus prolonged due 

 south, facing east, and south of Proctor's Creek. 

 Apprehending that Gen. Hood might again im- 

 prove the opportunity to attack the Federal 

 army while in motion, Gen. Sherman on the 

 28th disposed of Gen. Davis's division of the 

 14th corps so that it might be within easy sup- 

 porting distance of the flank of Gen. Howard's 

 new line, in the event of a strong rebel demon- 

 stration in that quarter. The enemy was not 

 slow to perceive that Gen. Sherman Vas grad- 

 ually swinging around toward the Macon road, 

 and to oppose the movement massed his troops 

 in the same direction. About noon of the 28th 

 Gen. Stewart's corps came out from Atlanta by 

 the Bell's Ferry road, and, forming on open 

 ground, advanced in long parallel lines upon 

 Gen. Logan's troops, fortunately sheltered be- 

 hind the customary breastworks of rails, ex- 

 pecting to find his flank "in air." For up- 

 ward of four hours a series of desperate attacks 

 were made upon Gen. Logan's position, which 

 were uniformly repelled with loss. Again and 

 again the rebel columns were brought up to the 

 breastworks, only to recoil shattered and bleed- 

 ing before the steady volleys of musketry and 

 the incessant discharges of grape and canister 

 by which they were assailed. The few officers 

 and men who reached the rail piles were either 

 killed or taken prisoners. Shortly after 4 

 o'clock the enemy retired, leaving his killed and 

 wounded in our hands, and having experienced 

 a total loss estimated by Gen. Sherman at five 

 thousand. The Federal loss was under six hun- 

 dred. By some inadvertency Gen. Davis's di- 

 vision failed to come up to the support of Gen, 

 Logan, whereby an opportunity was lost to 

 strike the assailing rebel columns in flank, and 

 probably to put them to a disastrous rout. 



About this time Gens. Hooker and Palmer 

 resigned the command of their corps, and were 

 succeeded, the former by Gen. Slocum, and the 

 latter by Gen. Jeff. 0. Davis. Gen. Slocum, 

 however, being absent at Vicksburg, the com- 

 mand of the 20th corps was temporarily as- 

 sumed by Gen. A. S. Williams. Gen. D. S. 

 Stanley also succeeded Gen. Howard in com- 

 mand of the 4th corps. 



Failing to dislodge Hood from Atlanta in this 

 way, Gen. Sherman next resorted to a further 

 extension of his right, in the hope of flanking him 

 in that direction. The 23d corps, supported by 

 the 14th, was accordingly, on the 5th and 6th 

 of August, transferred from the left to a posi- 

 tion somewhat below Utoy Creek, a small af- 

 fluent of the Chattahoochee, where it joined 

 on Gen. Logan's right and formed our right 

 flank. Demonstrations of more or less import- 

 ance were made against the enemy's works 

 during the prolongation of the right, but every- 

 where he was found well protected behind an 

 admirably constructed line of defences, within 

 which was a second line, comprising a series of 

 redoubts of great thickness of parapet and good 



