The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-07-09


nhernons0 Ar0y-Full Details 81
the Ansoalt 81 the 37th.
WHAT WAS INTENDED BY THE ASSAULT.
Sherman's operations in Georgia, Allan
taWard have just been marked by one Of
t1eoe desperate assalts upon the enemy In
q intrsnched position, which have been
Md % often by both armies, and WIN such
harp and bitter, and 20 far - the objects
- b attained were concerned, IN unbroA
IN Ailufey Ten brigades formed into
Ia1oeming columns, assaulted and were re-
rnlDed, leaving two thousand men hors a.
ee9pbU. Several Of the bdgAdee MI back
. their works, close at hand, occupied n
- morning; the majority retired but 2
vance Of al others Alldisplayed supreme
salIantry and shrugged alteF struggling
Vas hopeless, and then accepted mt1ufe, ~
Ill rood soldiers do. without loss Of deter
mination or cheeffulneeo.
no assault OF the 9th Was intended to
cripple Johnstou beyond the hope OF re.
covcry. and his complete destruction, II It
succeeded, w1s not impossible. II thA ~.
sault made by the lth and 18th corps hao
succeeded. the troops comprising the center
Of the enemy at Kinesaw Mountain would
have been cut on from retreat; and . posi-
lion obtnined In the midst Of the rebel lines
must have wrought confusion among
them and enforced Q retreat which Wig
0rone uurnuit would have rendered IN
overwhelming disaster. II Logan's brig.
ades had carried Little KinssaW, the pre-
cipitate Withdrawal Of Johnson beyphd
the Chattaho0cheo was equally well as
miles Of the rebel entertainments would be
st the mercy Of our guns. Such could be
theresult Of . successful assault; andI FAM
q, few men Of military propensities will
ioay that the same was worth the candle.
TIE SITUATION BEFORE THE FI0H1.
Z. Our army-was very completely diaposed
e1oog the rebel lines and In such plain
NV from the towering Kiuesaw, that
h8ve : higher regard for ths discipline Of
6 many days nom tearing tho tompions
nom the muxzles Of their guns, and, in
spite Of orders, firing every round they
could lay hands on. For two o. three days,
however, preceding theassault, they opened
.lkum the crest Of tho mountain with eight
guns, hurting grape and shrapnel In the
valley below filed with our army and it,
;material.
Quiet, pastoral Kinesaw was transformed
pearl gray, pendulous volume, and break
Ing into graceful garlands as It ascended
like the clouds from the lips of Z dreamy
oenorita. Their missiles were not very
damaging, the difficulty lying in the fact
that the gums could not DO depressed suffl-
GENTLY to play upon our troops At the base
of the mountain, while the thousand fields
whitened by our wagons, though painfully
distinct to their vision, were just beyond
the range Of their ferruginous bull-dogs.-
sometimes their guns would suddenly
burst out, after several hours Quietness,
With one startling volley, the thunder Of
the several reports combinedino one. Some
times the lanyards were pulled consecu.
lively, and the throbbinG vibrations smote
the ear at uniform intervals, and The smoke
douds from the guns floated mp in echelo~.
S!eam Of the guns was caught by the pur-
y nimbus-fhe drop curtain Of the stars
that lowered behind the crest, and was
rejected back to our eyes like glare Of
hat stealthy, noiseless lightning that often
smears the horizon on sultry night
PREPARATIot. $50
The preparations for the assaultwere few
I'D simple. 6hsrman'6 army - an instru-
nsnt always tuned for battle. Theeneny
! its disc0rd when they fret the strings,
I'd it, leaders never strike up . heroic
march without drawing forth an eloquent
1ogponse. Now, however, q rafting bra.
vufa was to be played which would not on.
y test lite capacity for brilliant dynamics,
but the tenacity Of the strings themselves.
When generals transport but single tent,
erm; when, In short, m army moves with
such few encumbrances % that Of Sher-
man, home 10 just where It chances to halt,
and nothing in the line Of duty can take il
By surprise, or occasion any delay between
The delivery Of the order and its execu-
ion r.
i During the Tow days Of almost tacit truce
that preceded the 9Th, the strength Of the
s .,s y.s works :s their gsnsrsl ccnngura-
strongly held, were carefully noted and
weighed. The points selected for assault
ve10 practicable, and were vitality impor.
tnnt t. JohnstonsD safety north of the Chat.
tahoochie. Il was decided to assAult the
1e6el right and lat centre. aud It the same
tine tel biz wings strongly, without, how.
evsf, resorting 70 stoTmfne columns in the
g f0rnish lour brigadee 70 carry Little
xineeaw, which ~ selected from his d.
yiions, and placed under the command of
oso. Morgan L. Smith Newton's division
q. the 4th corps, was chosen 20 assault .
ndge On on th6 enemy's let centre, and =
hot distance further TO the left, salient
n he enemy's line Was chosen, which Da-
~ should carry. Accordingly, Sunday
sl9ht Dayi,' division, accompanisd By
port, LETT their position At the base Of Big
Nnesaw, and moved to the right Of the 4th
sctpa closing up elsssay on is right nank:
oeg6a1ne 4as>1Acf An1eoeral extemion. Of
1e7iug % tdy right zevery corps movcpD
lore or less troops iHslhat diroeeioA.
L00AN's AssAULT.n
The 18th corps Furnished for The assault