Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1864-08-11
sHERMAN,s ARMY.
THE THIRD BATTLE BEFORE ATLANTA,
July 2STH.
FULLPARICULARS.
Correspondence Cincinnati Commercially
Two MILES WEST OF ATLANTA, I
July 29th. 1861.


THE NEW POSITION.
When wrote you last, dated my letter
two miles east of Atlanta and, to-day the
centre of interest and activity is as far to the
west. Immediately after the great battle
fought by the Army of Tennessee on the
22d, in which they ran so near upon the per-
ilous edge of disaster, but saved themselves
at the last, and gave the rebels a severe
punishment, preparations were being made
to transfer this part Of the army from the
left to the right wing. The 18th Corps was
busily employed good part of day in
tearing up the rails and ties of the Atlanta
and Augusta Railroad, to render it useless
to the rebels when We should abandon it;
and the hospitals were transferred from the
rear Of the three corps which had been en-.
gagged, around the ith Corps, to place of
safety. 1t is hard necessity which COM
PEELED the removal of all those hundreds of
wounded soldiers, just as their wounds were
beginning to heal, but it must be DONE
W hen they were all safely removed and pro-
vided for, the left wing took up its march
quietly, in order to evadc the attention Of
the rebel pickcts, and, passing nearly two
thirds of the way around Atlanta took up
a new position on the right. 1t was expec-
ted the rebels would discover the movement
at an early hour and, endcavor to harass the
columns on the march, and preparations
were made accordingly. The left of the 23d
Corps, which was now to be the extreme
left, was swung clear around back, so as to
face the rear, and occupied the old rebel
works, which were the first we had encoun.
, tered on approaching the city, while Gener-
al Stanley's division, of the 4th corps which
lay next to the 23d, completed his rear line,
extending it far around to the rear of the
4th corps. Thus the hospitals, with their
thronging crowds of helples men, were COM
t pletely surrounded, and, as it were, folded
in by a friendly wall of strong men, who
would look well to it that no harm came to
their suffering comrades.
l On the morning Of the 9th Major Gen
eral q. 5. Howard succeeded to the COM
mand of the Army of the Tennessee, in
place of Gen. Logan, who had temporarily
held the command since the death Of Gen
=, cral Mcpherson. This was by the appoint
a ment Of the President
= On the morning of the 2Sth the three
corps came into position on the right in the
) following order from leftto right: 10th,
r 18th, l5th-the 10th lying next to the 18th,
| on its left. The two first corps were cxtcn-
ded in continuous line, almost due north
and south, and about mile and alffrom
Atlanta, while the 18th, occupying the flank
was bent back almost at right angles with
5 the other two, and faced to the South. The
| Georgia and West Point Railroad track was
about two miles in the rear of the 18th corps
and, turning west approaches the line of
the 18th considerably nearer. The average
, distance of the line Of the three other corps
from Proctors Creek, which was north of
them, was about one mile.
Such was the situation, briefly set forth,
with which the army met the fourth rebel
assault, or sortie, about Atlanta, on the
2Sth.
POSITION OF THE 10TH CORPS.
Since it was this corps alone which borne
the brunt of the sebel assault, it is ncccssa-
ry to give little more detail the order of
its divisions, and the nature Of the ground
on which the fight was made
Col. Wangler's brigade of the lst Div-
sion, held the left, the 4th Division the cen
tire, the I'd the right The remainder ftho
lst division was held in reserve, until the
severity of the attack rendered it necessary
for its various regiments to reinforce weak
and wayering portions of the line, which
they did, with n promptness and efficiency
that saved them from probable defeat -
r Their line was drawn up in dense woods,
part of the distance Just in the edge OF it
fronting cleared field, across which the
rebels charged, but mostly in the debths of
the forest, rendering the employment of ar
: tilery extremely difficult. Not cannon
= was fired till late in the afternoon, nor did
the rebels hold positions on which they
could plant artillery with advantage, so
that the fight was almost entirely one OF
musketry. The batteries are not at all
lacking in cndeavors to secure points of at
tack, but were, for some time, unable to
plant their pieces where they would not in
fict as much loss on our own lines as on
those of the enemy.
THE ASSAULT
About half past ten in the forenoon, Lit.
Worley, a signal officer of the 10Th Corps,
reported to Gen. Logan that heavy col
umn of infantry could be seen issuing out
at Atlanta, going southwark, with the evil
dent intention of attempting to turn our
flank Hitherto the skirmishers had en-
countered nothing but cavalry, but upon
this announcement they halted at once, and
began to throw up works. They had time
only to complete rude deicnses of rails and
poles, without throwing shovel of earth
when tho ''Rcbs' drove in the skirmshers,
and rushed upon them with their usual i'm
petuosty. This was obout noon. Theycv-
identity thought they had made circuit sut-
iiciently wide ro bring them upon our flank;
but they were mistaken, and came up front
to front with the works, The woods were
SO thick that am persuaded they could not
see the extent of our works. and besides
that, prisoners stated that their leaders had
represented to them that we were retreating
and needed only to be attacked with spirit
to be put to utter rout. The heaviest shock
of the assault fell upon the I'd and 4th Divi-
sions, and for time it was absolutely GER
tain that they would be able to maintain
themselves A timely reinforcement of
single regiment, judciously distributed
quickly determined the question, and the
rebels were driven back with heavy loss,-
But they were not to be thus easily and oX-
peditiously discomftted From twelve
o clock till nearly night the firing was inccs-
SAINT, swelling out as the rcbs charged, into
a fierce and steady roar, and again diving
away as they receded, to htful rattling-
and, during the afternoon, the rebels made
Serea Distinct ChdrgeS-and after night
: fall made two more, in the vain attempt to
recover the hundreds of dead and diving
who had fallen close to our lines. Nine
. icariully obstnatcd charges in the after
f noon of summers day when the fierce
\ rays OF a Southern sun were intercepted by
: no passing cloud Could human pertinaci-
D ty do more? 1t is useless to urge that such
n men had been made drunk, or that they are
5 demoralized and ready to abandon their des-
q perate cause; and it is source of sad pride
- that such yalor was displayed by men who,
Il through deluded and traitors arc vct Amor