Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1875-06-04
The Death of Gen. Mcpherson

In his Memoirs Gen. Sherman gives
the following account of the death OF
Gen. Mcpherson, who was killed at the
siege of Atlanta in 1864:
Mcpherson said he could put all his
pioneers to work, and do with them in
the time indicated all had proposed to
do with Gen. Dodge's two divisions. Of
course asscnted at once, and we walked
down the road short distance, sat down
| by the foot of tree where l had my
map, and on it pointed out to him
| Thomas position and his own. then
explained minutely that, after we had
sufficiently broken up the Augusta Road,
I wanted to shift his whole army round
by the rear to Thomas extreme right,
and hoped thus to reach the other rail
road at East Point While we sat there
we could hear lively skirmishing going
on near us down about the distillery),
and occasionally round shot from twelve
or twenty.four pound guns came through
the trees in reply to those of Schofeld,
and we could hear similar sounds all
along down the lines of Thomas to our
right, and his own to the left; but pres
emily the firing appeared little more
brisk Especially over about Giles A.
Smiths division) and then we heard an
occasional gun back toward Dec atur. l
asked him what it meant. We took my
pocket-compass (Which | always carried)
and by noting the direction of the sound
we became satisfied that the firing was
| too far to our left rear to be explained
| by known facts, and he hastily called for
his horse, his staff and his orderlies.
| Mcpherson was then in his prime
! (about thirty-four years old over six feet
| high, and very handsome man IN every
way, was universally liked, and had
many noble qualities. He had on his
| boots outside his pantaloons, gauntlets
on his hands, had on his Major Generals
uniform, and wore sword-belt, but no
sword. He hastily gathered his papers
(save one which ! now possess) into a
pocket-book, put it in his breast-pocket,
and Jumped on his horse, saying he would
hurry down the line and send me word
what the sounds meant. His Adjutant-
General, Clark, 1nspector-Gen Strong,
and his Aides, Capts. Steele and Gile,
were with him. Although the sound OF
musketry on our left grew in volume
was not so much disturbed by it as by
the sound of artillery back toward De-
catur. / ordered Schofield at once to
send brigade back to Decatur (some
five miIes) and was walking up and down
the porch of the Howard House, listen
ing, when one of McPherson's staff, with
his horse covered with sweat, dashed up
to the porch and reported that Gen. Nc
Pherson was either "i6illed or prison
er" He explained that when they had
left me few minutes before they had
ridden rapidly across to the railroad, the
sounds of battle increasing as they
neared the position occupied by Gen
Giles A. Smiths division, and that Nc.
Pherson had first sent one and then
another of his staff to bring some
of the reserve brigades of the Fif.
teenth Corps over TO the exposed left
! flank; that he had reached the head OF
/, Dodge's corps (marching by the flank or
the diagonal road as described) and had
ordered it to hurry forward to the same
!, point; that then, almost if not entirely
|, alone, he had followed this road leading
across the wooded valley behind the