The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-08-11
copyright, 1904, by C. L. Kilmer.l

re-
~ by step to the very gates of
Atlanta. He did not attempt
take the works by storm. but estab-
~lished the Twentieth corps under Gen
eral w. H. Slocum in the trenches he
had built in front of the city and
launched forth with the main part of
his army to cut the communications
Of his opponent on the south.
The Confederate commander at At
lanta, General ]. B. Hood, was a brave
but impetuous soldier and had depleted
his fighting strength in heroic efforts
to loosen Sherman's grip by desperate
attacks in open field. Even when
virtually surrounded he still chung to
the citadel. 1t was said that he be-
lieved that Sherman's supplies were
exhausted and that the Federal army
was at the point of abandoning the
siege. From this dream he was sud
denly awakened by the appearance of
an impense army of foes southwest
of Atlanta, close TO the railroads from
the south which brought supplies to
his camps. Still determined to fight
to the last, he dispatched General
Hardee with his own corps and that
led by General S. d. Lee to defend the
railroads and remained in the Atlanta
trenches with the rest of his force.
The march of Hardees column south.
ward was led by the intrepid Pat
Cleburne, the ''Stonewall of the West"
who could always find an enemy and
stir up a fight even though the chances
were against him. Cleburne struck out
for the extreme flank of Sherman's
moving column, intending to maNh
till he reached 1t, then double it up
by vigorous attack, like his prototype
at Charlottesville. He had the vic
tim of Charlottesville, General o. O.
Howard, to deal WITH but Howard
was alert and had already seized the
road ahead of Cleburne.
1t was an accident which took How
ard so far south that Cleburne was
headed off and the Confederate plan of
campaign changed. Howard discovered
that there was no water at the place
where Sherman had ordered him to
halt and pushed on to Flint river
There he intrenched position, having
learned that the enemy was in force
at Jonesboro, a point near by and only
fifteen miles from Atlanta, with rail
communications still open. During the
night Howard heard the trains moving
southwark from Atlanta and sent word
to Sherman, who was following in his
wake with the army of the Cumber-
land, ahder sturdy Pap" Thomas, that
the enemy was not to be caught nap
ping.
: There We're rare fighting spirits gath
ering around the wayside hating place
that August afternoon. BLACK jack
Logan was in line along Howard
front and was soon pounced upon by
the indomitable Hardee. The Con
federates did not fight with their old
time vigor, and Logan held his ground.
Meanwhile the restless Cleburne came
laundering along in HOwards rear,
making q two sided fight of it. But
Howard was not alone in his wrestle
with Bardee. General Schofelds Fed
eral corps, having taken a wider sweep
to the west than Howard, came in be-
tween Jonesboro and Atlanta and cut
the railroad, heading off a train which
sped back to Atlanta with the news
that Sherman's army was marching on
the city from the south. Hood at
tempted TO recall Lees corps from
Hardee's line at JOnesboro to defend
Atlanta, but it was too late. Sherman
ordered Slocum to push things on the
northern side of the beleaguered city
and if possible drive Hood from the
trenches.
In order TO strengthen Howard,
Sherman brought forward Thomas
Cumberland army, a move which led
to the hard fight at Jonesboro on Sept
l, settling the fate of Atlanta. Up to
this point Sherman was simply getting
his forces into position to control the
railroad and be ready to fight Hood
somewhere south of Atlanta as soon
as the severing of railway communi-
cations forced him to evacuate that
stronghold. But the Federal scouts
picked up the news that Hood had
sent word to Hardee to return s. D.
Lee corps 10 ullll at AtldnIu. lnlnK-
ing that the loss of Lees help would
place Hardee at the mercy of his
army, Sherman determined TO close in
and capture Jonesboro. Hardee and
all.
Now, when Hardee took up his po-
sition at Jonesboro he expected to deal
only with Towards column, coming
against him from the west. The right
or northern flank of his line was held
by Cleburne's division, and this flank
was struck by Thomas advance corps
under General Jeff c.. Davis. Three
divisions of Davis column formed in
front of Cleburne, and the brigade of
United States regulars led by Colonel
Edie sailed out to reconnoiter and
see what Cleburne had in front. Driv-
ing the men in gray from a ridge they
, occupied as an outpost after a brisk
skirmish, Edie planted his flag and
discovered that his line extended be-
yond the salient angle of the enemy,
the key to the position. Two divisions
of Davis corps rallied around Edie,
and a battery was hauled up the ridge
which enfiladed part of Cleburne's