The National tribune., 1909-04-29

defend that railroad junction. and the
position took up had very disturb
ing appearance Rousseau successfully
eiuded ftT-however, and, marching al
most parallel ito the Chattahoochee,
struck for, SlleTman's lines, when ne
expected TO find in the neignnorhood
ventures The asdtiOa Af.sF aioa' finally arrived
at the Union Tines at Powder Springs
at II O'CLOCK. July %. ,
1t was ,pne OF. the most brilliant ana
successful cavalry operations made our
ing the war. and its favorable terrnina.
tlon was due to the skilful management
OIL Rousseau and his subordlnates. me
stupendous operations elsewhere pre-
vented this achievement from receiving
the attention which 1t richly merited.
Its success was also largely due TO the
fact that about that time Gen. A: ).
smith was giving Forrest and the Con-
federate cavalry in that part OF the
country all they could possibly attend
to in the neighborhood of Tupelo-
Studying the Situation.
While Sherman was having the road
repaired as far as Vining Station, with
the telegraph brought directly into his
headquarters, and was hurrying trains
to fill up the Unsuitable NAV of the
Commissary Department, he was
searching for more than so miles up
and down the river for the best place
in which to effect crossing. The
ChattahOOchee was q broad stream,
which was then running very full on
laccount of the continual rains. The
fords were all gone, and the swift cur
rent made strong difficulties in the way
of bridge building. AT all the likely
crossings the willy Johnston had built
forts, which he could readily man and
arm as soon as he saw a movement to-
ward then, having fha ipfprinr
line, he could reach a threatened point,
as rule. sooner than Sherman.
Stoneman with his cavalry was on
| the extreme right below Turner's Fer
ry, making . good deal of a show and
disturbances; Mcpherson was next. on
| the left, engaged in much threatening
around Turner's Ferry. while Thomas
had the Army of the Cumberland close
up around Johnston's fortifcations coy-
ering the railroad crossing. Thomas's
| left was on the Chattahoochee and at
Paice's Ferry, while Garrard's Cavalry
was far up the river at Roswell Fac
tory, with McCook's Cavalry. filling in
! the gap between that and Thomas's
| left. McCook was above Soaps Creek.
Sherman was so weary of the eternal
| forts, which he ran up against at every
| step, that he contemplated movement
on something like the scale of his
march to the sea-" and thought of
I putting lV udyS III "dBoiis,
abandoning the railroad, ana, swinging
clear around Atlanta. strike it from the
south and east, where there were no
! fortifications. Preparatory to this he
kept only a small portion of his army
| in the sight of Johnston, with enough
artillery to keep the enemy's artillery
busy and make il expose its position.
Johnston's Account.
| las the Federal commander mani
tested a strong disposition to operate
| by his right, which was already nearer
1 to Atlanta than the Confederate left,
another position was selected for the
army, 10 miles south of Marietta, which
Col Freshman was desired to have pre-
pared for occupation, and Brig.-Gen.
Shoupe was, directed to construct lire
of redoubts on a, plan devised by him
self, on a line. selected by Maj.-Gen.
Lowell on, the high ground near the
Chattahoochee, and covering the ap-
proaches TO the railroad bridge and
Turner's FERN Negro laborers had
been impressed for the work. Some time
before Capt. Grant. the engineer officer
| who direG1ed die construction of the
intrenchments around Atlanta. was in
structed to strsAgthen them in man
ner eXplai1sd tdshim. and was author
work. e :.
ton from-thS tep-of Kenesaw- on July
II and 2 sfi5wtd Thar cen. Sherman was
Transferring Arong bodies of troops to
his right. TfH Confederate army was
! therefore moved TO the position pre-
4 =