No. 74. report of Col. Alexander M. Stout , Seventeenth Kentucky Infantry,

Hdqrs. Seventeenth Regt. Kentucky Vol. Infty., Near Atlanta, Ga., September 14, 1864 .

Captain: I have the honor to submit the following report of the marches and operations of this regiment from the 3d day of May, 1864, when this brigade left McDonald's Station, near Cleveland, Tenn., to the 8th day of the current month, when the same went into camp at this place:

It is deemed unnecessary to describe every movement made by this regiment, as it was generally with the brigade. By easy marches the distance between McDonald's Station and Catoosa Springs was made by the evening of the 4th of May . There we rested on the 5th and 6th, and on the morning of the 7th moved in the direction of Tunnel Hill, the enemy having given ground before other troops in advance of us, and passed over Tunnel Hill and took position before Rocky Face Ridge. There the brigade encamped, and this regiment was sent to the front upon outpost duty, and on the 8th advanced up the side of Rocky Face as skirmishers, and were supported by the Thirteenth Ohio Regiment Veteran Volunteer Infantry. On the 9th the regiment was relieved and returned to the base of the ridge, but afterward made frequent moves to the right and left, co-operating with other troops in making demonstrations against the enemy, who occupied the crest of the ridge, and whose stray shots were quite annoying to the troops. One man of my regiment was severely wounded, and it seemed wonderful that many more were not killed and wounded, for the fire from the enemy was almost incessant. On the evening of the 12th this regiment moved with the division to the left in the direction of Varnell's Station, some three miles, to meet an attack apprehended from that point; hastily made defensive works, but the attack was not made. Just before it became dark the regiment was sent back to do outpost duty in front of our old position. On the morning of the .3th, at daylight, I discovered that the enemy had evacuated the ridge during the night, and shortly afterward received an order from headquarters of the brigade, which had remained on the left some three miles distant, to move in the direction of Dalton, through Buzzard Roost Gap, while the brigade would move in the same direction but to the east of Rocky Face. The brigade came up with us at Dalton and moved to a point some eight miles south of that place, where it remained for the night. On the 14th we came up with the enemy near Resaca, but the brigade, being held in reserve, did not participate in the engagement there. On the night of the 15th the enemy evacuated his position at Resaca, and on the morning of the 16th we pursued, passing through his works and camped in the evening near Calhoun. On the 17th the march was continued until we found the enemy strongly intrenched in position across the railroad, covering the approach to Adairsville. Brisk skirmishing was kept up for three or four hours and until after dark. During that night the enemy withdrew, and we followed on the morning of the 18th and camped in the evening four miles from Kingston . We passed that place on the morning of the 19th and came up with the enemy near Cassville. Here I was ordered to send out three companies of my regiment as skirmishers and another as flankers, and did so. The enemy resisted the advance of the skirmishers very stubbornly, and had the advantage of the cover of a thick growth of small timber. I was ordered to re-enforce the skirmishers from time to time, until my whole regiment was thus engaged in front of the brigade. We continued to drive the enemy's skirmishers until they were apparently much strengthened by re-enforcements, and until they certainly occupied much higher ground than we did and placed themselves behind strong barricades made of fence rails. A rapid fire was kept up by us until perhaps an hour after dark. At the end of that time I was ordered to cease firing and retire all of my regiment, except a thin skirmish line, which I did. Until I received this order I had received no orders, except the ones which brought the whole of my regiment into the skirmish line. We could not see the enemy's position, as the woods were very thick and it was dark. Our losses were heavy. Capt. W. J. Lendrum was killed and Lieut. C. A. Brasher received a severe wound in the face; 2 privates were killed and 16 others wounded. Captain Lendrum was a brave and gallant office, and his death is deeply lamented.

By the morning of the 20th the enemy had disappeared. We remained in camp at that place until the 23d, when we moved to the right of the railroad, crossed the Etowah, and camped for the night near the mouth of ��� Creek. On the 24th we ascended the Allatoona Mountain and traversed an exceedingly rough country, and camped at night near Burnt Hickory. On the 25th this regiment was detailed to guard the supply train of the corps, and continued on the road all night of that day, while the brigade moved on. On the 26th we overtook the brigade and camped near Pickett's Mills. On the 27th we moved with (the division and attacked the enemy's right. Here again the ground was exceedingly rugged and difficult, and we had to march over it several miles in line of battle or in column of divisions, our skirmishers driving those of the enemy before them. This brigade was preceded in the attack by the other two brigades of the division. They each in turn were repulsed, while we lay in line under the bursting shells of the enemy. The shells bursting among our men, and the men of the other brigades, some wounded and others demoralized, rushing through our lines to the rear, were calculated to try the mettle of ours. When ordered, however, we advanced against the enemy, who was flushed with success and in an exceedingly advantageous position. The brigade was in two lines, this regiment on the left of the first line. The regiment came under fire long before they could see the enemy or learn his position. Owing to the exceeding thickness of the bushes and saplings and the roughness of the ground and the smoke of battle, to say nothing of its noise, it proved very difficult to march men up to the attack in a good line; it was, in fact, impossible. I succeeded, however, in getting my command up to a fence, with my left some fifty or more yards from a ravine on my left. The enemy were in their front across a small field with rail barricades, and also upon a considerable ridge on the left of the ravine before mentioned, which commanded pretty much the position of the whole brigade. It certainly did the whole of my line. The fire from that ridge was incessant and very destructive. A brigade of the First Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, commanded by Colonel Scribner , was on my left and part of it on the left of the ravine, but as their skirmish line was not advanced as far to the front as my line of battle, it therefore could not or did not drive the enemy from that ridge or protect us from cross-fires. I tried to induce the officer commanding the regiment in the first line on the left of the ravine of that brigade to advance as far to the front as our line, but could not move him. I then tried Colonel Scribner , but failed. In obedience to orders from the colonel commanding the brigade, I moved my regiment to the left and to the ravine; and the Ninth Regiment Kentucky Volunteers, which wa:3 in the second line, came to my assistance. Darkness came, and the men of the two regiments became thoroughly intermingled. Our own firing was rapid; that of the enemy destructive. Individual soldiers began to report to me that their ammunition had been exhausted and would fall back, and it was so dark you could not see to prevent them. An hour after dark their boxes were all well-nigh empty. There were no supplies to be had. The country was so rough I could not see a wagon or ambulance. The firing ceased, and the killed and wounded were being carried to the rear, when the enemy, commencing on the right of our brigade, made a furious charge, cheering and yelling. Regiment after regiment fell back, until all were in motion. They reformed and moved back to another position. Here my loss again was very heavy. Capt. Thomas R. Brown was wounded severely, 1 private killed and 42 wounded. This was a very unsatisfactory fight to me. The only grain of comfort I could glean from it: an additional evidence to many others was afforded by it of the invincible pluck of the Seventeenth Kentucky. After this engagement we moved to the right, changed positions, and made fortifications several times, all the time under fire and in constant rain, until on the night of the 4th of June the enemy evacuated their works and we followed them. Before this event, however, namely, on the 31st of May , five companies of this regiment were in front of our works doing duty as outposts, in charge of Maj. D. M. Claggett , when the enemy in their front made a charge upon them, which they repulsed handsomely without assistance or re-enforcements. But here 1 enlisted man was killed and 5 wounded.

On the 6th of June we moved to the vicinity of Acworth and remained there until the 10th, when we again moved forward and found the enemy intrenched, but did not go into position, other troops being in our front. On the 15th the enemy again evacuated his works. We found them again intrenched on the 17th . In pushing our lines up to those of the enemy on that day Companies A, E, F, and K were thrown forward as skirmishers, and drove those of the enemy out of a thick wood and over an open field, and took and held a high, steep knob near the enemy's lines. In this important service Capt. Robert C. Sturgis , commanding Company K, a gallant officer, received a wound in the knee-joint of which he afterward died. After the capture of the knob, I was ordered to hold it and the skirmish line in front of this brigade. We made temporary works on the line after dark, and upon the knob I desired to make a strong work, as the position was a commanding one. The knob was thickly covered with timber, and after I had posted a few men in front of the line as lookouts, and while we were engaged in building our works in almost total darkness, the enemy crept up very near and made a furious charge upon us. It was sudden and unexpected, without a sight or sound to indicate its coming until a volley was fired. It is true that not a man was hurt, but the fire was returned with the effect of repelling the charge. Some of the men for a moment manifested some signs of trepidation, but upon hearing my voice and those of their company officers they became firm and assured in a moment. On the next day, the 18th , we moved to the left and occupied a high piece of open ground and made works, and, being in the front line, we were a good deal exposed to both artillery and small-arms of the enemy. One enlisted man was killed and 1 wounded. On the night succeeding the 18th the enemy again evacuated, and we followed in the direction of Marietta; and on the 19th , and on the night succeeding that day, we encamped in rear of the First Division, Fourth Army Corps, and on the 20th moved to the right and relieved Geary 's division, of the Twentieth Corps. In front of our line we could see the enemy's skirmishers in line across an open field, blehind rail barricades, nearly 1,000 yards distant. A battery was placed upon our line and opened upon the skirmish line of the enemy with such effect that they evacuated with precipitation. Under orders to that effect the brigade moved quickly, each man with one or more fence rails in his hands, and took possession of the enemy's line thus abandoned, and in an incredibly short time had made a work so strong as to defy assault, and remained there, occasionally gaining ground upon the enemy's works, and under the destructive fire of the enemy's skirmishers, losing more or less men every day until the 27th, when the brigade was moved to the right and supported the Second Division in the charge made upon the enemy's main works. While behind my own works at that position I witnessed an exhibition of cool courage and devotion to duty which I cannot forbear mentioning, although it did not occur in my command. Captain Leonard , whom I did not know, a signal officer, stationed himself not forty yards in rear of my line, and there received a very severe wound in the hip or back. When I heard that he was wounded I went to him, and found him lying upon his back, pale, and in a tremulous voice reading out, in figures, a message, which an assistant with a flag was transmitting to some other point. He seemed on the point of expiring, but determined to complete his task, and did it, and was then taken off in an ambulance. The enemy evacuated their works again on the night following the 2d day of July , and on the 3d we passed the town of Marietta, and encamped about five miles south of it for the night, and on the 4th went into position in front of the works of the enemy on his right. On the night succeeding that day he evacuated his works, and on the 5th the brigade moved to the north bank of the Chattahoochee, and near Vining's Station, and after remaining there until the 10th moved about seven miles up the river to Powers' Ferry, and on the 12th crossed it, and remained in camp at that point until the 17th, and then moved down the south bank to Pace's Ferry and drove the enemy, when the Fourteenth Corps crossed to the south side also, when the brigade returned to camp at Powers' Ferry. On the 18th the brigade moved to a point near Buck Head, and there encamped. On the 19th the brigade made a reconnaissance to Peach Tree Creek and drove a force of the enemy, consisting of one brigade of infantry with artillery, from the crossing, built a line of works, and was there relieved by the Second Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Army Corps, and then returned to the camp of the previous night. On the 20th and 21st the regiment participated in several movements of the brigade, the last of which was building a line of works under fire. Loss, 1 man killed and 2 wounded. During the night of the 21st the enemy evacuated his works, and on the 22d the brigade moved forward and found the enemy in his works around Atlanta. Strong works were at once constructed, this regiment being in the front line in front of the enemy, the Twentieth Army Corps on the right of the Fourth, and Twenty-third Corps on the left of the Fourth. Here we remained until the 25th of August , making frequent demonstrations and movements calculated to deceive the enemy, and all the time under fire of artillery and small-arms. Our losses of men were frequent on the skirmish line and from random shots in camp.

On the 3d day of August this regiment, under orders, advanced to the front of the works to the support of the skirmish line in a demonstration. Loss, 1 man killed and 2 wounded. On the night succeeding the 25th day of August this brigade began to participate in the grand movement which resulted in the capture of Atlanta. It is deemed unnecessary here to give a description of all the daily movements made, the destruction of the two railroads, and the building of various works. We sustained no loss of men until the evening of the 2d of September , when we arrived before the intrenched position of the enemy at Lovejoy 's. There we had 1 man wounded by a fragment of a shell before going into line. Upon finding the enemy had taken position we were moved to the left of the railroad, about one mile, over exceedingly difficult ground, driving the skirmishers of the enemy before us. The brigade was formed in two lines, the Nineteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry on the right of the first line, and this regiment on the right of the second line, and I was informed that the guide would be on the left. But in moving over rough ground, and crossing deep gullies, and through thick tangles of grapevines, briars, and brush, although I had governed my movements by those of the Thirteenth Regiment Ohio Vclunteer Infantry, which was in the same line on my left, yet when we had halted, before making the charge which was afterward made, I found my command entirely to the right of the Nineteenth Ohio, which was in the front of me when the move began. At the place where we were halted we found ourselves under a destructive fire from the enemy, whom we could not see, but who occupied much higher ground than we did, and could see us. Seeing the Nineteenth Ohio beginning to charge against the enemy, and the Thirteenth Ohio following, my regiment instinctively, and almost without command, did the same, and in moving a few yards we came to the saplings and bushes cut down by the enemy in front of the rifle-pits for their skirmishers, which made it exceedingly difficult to move in line or otherwise, but the enthusiasm of men and officers was such that they became perfectly uncontrollable, and could hear no orders, but rushed upon the enemy's works, and, the enemy's skirmishers in the pits surrendering, were hurried to the rear, while our men rushed forward, in spite of the bursting shells and a perfect hail of bullets; but they soon found that the enemy's main works were 200 or 300 yards distant, and a deep ravine, full of thick brush and fallen timber would have to be passed, and that the enemy's fire increased in destructiveness, and then fell back in some disorder, some of them even in rear of the works which they had just taken. No accurate account can be rendered of the prisoners captured by this regiment in the rifle-pits at Lovejoy 's. The officers' estimates vary from 40 to 100; I sergeant conducted to the rear 1 lieutenant and 15 privates at one time, and these officers say that many of our prisoners fell into the hands of the provostmarshals of other brigades. Whilst I was engaged in rallying and forming the regiment, and beginning to construct barricades to be used in case of a countercharge, Colonel Knefier , commanding the brigade, rode up and informed me that he was temporarily in command of the division, and ordered me to take command of the brigade, reform it, and construct works at once, which I did. In a very short time we had good, substantial works put up, and it was dark, and I had thrown out pickets in front of our lines. Then seeing Colonel Knefler again he informed me that General Wood , commanding the division, had been wounded, and for that cause he had assumed command for a short time, but that General Wood had assumed command of the division, and he of the brigade. I found that 3 men of my regiment had been wounded in the charge, 1 of whom has since died, and several gallant officers of the brigade killed and wounded. We occupied our position during the 3d, 4th, and 5th of September , until 8 p. m. of the 5th , when we fell back to Jonesborough.

During the campaign the regiment made twenty-seven lines of strong defensive works and many slight lines and barricades, without counting those made by our skirmishers.

A list of casualties during the whole campaign-showing a loss of I commissioned officer killed and 4 wounded, 7 enlisted men killed and 83 wounded, and 2 missing; total loss, 98-is herewith transmitted.

When this regiment left McDonald's Station we had, say, 460 guns, and upon our return to this place only 250.

After the campaign began I lost from 30 to 40 men from sore arms caused by vaccination with matter from other men's arms. This vaccination was done while in camp at McDonald's Station. In June and July the men were considerably afflicted with scurvy, and from sickness resulting from exposure to sun and rain. But about the 1st of August they began to get green corn in abundance, as well as some other vegetables, which had a most happy effect upon their health.

Both officers and enlisted men have borne the perils, fatigues, and privations of this protracted campaign with wonderful courage and fortitude.

The conduct of the commissioned officers of this regiment has been uniformly commendable, and I feel that I could not single out individual officers for special commendation without by so doing implying what I do not mean, namely, that all have not done well. I feel deeply grateful to them because their promptness, efficiency, and trustworthiness has freed me from many anxieties and troubles which I would otherwise have experienced.

Very respectfully,

A. M. Stout, Colonel, Commanding.

Capt. W. S. S. Erb , Actg. Asst. Adjt. Gen., 3d Brig., 3d Div., 4th Army Corps.