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Hdqrs. First Brig., Second Div., 4TH Army Corps, Near Atlanta, Ga.,
August
4, 1864
.
Sir: I have the honor to report that in obedience to Special Field Orders, No. 139, extract 6, dated
headquarters Department of the Cumberland,
May
20, 1864
, I assumed command of the First Brigade of your division on the
22d day of May, 1864, the brigade being then in camp at Two-Run
Creek, near Kingston, Ga. Having no data from which to
compile a history of the actions of this brigade previous to that date, I shall with this report
only speak of its movements while under my command.
On the
23d
, in obedience to your order, the brigade marched, bivouacking that night near Stilesborough, the 24th
near Burnt Hickory, and on the night of the 25th east of Pumpkin Vine Creek, and about two miles from it, in line of battle, the enemy being posted in
strong works at a fork of the roads in front, near New Hope
Church, in which position I remained the 26th, skirmishing with sharpshooters constantly.
On the morning of the 27th at sunrise a strong demonstration was made in my immediate front with artillery and
the skirmishers of my command, which
ceased at 9 o'clock. At 2 p. m. I succeeded in advancing my line to a position which nearly enfiladed the
enemy's line in front of
General
Wagner
's brigade (Second).
Goodspeed
's battery having reported to me, was placed in position near my right.
At 3.30 o'clock the enemy made a charge, driving my skirmishers to their reserves, but was by them checked and
repulsed with severe loss.
After his repulse the enemy demonstrated strongly until 5.30 p. m., undoubtedly with a view to cover a movement
of troops to his right, which movement was at that time discovered to be going
on. His demonstrations ceased about the time of the attack of
General
Wood
's (Third) division to our left.
From the
27th of May
until the
5th of June
, when the enemy disappeared from the (our) front, I remained in my advanced position, skirmishing hotly
and continually with
him day and night; in fact the affair more resembled a continuous battle than a skirmish.
On the
6th of June
I was ordered by you to cover with my brigade the movement of the corps hospitals, and in compliance
bivouacked that night
near Brown's Mill creek.
On the
8th
, the movement of the hospitals being completed, my command joined the division at Allatoona Creek, near Acworth,
bringing in 8 prisoners. One of them, a cavalry scout, well mounted and armed, was captured by the commissary
sergeant of the Eighty-eighth Illinois, while he (the sergeant) was bathing,
naked and unarmed.
On the
11th
I was placed in reserve, and moved with my command to a point about three and a half miles
west, northwest from Kenesaw Mountain, and so remained the 12th
and 13th, each day in line of battle, to support the Second Brigade, should it
become necessary.
On the
14th
our line advanced about a mile toward the enemy's works, his sharpshooters skirmishing and falling back.
On the
15th
the enemy's skirmish line was strengthened and strongly resisted farther advance, but was finally driven
back another mile,
and at night my brigade bivouacked within 1,000 yards of his main line of works.
On the
16th
I was again ordered to the front with my command, and that day advanced to a ridge about 500 yards from
the enemy's works, and threw up fortifications under a severe and destructive fire from his lines.
A battery was placed in position near my left about midnight, and at daylight the 17th the enemy's skirmishers
disappeared from my front, when it was discovered that during the night he had evacuated his fortified
position and taken up a new one, also fortified, nearly a mile and a half to his rear.
By your order the brigade moved forward, and that night bivouacked about three-fourths of a mile from the
enemy's new line.
On the
18th
my command was advanced to a point in front of the west end of Kenesaw Mountain, and bivouacked near Noyes' Creek, which position was acquired after severe skirmishing.
On the
19th
my command was advanced across Noyes' Creek, driving the
enemy before them, and capturing 40 prisoners. The Thirty-sixth Illinoig, under
Col.
S.
Miller
, and the Eighty-eighth Illinois Infantry,
Colonel
Chandler
, formed my skirmish line, and were for a short time hotly engaged.
My loss in this affair was 3 killed, 15 wounded, and 6 missing. On the
20th
the brigade was relieved by a brigade from the Fourteenth Army
Corps, and withdrawn across the creek.
On the
21st
the brigade, as the right of your division, was moved toward our right until it connected with
Butterfield
's division, of the Twentieth Army Corps, and at 4 p.
m. was advanced to a ridge about 600 yards from the enemy's works, when fortifications were thrown up quickly,
under a constant fire from his skirmishers and main lines.
From the 5th to the
22d of June
there was heavy rain each day, and the command suffered great hardships, being constantly engaged in
skirmishing or fighting
with the enemy, bivouacking without tents, and often in wet and unhealthy positions.
The brigade remained, skirmishing continually day and night, in the same general position taken 6n the 21st,
until the morning of the
27th
, without change, except to advance part of the line in connection with
General
Harker
's, on my left, to a point about 450 yards from the enemy's main works.
On the
27th
, in obedience to your orders, my command was formed in close column by divisions, right in front, to
support the Second and Third Brigades in an assault upon the enemy's works.
My position was on the left, and retired from that occupied by
General
Wagner
's brigade, at the time the assault commenced.
At 9 a. m.,
General
Wagner
having advanced to near the enemy's rifle-pits, and then been checked, I was ordered by you to advance
my command and take
the works, if possible.
My column was immediately in motion, advancing with fixed bayonets,
Col.
W.
W.
Barrett
, of the Fortyfourth Illinois Infantry, in immediate charge of the
right wing, and the Seventy-fourth
Illinois Infantry, under command of
Lieut. Col.
James
B.
Kerr
, in the front.
The column pushed forward, under a thick undergrowth of brush, to the edge of the woods, within seventy yards of
the enemy's abatis, where the Seventy-fourth Illinois deployed and rushed
forward.
From the time of starting until it reached the edge of the woods, the head of my column was exposed to a most
destructive
fire of canister from the enemy's batteries, and the Seventy-fourth Illinois,
upon debouching from the woods and deploying, was swept away by it and the murderous fire of the enemy's
riflemen.
Still those of the regiment who did not fall pressed forward and reached the parapet of the enemy's works, when
Lieutenant-Colonel
Kerr
was wounded and captured, with 11 of his brave fellows.
At the time the second regiment, the Eighty-eighth
Illinois Infantry, was about to deploy, your order to halt and remain where I was reached me. The halt
was made, Wagner's brigade was withdrawn, and I was ordered to
fall back behind our works, which movement was accomplished without confusion,
under a most terrific fire from the enemy.
My loss in this action was 194 killed, wounded, and missing, nearly all of whom were from the Seventyfourth,
Eighty-eighth, and Forty-fourth Illinois Regiments, and neither of which
numbered 160 men. The loss of officers in my command in this action was in remarkable disproportion to that of
enlisted men, being one to six.
Lieutenant-Colonel
Chandler
, of the Eighty-eighth Illinois Infantry, a most brave, and worthy
officer, was killed, and
Colonel
Miller
, Thirty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and
Lieutenant-Colonel
Kerr
, who was captured, were wounded, and have since died.
Many of my dead and wounded were between the enemy's abatis and their works, and were left there until the
evening of the
28th
, when they were recovered through an arrangement made for that purpose by
Major
Sabin
, of the Forty-fourth Illinois Infantry, my brigade officer of the day,
and
Lieutenant-Colonel
Martin
, of Arkansas, the officer of the day for the enemy in our
front.
My command remained in the same position as before the action, until I was ordered by you to relieve a part of
Wood
's division toward our left on the
2d of July
.
That night the enemy evacuated their position at Kenesaw
Mountain, and on the 3d the brigade marched with the division through Marietta and bivouacked near the railroad about four miles south of that place.
During the day of the
4th of July
my command was engaged in hotly skirmishing with the enemy, who retired during the night, and on the 5th
the march was continued to Vining's Station, near which place my command was
bivouacked between the railroad and the Chattahoochee River.
On the
6th
the division was moved to a position along the southerly bank of the Rottenwood Creek, where I was
bivouacked on the left of the line, and there remained until the 9th; on that day my brigade marched to Roswell Factory, forded the Chattahoochee River, and intrenched in a position on the south side of it, where
the command remained until the 11th, when, being relieved by a part of the Sixteenth Army Corps, I was ordered by you to recross the river and bivouacked on the
north side.
On the
12th
the command marched back to the old position on Rottenwood
Creek, and on the morning of the 13th again crossed the Chattahoochee River on the pontoon bridge at Powers'
Ferry, and went into position about two miles from the river at the forks of the main road, my brigade
on the left, and retired from the main line, where it fortified
and remained until sunrise the morning of the
18th
, when the march was commenced toward Atlanta on the Buck Head road.
My brigade was bivouacked that night on the left of the road at Buck
Head.
By your order I detailed the Seventy-fourth Illinois and the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin Infantry Regiments to make a reconnaissance toward Peach Tree Creek on the Decatur
road, which movement was made at early dawn the 19th, and developed the fact that the rebel infantry in that
vicinity had retired to the south side of Peach Tree Creek.
At 5 p. m. the division marched on the Atlanta road to Peach Tree Creek, and my brigade was halted on the north side of it
until 11 p. m., when, by your order, I crossed to the south side and took up a position to the right of and
supporting
General
Hazen
's brigade, of
Wood
's division.
Early in the morning of the 20th
General
Hazen
's brigade, of
Wood
's division, was withdrawn, the troops being relieved by my brigade and the balance of your
division.
On the morning of the 20th I was ordered by you to deploy a strong skirmish line and seize the enemy's advance
works, well posted on a ridge about 600 yards in our front.
In obedience to the order, I sent out the Thirty-sixth, Seventy-fourth, and Eighty-eighth Illinois Regiments, deployed and under the command of
Col.
W.
W.
Barrett
, of the Forty-fourth Illinois; these regiments were supported by the
Ninety-seventh Ohio,
Colonel
Lane
, and the Twenty-eighth Kentucky,
Major
Barth
, of the Second Brigade, as a reserve.
The skirmish line advanced at noon and quickly.
drove the rebels from their pits, capturing a number of prisoners.
Discovering a ridge about 400 yards farther to the front commanding that just taken,
Colonel
Barrett
pushed forward his line and seized that also without serious opposition, taking prisoner a surgeon and 2
privates, with an ambulance and team.
The possession of this hill proved of the most vital importance in the action which followed.
My command was at once moved up to it, the skirmish line relieved by three fresh regiments from my command, the
Fifteenth Missouri, Twenty-fourth
Wisconsin, and Seventy-third
Illinois, all under immediate charge of
Col.
J.
Conrad
, of the Fifteenth Missouri, and the brigade placed in position, with
the Eighty-eighth Illinois on the left of the road, and the Forty-fourth,
Seventy-fourth, and Thirty-sixth Illinois Regiments on the right of it. Four
guns of
Goodspeed
's battery came up and were so posted at the road as to well cover the front and each side.
Colonel
Blake
, commanding the Second Brigade, came up promptly and was placed in
position by me, his right connecting with my left, and extending to the left on a prolongation
of my line, with his left retired.
The left of the Twentieth Corps had at this time crossed the Peach
Tree Creek, but had not come up, so my right was entirely uncovered.
Arms were stacked in line and every man fell to work with the greatest activity to throw up breast-works for
themselves and
the battery; but these were hardly commenced when, at 3 p. m., a rapid firing was heard on our picket-line in my
front; my skirmishers were driven in, closely followed by th e enemy in
two lines of battle, charging with great confidence with a rapidity and an absence of confusion I have never
seen equaled.
My men seized their guns and formed to resist the enemy's advance.
He was repulsed with terrible loss in our front, but his lines were soon discovered to extend far beyond my
right.
To attack the left of the Twentieth Corps he passed my right flank,
and the Seventy-third Illinois, which had been driven in from the picket-line,
was formed nearly at right angles with the front line to cover and protect
it. When the enemy had been repulsed by the left of the Twentieth
Corps he was obliged in retiring to expose himself to an enfilading fire from this regiment.
This fire was so deadly that great numbers of the rebels covered themselves in a small ravine and were captured
by the Twentieth Corps, which followed them closely until opposite the
right of my line.
At the same time the enemy passed my right the sound of artillery and musketry in rear of the left of
Colonel
Blake
's brigade showed that the enemy's lines extended also beyond our left, and that there was great
danger of being cut off from the bridge
over the Peach Tree Creek and surrounded, but no man left his post.
Repulsed at every point where he had met Union troops, the enemy fell back, and reforming his lines, made
another desperate
attempt to drive us from our position, but with no better success than before.
Still he kept up a rapid fire, and seemed persistent in his efforts to find a weak point through which he could
force his
way, until about 6 o'clock, when he retired, leaving most of his dead and wounded where they fell.
Had the enemy recovered possession of the hill on which
Colonel
Blake
's and my own brigades were posted, he would have been able to command the plain over which the left of
the Twentieth Corps was moving and to enfilade the position to be
taken by it, and the desperate efforts made by him to retake the hill are indicated
by the loss of many officers of high rank in close proximity to our lines.
The troops which attacked our position were
Bate
's,
Walker
's, and a part of
Cheatham
's divisions, esteemed among the best in the rebel service, and prisoners relate that no doubt
whatever was felt that we would be swept
from the ridge by their superior numbers, or, remaining, would be easily captured by their turning our left and
cutting us
off from the crossing of the Peach Tree Creek.
During the night succeeding the action the enemy was actively engaged with a large force removing his dead and
wounded from
such parts of the field near our lines as he could approach in the darkness, but he desisted at daybreak,
leaving many dead in our hands; how many I have not now the means of exactly giving.
Compared with the fury of the enemy's charges, his superior numbers, and his great losses, my own casualties
were remarkably
small, the total loss in the brigade being 3 killed and 31 wounded. The works were strengthened during the day
of the
21st
, and on the morning of the 22d our skirmishers entered the enemy's works, he having evacuated them
during the night.
At 9 o'clock the 22d the command moved out toward Atlanta.
The enemy's pickets were encountered at a point two miles from the city, and line of battle was formed and works
were thrown up by us under a rapid fire of shell from his forts and
intrenchments, at short range, which, however, did but little damage.
My brigade occupied the same general position which was first assigned it on the 22d until the 26th, when it was
withdrawn from the front and bivouacked about 600 yards to the rear, where it remained until near sundown of
August
1
, when it was ordered by you to move to the extreme left of our lines to a point near the Howard house
and relieve a part of the Twenty-third Army Corps, which movement was
accomplished early in the evening.
The brigade remained in the position sotaken, skirmishing with and watching the enemy, without any unusual
action until the
4th of August
, when I was relieved from the command of it and assigned to the command of the First Division of this corps,
Col.
E.
Opdycke
, of the One hundred and twenty-fifth Ohio Infantry, taking my place in
the brigade.
The total loss of the brigade while under my command, from the
22d day of May
until the
4th day of August
, was 71 killed, 341 wounded, 9 missing, and 4 captured; total loss, 424.
All of the regiments in the brigade were small, their aggregate effective strength averaging about 175 each, and
the command was many times very little larger than a full regiment.
Throughout the campaign, and in every battle, the officers and men in my brigade, without any exception, have
faithfully and
cheerfully performed all their duties, and there is no command in the U. S.
Army composed of better men than those who make up the First Brigade,
of the Second Division, Fourth
Army Corps.
Many of the bravest and best have fallen a sacrifice to their country's cause.
It is impossible for me in this report to mention all the deserving by name, but the memory of such men as
Col.
Silas
Miller
, of the Thirty-sixth Illinois, who was mortally wounded while in
charge of my skirmish line on the
27th of June
, at Kenesaw, and of
Lieutenant-Colonel
Chandler
, of the Eighty-eighth Illinois, who was killed while leading his
regiment in the charge of that day, and of
Lieutenant-Colonel
Kerr
, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, who was mortally wounded and
captured on the parapets of the enemy's works in the same action, will never fade in the hearts
of a people who appreciate the noble and the brave and the good.
Col.
W.
W.
Barrett
, of the Forty-fourth Illinois Infantry, is entitled to special mention
for his coolness and bravery, and I commend him to your favorable consideration.
I also desire to speak in the highest terms of
Lieutenant
Scovill
.
of
Goodspeed
's (Ohio) battery, and of the brave men under him for
their gallant conduct on the
20th of July
.
Never before did guns more terribly punish an enemy than did those under his command that day at Peach Tree Creek.
Liuetenant
Turnbull
, acting assistant inspector-general, and
Lieutenant
Jackson
, aide-de-camp, both of my staff, were wounded at
New Hope Church while reconnoitering the picket-line,
Lieutenant
Turnbull
losing a leg, and both being disabled from further field duty to this date.
Capt.
E.
D.
Mason
, assistant adjutant-general,
Capt.
A.
G.
Lakin
, acting assistant adjutant-general, and
Lieutenants
Burrill
and
McMurtry
, aides-de camp.
gave new evidences of their gallantry in the battles of the
27th of June
and the
20th of July
, and I am indebted to them for their promptness in conveying my orders and their faithfulness in
executing all their duties
as members of my staff.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Asst. Adjt. Gen., Second Div., 4TH Army
Corps.
Report of casualties in the First brigade, Second Division, Fourth Army Corps, for the
month of
May, 1864
.
Zzz
Nathan Kimball, Brigadier-General, Commanding. Capt. J. S. Ransom , Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.
Nathan Kimball, Brigadier-General, Commanding.
Respectfully submitted.
Nathan Kimball, Brigadier-General, Commanding. Capt. J. S. Ransom , Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.