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camp Sixteenth U. S. Infantry,
Atlanta, Ga.,
September
18, 1864
.
Captain: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the Sixteenth U. S. Infantry during the Atlanta campaign,
1864
:
The command-consisting of the First Battalion, commanded by
Captain
Stanton
, and the Second,
Captain
Barry
-left Graysville, Ga.,
May
3
, about 500 strong, all under command of
Captain
Stanton
, and proceeded to Ringgold, Ga., leaving that place the
7th and marching to Buzzard Roost, Ga., where forty-five recruits
and four officers joined us. Took part in the action of that place, losing only a few men.
On the
12th
May
we moved through Snake Creek Gap, and on the advance from there left
the knapsacks of the men, an unfortunate act, as it was the cause of much future suffering
from exposure by the men. Took part in the movements on Resaca
May
14
,
15
, and
16
, and on its evacuation marched to Kingston and thence to
near Cassville, where we lay in camp three days. Here our wagons
carrying the officers' baggage were taken away, reducing them for the rest of the campaign to the same condition
as the men and entailing great misery.
Here also three more officers joined us, among them
Capt.
E.
Gay
, who assumed command of the detachment; one officer also left us on detached service.
On the
24th
we crossed the Etowah River and moved through the
Allatoona Mountain, meeting the enemy on the 27th at New Hope
Church, where we acted as support to
Wood
's division.
Evening prevented our being called into action, so we merely, with the rest of the brigade, covered the
withdrawal of his
troops and threw up works on the ground we held.
The following day we lost heavily skirmishing with the enemy, and during the ten days operations at that point,
in addition to much suffering from wet and exposure, lost many men in killed and wounded.
On the night of the
29th
May
two companies, A (First) and C (Second), gallantly charged and took a
hill in our front, which was then fortified by the Second, Eighteenth U. S.
Infantry,
Captain
Fetterman
.
The rebels charged this position the 31st, and we aided the Second, Eighteenth, in repulsing them.
The rebels having evacuated New Hope the
4th
June
, we lay in camp till the 9th, when we moved against them in their position at Lost Mountain, and on its evacuation took part in the operations against Kenesaw Mountain.
On the evacuation of this point,
July
3
, we followed them closely, four companies supporting a section of artillery on the skirmish line.
On the
4th of July
we endured for several hours a severe cannonade, losing a number of men killed and wounded.
On the
6th
we reached the banks of the Chattahoochee and lay in camp
till the 17th, here partially refitting and reclothing the command.
Crossed the Chattahoochee the 17th.
On the
22d
, in conjunction with the brigade, acted as support for the division, suffering a demoralizing artillery
fire and losing a
number of men. On the
23d
threw up works
two and a half miles from Atlanta
, where we lay till
August
3
, when we moved to the right and took position on Utoy
Creek,
August
6
.
Abandoned our works the ,night of the
26th of August
, leaving out a skirmish line, and took part in the movement to Jonesborough, halting a day at Red
Oak
and tearing up the Atlanta and West Point
Railroad; thence we proceeded to Jonesborough, and, on
the morning of the
1st
, skirmished and drove the rebels, and later in the day took part in the gallant and successful assault
on the enemy, losing
2 officers wounded; enlisted men, 2 killed, 29 wounded. From Jonesborough we returned to Atlanta
the
8th of September
and encamped.
The patience and cheerfulness with which the command endured the hardships, exposure, and sufferings of this
long and weary
campaign is deserving of all praise.
The total casualties of the campaign are: Killed-enlisted men, 17.
Wounded-officers, 2; enlisted men, 93.
Missing-enlisted men, 10.
Total-officers, 2; enlisted men, 120.
I am, captain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Captain: In giving an account of the part taken by the Sixteenth U. S.
Infantry in the battle before Jonesborough,
September
1, 1864
, I have the honor to report that about 12 m. on the
1st instant
the
Sixteenth
went out as skirmishers for the brigade, with instructions to press the enemy vigorously.
Soon after deploying, the rebel skirmishers, supported by one piece of artillery, were met, but were steadily
and rapidly driven for nearly two miles. On gaining the Atlanta and Macon Railroad the skirmish line halted; we were the
first troops on the railroad.
The battalion, being now relieved by the Third Brigade, formed in line of
battle on the left of its own brigade.
About 3 p. m. the line of battle advanced through a dense thicket, so dense as to be almost impassable for
infantry, and finally emerged
into a wide open field, on the opposite side of which, in the edge of the woods on the crest of a hill, lay the
rebel line
of battle behind temporary works thrown up by them.
Halting a moment to breathe and reform, the battalion then pushed forward at a doublequick under a severe fire
of the enemy.
Holding its fire till near the enemy's line, the battalion closed on the enemy with a rush, driving them back
into the woods.
The position thus gained was held without flinching for over half an hour, the
Sixteenth
stubbornly clinging to its position even after the troops on its right had given way temporarily, repulsing also
a charge
then made by the enemy to dislodge it. About 5 p. m. a portion of
Moore
's (Third) brigade relieved us, when the battalion quietly reformed and marched in perfect order down the
slope, forming line on the
left of the brigade again.
At dark we moved forward and threw up works on the right of
Moore
's brigade.
The officers and men of this regiment deserve great praise.
After a long march in the morning, they skirmished for several hours, driving the enemy miles, continually
charging at a double-quick,
then, without rest or food, forming line of battle and charging the enemy through a dense thicket and over a
wide field, driving
back the rebels and stubbornly holding the position thus gained, though without support part of the time either
on right or
left.
All deserve praise, but it will not prove invidious to others to particularize the conduct of
Second Lieut.
Charles
W.
Hotsenpiller
, acting adjutant, who, both on the skirmish line and when in line of battle, did gallant duty with his
former company, which was without an
officer.
I regret to add that shortly after driving the rebels from the woods,
First Lieut.
E.
R.
Kellogg
, a most gallant and efficient officer, was badly wounded, and
Lieut.
E.
McConnell
slightly.
The officers engaged were
Capts.
S.
S.
Robinson
and
James
Biddie
,
First Lieuts.
L.
S.
Strickland
,
E.
McConnell
,
E.
R.
Kellogg
,
F.
H.
Torbett
,
S.
E.
St. Onge
, battalion quartermaster, and
Second Lieut.
C.
W.
Hotsenpiller
, acting adjutant.
The battalion carried 250 muskets into action and 9 officers, counting field and staff.
The casualties were: Killed-privates, 2.
Wounded-officers, 2; sergeants, 2; corporals, 1; privates, 26; total, 31.
Aggregate, 33.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,