By 1900 much of the battlefield was not nearly as recognizable by the veterans as it had been for the multitude of aging soldiers who visited the field in years past. None of the houses—headquarters and otherwise—had survived from the previous century, as residential communities had begun to cover the landscape. The population of Atlanta surpassed 150,000 in 1910—fifteen times the number of residents who lived there during the Civil War—that increase naturally threatened the integrity of the battlefield. Kennesaw Mountain National Military Park was established during World War I and state parks salvaged portions of the battlefields of May 1864, but it was too late to preserve the battlefields enveloped by the burgeoning city of Atlanta.
For many of the battle veterans, the stunning visual display of Atlanta Cyclorama offset the failure to preserve the ground depicted by the famous painting. The anniversary of the battle was routinely observed with a large gathering of both Union and Confederate veterans. The thirtieth anniversary saw 2,000 Blue and Gray veterans commingling in Grant Park in 1894; it was a special day for both sides highlighted by speeches, food, and an emotional viewing of the cyclorama. Fewer in number but not in enthusiasm, the veterans met again in harmony several times in the 1900s. Old Southern soldiers carried on in the 1920s and 1930s virtually alone, aided by shorter distances to travel compared to the Union veterans. Eleven aerial bombs—one representing each state of the Confederacy—were fired in an otherwise small ceremony to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the battle in the summer of 1939. More significant “fireworks” were set off in Atlanta several months later that year when famous actors Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh appeared in Atlanta in December to promote their movie, Gone With the Wind, the award-winning adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel of the Civil War in Atlanta. Ms. Leigh and Mr. Gable were escorted to Grant Park for a special viewing of the Atlanta Cyclorama. There, “Scarlett O’Hara” and “Rhett Butler” marveled at the battle image surrounding them. The actress raved, “It is the most wonderful thing I have ever seen.” 45
She was reacting to the visuals of a tremendous painting, but the scene depicted in the cyclorama undervalued the significance of the larger event it portrayed. The Battle of Atlanta was one of the most exciting single-day battles ever fought on American soil, a day that cannot be captured even by one of the most magnificent military paintings ever created. Few days in American military history can match the intensity and drama east of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. It was a battle worthy of a grand painting, a day fitting for annual commemoration, an event requiring needful pilgrimages to its hallowed grounds by survivors, humbled and cursed by memories of what they had witnessed and endured.
Yet it was more than that—much more. The Battle of Atlanta was the turning point in the most impactful campaign of the Civil War. It marked the day that assured Union victory not only for the campaign but also for the most important presidential election in American history—a political event that guaranteed the preservation of the Union, the death of the Confederacy, and the end of enslavement throughout the South.
Indeed, it was the day Dixie died.
ORDER OF BATTLE
ATLANTA
JULY 22, 1864
UNION
MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI
Major General William T. Sherman
ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE
Major General James B. McPherson (k)*
Major General John A. Logan
Chief of Artillery: Captain Andrew Hickenlooper
Escort
4th Company Ohio Cavalry: Captain John S. Foster
1st Ohio Cavalry, Company B: Captain George F. Conn
XV Army Corps: Major General John A. Logan (p), Brigadier General Morgan L. Smith
Chief of Corps Artillery: Major Thomas D. Maurice
1st Division: Brigadier General Charles R. Woods
1st Brigade: Colonel Milo Smith
26th Iowa Infantry: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas G. Ferreby
30th Iowa Infantry: Lieutenant Colonel Aurelius Roberts
27th Missouri Infantry: Major Dennis O’Connor
76th Ohio Infantry: Colonel William B. Woods
2nd Brigade: Colonel James A. Williamson
4th Iowa: Major Samuel D. Nichols
9th Iowa: Colonel David Carskaddon
25th Iowa: Colonel George A. Stone
31st Iowa: Colonel William Smyth
3rd Brigade: Colonel Hugo Wangelin
3rd Missouri: Colonel Theodore Meumann
12th Missouri: Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Kaercher
17th Missouri: Lieutenant Colonel Francis Romer
29th Missouri: Major Philip H. Murphy
31st Missouri: Lieutenant Colonel Samuel P. Simpson
32nd Missouri: Major Abraham J. Seay
Artillery: Major Clemens Landgraeber
2nd Missouri Light, Battery F: Captain Louis Voelkner
Ohio Light, 4th Battery: Captain George Froehlich
2nd Division: Brigadier General Morgan L. Smith (p), Brigadier General Joseph A. J. Lightburn
1st Brigade: Colonel James S. Martin
55th Illinois: Captain Francis H. Shaw
111th Illinois: Major William M. Mabry
116th Illinois: Captain John S. Windsor
127th Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Frank S. Curtiss
57th Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel Samuel R. Mott
6th Missouri: Lieutenant Colonel Delos Van Deusen
8th Missouri (Company K): Captain Hugh Neill
2nd Brigade: Brigadier General Joseph A. Lightburn (p), Colonel Wells S. Jones
83rd Indiana: Captain Benjamin North
30th Ohio: Colonel Theodore Jones
37th Ohio: Major Charles Hipp
47th Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel John Wallace (c), Major Thomas T. Taylor
53rd Ohio: Colonel Wells S. Jones (p), Lieutenant Colonel Robert A. Fulton
54th Ohio: Major Israel T. Moore
Artillery: Captain Francis De Gress
1st Illinois Light, Battery A: Lieutenant Samuel S. Smyth (c)
1st Illinois Light, Battery B: Captain Israel P. Rumsey
1st Illinois Light, Battery H: Captain Francis De Gress
4th Division: Brigadier General William Harrow
1st Brigade: Colonel Reuben Williams
26th Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Robert A. Gillmore
90th Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Owen Stuart
12th Indiana: Lieutenant Colonel James Goodnow
100th Indiana: Lieutenant Colonel Albert Heath (ds)
2nd Brigade: Colonel Charles C. Walcutt
40th Illinois: Major Hiram W. Hall
103rd Illinois: Captain Franklin C. Post
97th Indiana: Lieutenant Colonel Aden G. Cavins
6th Iowa: Major Thomas J. Ennis
46th Ohio: Captain Joshua W. Heath (k), Lieutenant Colonel Isaac N. Alexander
3rd Brigade: Colonel John M. Oliver
48th Illinois: Colonel Lucien Greathouse (k), Major Edward Adams
99th Indiana: Colonel Alexander Fowler
15th Michigan: Lieutenant Colonel Frederick S. Hutchinson
70th Ohio: Major William B. Brown
Artillery: Captain Henry H. Griffiths
1st Illinois Light, Battery F: Captain Josiah H. Burton
1st Iowa Light Battery: Lieutenant William H. Gay
XVI Army Corps: Major General Grenville M. Dodge
Chief of Corps Artillery: Major William H. Ross
2nd Division: Brigadier General Thomas W. Sweeny
1st Brigade: Brigadier General Elliott W. Rice
52nd Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Edwin A. Bowen
66th Indiana: Lieutenant Colonel Roger Martin
2nd Iowa: Lieutenant Colonel Noel B. Howard (w), Major Mathew G. Hamill
7th Iowa: Lieutenant Colonel James C. Parrott
2nd Brigade: Colonel August Mersy (w), Lieutenant Colonel Robert N. Adams
9th Illinois (mounted): Lieutenant Colonel Jesse J. Phil
lips (ds)
12th Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Henry Van Sellar
66th Illinois: Captain William S. Boyd
81st Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel Robert N. Adams (p), Major Frank Evans
Artillery: Captain Frederick Welker
1st Missouri Light, Battery H: Lieutenant Andrew T. Blodgett
4th Division: Brigadier General John W. Fuller
1st Brigade: Colonel John Morrill (w), Lieutenant Colonel Henry T. McDowell
64th Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Michael W. Manning
18th Missouri: Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Sheldon
27th Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel Mendal Churchill
39th Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel Henry T. McDowell (p), Major John S. Jenkins
2nd Brigade: Brigadier General John W. Sprague
35th New Jersey: Colonel John J. Cladek
43rd Ohio: Colonel Wager Swayne (ds)
63rd Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Brown (w), Major John W. Fouts
25th Wisconsin: Colonel Milton Montgomery (w, c), Lieutenant Colonel Jeremiah M. Rusk
Artillery: Captain George Robinson
1st Michigan Light, Battery C: Lieutenant Henry Shier
14th Ohio Light, Battery: Lieutenant Seth M. Laird
2nd United States, Battery F: Lieutenant Albert M. Murray (c)
XVII Army Corps: Major General Francis “Frank” P. Blair Jr.
Chief of Corps Artillery: Lieutenant Colonel Albert M. Powell
Escort: 9th Illinois (mounted infantry), Company G: Captain Isaac Clements
3rd Division: Brigadier General Mortimer D. Leggett
1st Brigade: Brigadier General Manning F. Force (w), Colonel George E. Bryant
20th Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Bradley
30th Illinois: Colonel Warren Shedd (c), Lieutenant Colonel William C. Rhoads
31st Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Robert N. Pearson
45th Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel Robert P. Sealy (ds)
12th Wisconsin: Colonel George E. Bryant (p), Lieutenant Colonel James K. Proudfit
16th Wisconsin: Colonel Cassius Fairchild
2nd Brigade: Colonel Robert K. Scott (c), Lieutenant Colonel Greenberry F. Wiles
20th Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel John C. Fry (w), Major Francis M. Shaklee
68th Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel George E. Welles (w)
78th Ohio: Lieutenant Colonel Greenberry F. Wiles (p), Major John T. Rainey
3rd Brigade: Colonel Adam G. Malloy
17th Wisconsin: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas McMahon
Worden’s Battalion: Major Asa Worden
Artillery: Captain William S. Williams
1st Illinois Light, Battery D: Captain Edgar H. Cooper
1st Michigan Light, Battery H: Captain Marcus D. Elliott
3rd Ohio Light Battery: Lieutenant John Sullivan.
4th Division: Brigadier General Giles A. Smith
Escort: 11th Illinois Cavalry, Company G: Captain Stephen S. Tripp
1st Brigade: Colonel Benjamin F. Potts
53rd Illinois: Lieutenant Colonel John W. McClanahan
23rd Indiana: Lieutenant Colonel William P. Davis
53rd Indiana: Lieutenant Colonel William Jones (k), Major Warner L. Vestal (w), Captain George H. Beers.
3rd Iowa (three companies): Captain Pleasant T. Mathes (k), Lieutenant Lewis T. Linnell
32nd Ohio: Captain William M. Morris
3rd Brigade: Colonel William Hall
11th Iowa: Lieutenant Colonel John C. Abercrombie
13th Iowa: Colonel John Shane
15th Iowa: Colonel William W. Belknap
16th Iowa: Lieutenant Colonel Addison H. Sanders (c)
Artillery: Captain Edward Spear Jr.
2nd Illinois Light, Battery F: Lieutenant Walter H. Powell (c)
1st Minnesota Light Battery: Captain William Z. Clayton
15th Ohio Light Battery: Lieutenant James Burdick
CONFEDERATE
ARMY OF TENNESSEE
General John B. Hood
Hardee’s Corps: Lieutenant General William J. Hardee
Bate’s Division: Major General William B. Bate
Orphan Brigade: Brigadier General Joseph H. Lewis
2nd Kentucky: Colonel James W. Moss
4th Kentucky: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas W. Thompson
5th Kentucky: Lieutenant Colonel Hiram Hawkins
6th Kentucky: Colonel Martin H. Cofer
9th Kentucky: Colonel John W. Caldwell
Florida Brigade: Brigadier General Jesse J. Finley
1st/3rd Florida Cavalry (dismounted): Captain Matthew H. Strain
1st/4th Florida: Lieutenant Colonel Edward Badger
6th Florida: Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Kenan
7th Florida: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bullock
Tyler’s Brigade: Brigadier General Thomas Benton Smith
4th Georgia Battalion Sharpshooters: Major Theodore D. Caswell
37th Georgia: Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. Smith
15th/37th Tennessee: Lieutenant Colonel R. Dudley Frayser (w), Captain Matthew Dwyer
20th Tennessee: Lieutenant Colonel William M. Shy
30th Tennessee: Lieutenant Colonel James J. Turner
Walker’s Division: Major General William H. T. Walker (k), Brigadier General Hugh W. Mercer
Gist’s Brigade: Brigadier General States Rights Gist (w), Colonel James McCullough
8th Georgia Battalion: Lieutenant Colonel Zachariah L. Watters
46th Georgia: Major Samuel J. C. Dunlop (w), Captain Eleazar Taylor
16th South Carolina: Colonel James McCullough (p), Captain John W. Boling
24th South Carolina: Colonel Ellison Capers (w), Lieutenant Colonel Jesse S. Jones
Mercer’s Brigade: Brigadier General Hugh W. Mercer (p), Colonel William Barkuloo (s), Lieutenant Colonel Morgan Rawls (w), Lieutenant Colonel Cincinnatus S. Guyton
1st Volunteer Georgia: Colonel Charles H. Olmstead (w), Major Martin J. Ford
54th Georgia: Lieutenant Colonel Morgan Rawls (p), Captain Thomas W. Brantley
57th Georgia: Colonel William Barkuloo (p), Lieutenant Colonel Cincinnatus S. Guyton (p)
63rd Georgia: Major Joseph V. H. Allen
Stevens’s Brigade: Colonel George A. Smith (w), Colonel J. Cooper Nisbet (c), Colonel William J. Winn
1st Georgia (Confederate): Captain William J. Whitsitt
1st Georgia Battalion Sharpshooters: Major Arthur Shaaff
25th Georgia: Colonel William J. Winn (p), Major A. W. Smith
29th Georgia: Captain John W. Turner
30th Georgia: Lieutenant Colonel James S. Boynton
66th Georgia Infantry Regiment: Colonel J. Cooper Nisbet (p), Captain Thomas L. Langston
Cleburne’s Division: Major General Patrick R. Cleburne
Govan’s Brigade: Brigadier General Daniel C. Govan
1st/15th Arkansas: Lieutenant Colonel William H. Martin (w), Captain Felix G. Lusk
2nd/24th Arkansas: Colonel Elisha Warfield (w), Lieutenant Colonel Eldridge G. Brasher (w), Major Amzi T. Meek
5th/13th Arkansas: Colonel John E. Murray (k), Colonel Peter V. Green
6th/7th Arkansas: Colonel Samuel G. Smith (w), Lieutenant Colonel Feaster J. Cameron (w), Major William F. Douglass (w), Captain J. T. Robinson
8th/19th Arkansas: Colonel George F. Baucum (w), Lieutenant Colonel Anderson Watkins (k), Lieutenant Colonel Augustus S. Hutchison (w), Major David H. Hamiter
3rd Confederate: Captain Mumford H. Dixon
Granbury’s Brigade: Brigadier General James A. Smith (w), Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Young
7th Texas: Captain J. William Brown
10th Texas: Colonel Roger Q. Mills (w), Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Young (p), Captain John A. Formwalt
6th/15th Texas Cavalry (dismounted): Captain Steven E. Rice (c), Lieutenant Thomas L. Flynt
17th/18th Texas Cavalry (dismounted): Captain George D. Manion (w), Captain William H. Perry
24th/25th Texas Cav
alry (dismounted): Major William A. Taylor
5th Confederate: Major Richard J. Person (c), Captain Aaron A. Cox
Lowrey’s Brigade: Brigadier General Mark P. Lowrey
3rd Mississippi Battalion: Lieutenant Colonel John D. Williams (c), Captain Thomas P. Connor
5th Mississippi: Lieutenant Colonel John B. Herring
8th Mississippi: Colonel John C. Wilkinson (k), Captain H. W. Crook (w)
32nd Mississippi: Colonel William H. H. Tison (w)
16th Alabama: Lieutenant Colonel Frederick A. Ashford
33rd Alabama: Lieutenant Colonel Robert F. Crittenden
45th Alabama: Colonel Harris D. Lampley (w, c), Lieutenant Colonel Robert H. Abercrombie
Cheatham’s Division: Brigadier General George E. Maney
Maney’s Brigade: Colonel Francis M. Walker (k)
1st/27th Tennessee: Lieutenant Colonel John L. House
6th/9th Tennessee: Colonel George C. Porter
19th Tennessee: Major James G. Deaderick
50th Tennessee: Colonel Stephen H. Colms
4th Tennessee (Confederate): Lieutenant Colonel Oliver A. Bradshaw
Strahl’s Brigade: Brigadier General Otho F. Strahl (w), Lieutenant Colonel James D. Tillman
4th/5th Tennessee: Major Henry Hampton
24th Tennessee: Colonel John A. Wilson (w), Lieutenant Colonel Samuel E. Shannon
31st Tennessee: Lieutenant Colonel Fountain E. P. Stafford
33rd Tennessee: Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. McNeill
41st Tennessee: Lieutenant Colonel James D. Tillman (p), Major T. G. Miller (w), Captain A. M. Keith
Vaughan’s Brigade: Colonel Michael Magevney Jr.
11th Tennessee: Colonel George W. Gordon
12th/47th Tennessee: Colonel William M. Watkins
13th/154th Tennessee: Major William J. Crook
The Day Dixie Died: The Battle of Atlanta Page 28
