Book Read Free

The Day Dixie Died: The Battle of Atlanta

Page 28

by Gary Ecelbarger


  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

 

‹ Prev