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Sfy\ ~ ir B Jr I H M
VOL. I.
The Battle of Kennesaw Monntain,
JUNE 27, 1864.
From “ The Mountain Campaigns
in Georgia, or War Scenes on the W.
& A.,” we copy the following descrip
tion of the great Battle of Kenne
saw Mountain, which was one of the
most picturesque, as well as one of the
most desperate battles of the great War
between the States:
On the 24th of June a very vigor
ous attack was made upon Hardee’s
position, immediately southwest of
Kennesaw Mountain. On the next
day a portion of Hood’s corps, on the
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BATTLE OF KENNESAW MOUNTAIN, JUNE 27th, 1864,
Confederate left, was likewise assault
ed ; but, in each instance, the Feder
ate were’repulsed.
Tnese daily combats, and extensions
of the Federal lines, also, made those
of the Confederates so long, andsohar
rassed them, that there was serious
danger of the Federate breaking
through at some weak point. Sher
man, with his preponderance of num
bers, was evidently aiming to accom
plish this very result, if possible. In
fact he says:
During the 24th and 25th of June Gen.
Schofield extended his right as far as pru
dent so as to compel the enemy to thin out
his lines correspondingly,with the intention
to make two strong assaults at points where
success would give us the greatest advant
age. * * * I reasoned that if we could
make a breech anywhere near the rebel
The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain Number.
ATLANTA, CA., JANUARY, 1886.
center, and thrust in a strong head of col
umn, that with the one moiety of our army
we could hold in check the corresponding
wing of the enemy, and with the other
weep in flank and overwhelm the other
s half.” —(Memoirs. Vol. 11., page 60.)
At about ten o’clock in the morning
of the 25th, the Confederate batteries
on the crest of Kennesaw opened fire
upon the Federals. The latter re
plied furiously, and for an hour there
was a grand artillery duel. This was
renewed during the afternoon, and was
a majestic spectacle ; but the damage
to both sides was small.
General French thus graphically de
scribes the situation on this date :
From the top of the mountain the vast
panorama is ever changing. There are now
large trains to the left of Lost Mountain
and at Big Shanty, and wagons are moving
to and fro everywhere. Encampments of
hospitals, quartermasters, commissaries, cav
alry and infantry whiten the plain here
and there as far as the eye can reach. Our
side of the line looks narrow, poor, and
lifeless, with but little canvass in spots that
contrasts with the green foliage.
The usual flank extension is going on.
Troops on both sides move to left, and now
the blue smoke of the musket discloses the
line by day trending away, for away south
toward the Chattahoochee, and by night it
is marked, at times, by the red glow of the
artillery, amidst the spark-like flash of
small arms that looks in the distance like
innumerable fire-flies.
After these preliminary contests,
which severely tested the bravery and
endurance of both armies, on the 27th
of June, 1864, occurred the great and
famous battle of Kennesaw Mountain,
which was probably the distinctive
battle between Dalton and Atlanta of
the Atlanta campaign—a battle which
will ever hold its position, on the page
of history, as being one which con
ferred imperishable lustre upon the
valor of American soldiery —the at
tack being made with vigor, pluck and
persistence, which in themselves emi
nently deserved success, and being
met with such courage and fortitude
as alone could have made the efforts of
their antagonists futile.
Os this memorable struggle the two
commanding Generals summarize as
follows:
In the morning of the 27th, after a furi
ous cannonade, the Federal army made a
general assault upon the Confederate posi
tion—which was received everywhere with
firmness, and repelled with a loss to the as-
sailants enormously disproportionate to
that which they inflicted. At several points
the characteristic fortitude of the North
western soldiers held them under a close
and destructive fire long after reasonable
hope of success was gone. The attack upon
Loring’s corps was by the Army of Tennes
see; that upon Hardee’s by the Army of
the Cumberland. The principal efforts of
the enemy were directed against Loring’s
right and left brigades, and the left of Har
dee’s corps.—(Johnston’s Narrative, page
341.)
About 9 A. M. of the day appointed the
troops moved to the assault, and all along
our lines for ten miles a furious fire of ar
tillery and musketry was kept up. At all
points the enemy met us with determined
courage and in great force. McPherson’s
attacking column fought up the face of the
lesser Kennesaw, but could not reach the
summit. About a mile to the right (just
below the Dallas road) Thomas’s assaulting
column reached the parapet, where Briga-
dier-General Harker was shot down, mor
tally wounded, and Brigadier-General Mc-
Cook (my old law partner) was desperately
wounded, from the effects of which he after
wards died. By 11:30 the assault was in
fact over, and had failed. We had not
broken the rebel line at either point, but our
assaulting columns held their ground with
in a few yards of the rebel trenches, and
there covered themselves with parapet. —
(Sherman’s Memoirs, Vol. 11., pages 60 and
61.)
It would be hard to attempt to go
into details of this masterly combat
without being betrayed into a requisi
tion for very much more space than
this little publication will admit.
The attempt upon the Confederate
right, which lay east of Kennesaw
Mountain, running across the Western
and Atlantic Railroad, and north of
the present station, Elizabeth, to the
hills, some hundreds of yards beyond,
was by Logan’s corps, formed in three
lines, and supported by Blair and
Dodge, with their respective corps, a
portion of which fronted the mountain,
also, and made strong demonstrations
against it, accompanying them with
heavy and constant firing. They first
fell upon Nelson’s (Twelfth Louisiana
regiment, which occupied a strong line
of rifle pics, six hundred yards in front
of the main entrenchments. These
held their ground, keeping up a hot
fusilade, until the first Federal ranks
had approached within twenty-five
paces, and then hastily retired to the
Confederate line of battle.
The Federal troops advanced steadi
ly, and soon came within musket shot
NO. I.
