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4
of Featherston’s entire front. A de
structive fire was here opened upon
them from the entrenchments, which
compelled a halt; but, taking position
in the forest, amid the tangled under
growth, they kept, in return, a furious
fire upon the Confederates, lhe bat
teries upon the mountain, and those
located along Featherston’s lines, pour
ed forth a terrific storm ot shot and
shell upon their front and flanks. For
almost an hour they gamely held their
position, unable to advance and reluc
tant to retreat; but, at length, having
lost seven commanding officers of reg
iments and hundreds of men, some of
them within thirty feet of the Confed
erates’ principal works, Logan ordered
his men to retire to the line of rifle pits
they had first captured.
During the same time an impetuous
assault was made upon Wheeler’s
troops, and Quarles' brigade of Wal
thall’s division, in front of and upon
the mountain, in the shelter of rifle
pits. A body of Federals charged in
to Quarles’ rifle pits, where most of
them were killed or captured. Many
of the Federals also were picked oft by
the Confederate skirmishers, firing
from behind trees, rocks, etc., on the ■
side of the mountain. These were
scattered irregularly among the crags
and forest growth below the Confeder
ate breastworks, but high enough
above the field to command a full view
over it, and the Federal advance,
which is said to have been made by a i
portion of Blair’s corps.
Against the lesser Kennesaw there
was a heavy demonstration and hot
fire maintained in front, and a very
vigorous charge was made upon the j
western end of the mountain, which
was held by French’s division.
• • i
The attack upon Cockrell’s Missouri !
brigade, which occupied the extreme j
west of the ridge, on French’s left, was I
very determined and impetuous —the |
Federal advance driving in the skirmish- I
ers, and pressing resolutely forward !
till within about twenty paces of the
Confederate line; but here it was met
by a cool steadiness which checked and
finally repulsed it. This attempt was
principally by Howard’s corps, under
the cover of the concentration of about
fifty field-pjeces, which, bursting forth
from battery to battery, were bom
barding the Confederate position with
terrible fury. The assailing columns
likewise advanced rapidly from the
west, and dashed fiercely through the
skirmishers on Walker’s right, imme
diately south of the mountain, taking
in reverse those on the right and left,
while they were also being attacked in
front. Within a few minutes about
eighty of Walker’s men, it is said, had
been bayonetted or capturedintheir ri
fle-pits.
Walker’s line was assaulted with
great vigor; but here, in addition to
the musketry fire from his front, the
Federals were enfiladed by that of
the Confederate batterieson little Ken
nesaw, some of the guns of which
General French had rolled back from
facing north, and turned upon them.
This tempest of bombshells, grape and
canister, within a short time, drove
them back, and relieved Walker from
the attack.
An exciting episode of the battle
here occurred when a schrapnel shot,
with a smoking fuse, passed under the
head log and fell among the men in the
ditch. A stampede instantly com
menced, in the midst of which a Geor
gia sergeant leaped forward, seized the
projectile, and threw it cut of the
trenches, where the explosion did no
harm.
But the most determined and pow
erful assault was made by Palmer’s
corps of the Army of the Cumberland,
THE GREAT KENNESAW ROUTE GAZETTE.
with Hooker in reserve, and with
such other support as could be spared,
upon the entrenchments held by Cheat
ham’s and Cleburne’s divisions, which
extended through the rolling country
south of the mountain. The Federal
troops, several lines deep, conscious of
their very decided superiority in num
bers, pressed forward, with bayonets
glistening and banners waving, and
with wild cheers, through the forest,
which was badly tangled with under
growth, until they came almost to the
Confederate fortifications. Here an
appalling fire was opened upon them
from all along the works. By Cle-
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burue’s troops, particularly, they were
permitted to approach within nearly
twenty paces before a gun was fired.
i Then there burst forth from beneath
the headlogs a fearful sheet of flame
and smoke, and, at one or two points,
almost the entire Federal column was
prostrated by the volley.
Succeeding this murderous sweep of
i death, there arose from behind the en
; trenchments a wild and piercing sound
It was the “ rebel yell.” Often ere
! *•
this had it been heard on the fields of
strife ; but never before had it smote
the ears of those whom it now greeted
with mere daring defiance than in this
minute of horror and blood. Above
the roar of battle, clear and shrill, it
rang out, and again and yet again was
it re-echoed from the mountain crags
back to the woody recesses of the
plain.
Like an inspiration from the genii
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of ruin, it seemed to arouse those from
whose throats it leaped forth to more
than mortal energy ; and now, from
ten thousand muskets, and from a score
of cannon there poured forth an inces
sant blaze, which scattered carnage
and death for hundreds of yards
an und.
'J his storm of missiles from theearth
works in front was so destructive that
further advance was impossible. The
ground and the forest were torn up by
musket balls, grape and canister, solid
shot and exploding bombs. From
French’s batteries, on the crest of Ken
nesaw, also, a furious bombardment
was c irected upon them. So continu
ous and rapid was this that the moun-
tain seemed literally on fire ; and the
murky clouds of smoke enveloping its
summit, and rising majestically toward
the heavens, combined with the tumul
tuous roar from their midst, presented,
in terrific grandeur, the veritable ap
pearance of a volcanic eruption ; while
the air, above and around the assault
ing columns,- wasobscured by the puffs
of smoke from the bursting shells,
which hurled their fragments in a
thousand directions among the Federal
ranks, or, screaming through the for
est, tore whole trees to pieces, scatter
irg the branches with swaths of de
struction on every side.
The Federal troops, dreadfully
scourged, lay down upon the ground,
within range of the murderous mus
ketry fire of their enemy, and sought
all the shelter possible, in the mean
time pouring back volley after volley
in return ; and finally entrenched
themselves beneath this fearful tem
pest —it being safer to remain than to
flee.
Once, under General Harker’s lead
ership, they attempted to renew the
assault; but, almost at the very para
pet, Harker fell mortally wounded,
and the whole line was swept back be
fore the awful iron hail which was
poured into their faces. At one or
two points the charging columns press
ed forward to the very ditches before
the breastworks, and some of their
dead were found against the- works
themselves.
The fall of General Harker was
greatly deplored by officers and men
alike. Gallant, dashing and generous,
he had conspicuously distinguished
himself on every field of battle from i
Chickamauga to Kennesaw inclusive;
and, of all the field officers in the Fed
eral army, was probably more admired
for plucky courage, and more highly
esteemed for genial, sociable personal
traits than any of his comrade lead-
i ers.
In the midst of the melee attending
this last dash, a United States flag was
planted on Cheatham’s works. A Con
-1 federate captain immediately sprang to
the top to gain possession of this. The
federal color-bearer faced him brave-1
ly, and a hand to hand struggle en-
sued between the two over the flag,
which resulted in the Tennesseean’s
being shot dead by his antagonist. But
the next instant a dozen bullets, fired
from within the entrenchments, rid
dled the intrepid color-bearer, and he
fell, slain, with his hand tightly
clasped around the staff of the ban
ner he had defended so well ; but
which now became the trophy of the
exultant Confederates.
Near this same point a Confederate
sergeant leaped over the works, seized
the standard of the 27th Illinois regi
ment, wrested it from the bearer, and
Drought it triumphantly back with
him. For this daring act General
Hardee presented the flag to its cap
tor.
Just after the repulse of this second
desperate assault, the dry leaves, etc.,
in the forest before the Confederate
entrenchments were set on fire by the
bombshells and gun wadding, and be
gan burning rapidly around the Fede
ral wounded. This horrible scene was
observed by the Confederates, who
were ordered instantly to cease firing,
and one of their commanders called to
the Federalsand stated that, as an act
of humanity, his men would suspend
further battle until the assailants could
carry off their wounded, who were in
danger of being burnt Hive. The of
fer was accepted, and the Federal
wounded were rescued from the awful
fate which threatened them, and then
the combat was renewed by both sides
with the most determined zeal.
In the meantime, along the entire
line for miles, there was maintained
between both armies a tremendous fire
of artillery and musketry. From the
crest of Kennesaw Mountain, this is
said to have presented an imposing pan
orama. General French says of it:
We sat there perhaps an hour enjoying a
bird’s-eye view of one of the most magnifi
cent sights ever allotted to man—to look
down upon an hundred and fifty thousand
men arrayed in the strife of battle on the
plain below. As the infantry closed in the
blue smoke of the musket marked out our
line for miles, while over it rose in cumuli
like clouds the white smoke of the artillery.
Through the rifts of smoke,or as it was wafted
aside by the wind, we could see the assault
made on Cheatham, and there the struggle
was hard, and there it lasted longest. So
many guns were trained on those by our
side, and so incessant was the roar of can
non and the iharp explosion of shells, that
naught else could be heard. * * * *
The battle, in its entirety, became a pa
geantry on a grand scale, and barren of re
sults, because the attacking columns were
too small in numbers, considering the char
acter of the troops they knew they would
encounter.
In this great struggle the Federal
army numbered about er over a hun
dred thousand men, the Confederates
had about fifty-five thousand engaged;
the Confederate loss in killed, wound
ed and missing was 808 men; that of
the Federals has never been exactly
rt ported, but it is conceded that it
went up into the thousands.
Sherman’s Generals, after some
three hours, withdrew their shattered
battalions from nearly all the points
of assault, and, for one time, there was
a confessed failure of a great move in
the campaign.
,
Has any one referred to Sullivan as
the “ noblest Roman of the maul?”
If not, we hope it will not be men
tioned-, for he isn’t.
He (solemnly ) —“ You had a very
narrow escape last night, Miss Julia.
She —“Why, what do you mean?
He—“ Well, you see, I had a dream
about you. I thought I was justabout
to kiss you, when the housemaid
rapped at the door and I woke up.”
She (after a pause) —“ That girl must
go.
