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Vol. 11.
The Heroic Deeds of Women.
From the “Battle-fields Folder of
the Western & Atlantic Railroad we
make the following extract which ac
companies the description of the bat
tle of Resaca, May 9, 1864:
While the Federal army was fight
ing General Canty’s forces on the out
skirts of Resaca, a body of Federal
cavalry went northeastward to Green’s
wood-station, on the Western & At
lantic Railroad, between Resaca- and
Tilton. One or two of the men climb
ed the poles and cut the telegraph
wires, thus breaking communication
between Resaca and Dalton.
Shortly afterwards, a Western & At
lantic train which had been sent up
to this point from Resaca for wood ar
rived, and as the engineer was blowing
his whistle at a lively rate, the Feder
al cavalry presumed that the train had
a force of Confederates who had been
sent to drive them away. They accord
ingly stampeded toward the west to
join McPherson’s army.
The train having passed, Mrs. Bach
man and her sister, Miss Carrie Sims,
who both had, from Mr. Bachman’s
house on a hill near by, noticed the
Federals cutting the telegraph wire,
went down to the railroad, carrying
with them a piece of telegraph wire
which they had picked up near their
gate.
Mrs. Bachman told her sister that
they would endeavor to fasten the ends
of the wire and restore communication
between Dalton and Resaca, inasmuch
as the fate of Johnston’s army might
depend upon the telegraphic commu
nication being restored before day
break.
The ladies requested a couple of men
employed in furnishing wood to aid
them in their undertaking; but the
men, who had hidden in the bushes,
refused to come out. The ladies then
said that they would fasten it them
selves, and began the undertaking.
Just about this time a Confederate
officer (Captain Clark) appeared, and
being informed of the state of affairs,
compelled the other two men to come
and assist in fastening the wires togeth
er, which was done within a few min
utes.
General Johnston then received in
telligence of the attack upon Resaca
by the Federals in heavy force, and of
their temporary repulse.
During the night he sent down
Hood’s corps of three divisions, under
Generals Hindman, Cleburne and
Walker, to re-enforce the garrison at
Resaca, and the place was thus made
-A- humorous da.r*@-d@vil---tlie very man to suit my purpose. Bulwer.
“WOZMEN’S HEROISM” NUMBER.
impregnable against McPherson’s fur
ther attempts.
The heroic deed of these two ladies
possibly saved Johnston’s army, and
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entitles them to a high position on the
page of fame.
How often, during the world’s histo
ry, have great results ensued from
deeds apparently insignificant at the
time of their occurrence. This re
mark is not more fully exemplified by
any incident on record than by that
above shown.
The movement by McPherson’s ar
my through Snake Creek Gap against
Resaca was in overwhelming force —
there being about twenty-three thou
sand men against only about three
thousand who were garrisoning Re
saca.
The two ladies above referred to,
noticing the cutting of the telegraph
wires by a detachment of Federals,
(who, by the way, were a portion of the
Ninth Illinois mounted Infantry, un
der command of Captain Hughes,) and
hearing the sound of artillery firing in
the direction of Resaca, correctly sur
mised that there was a movement be
ing made against the rearjof the Con
federatearmy, and against its line of
communication with Atlanta.
When the Federal cavalrymen had
ATLANTA, CA., MAY I, 1887.
disappeared, the two went down to the
side of the railroad, and, as shown in
the above extract, from the “Battle
fields Folder,” restored telegraphic
communication between Resaca and
Dalton.
The fact that there was a piece of
telegraph wire lying near their gate,
was another one of those “mysterious
happenings-so,” as the world terms it,
which enabled them to do this. Their
quick wits called to remembrance the
fact that this niece of wire was lying
there, and that it could be used, and
therefore it was used.
Had McPherson captured Resaca it
would have resulted in the break down
of the Atlanta Campaign right at that
point, so far as the Confederates were
concerned, as they would have been
compelled to have abandoned all of
their army stores and to have retreated
over rough mountain roads toward the
east, and Sherman could have arrived
at Atlanta almost as soon as they.
But the heroic deed performed by
Mrs. Bachman and her sister, who is
now Mrs. Robert S. Rush ton, of Dal
ton, proved the means of salvation for
Johnston’s army, and deferred the fall
of Atlanta for months, and consequent-1
ly that of the Confederacy.
No matter how people may differ as
to their ideas in regard to the Federal
or Confederate side of the great con-
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troversy at arms twenty-five years ago,
there can be nothing but agreement
that the deed of the two ladies was one
which deserves to stand high upon the
roll of fame.
| The Western & Atlantic Railroad is
proud of its heroines, and wishes for
them many more years of life and hap
piness.
The Swiftsure,
One of the old-time locomotives of the
Western & Atlantic Railroad, which
was in service before'the war, during
the war, and for some years after the
war. was sold by the Western &' At
lantic Railroad company to a road in
Alabama sometime during the ’7o’s.
The “Swift sure” was at one time a
brag engine, and did a great amount
of service. She finally ran off the
track, we understand, down in Ala
bama, and tore herself to pieces.
During the bombardment of At
lanta, in 1864, she had a pretty close
call. She was standing at the west
ern end of the union passenger depot
one day, ready to go down to Macon,
when a shell from a Federal battery
west of Atlanta struck her front cen
tre-plate about as square as it was pos
sible for it to be done. The shell
crashed through the centre-plate and
struck against the end of the boiler
I within; but did not explode. Had it
done so, the “Swiltsure’s” career would
have been brought to an end as sud
den as it would have been disastrous.
The train-men were pretty chary
about handling the shell
for a number of minutes
after the occurrence; but
some one finally removed
it, and she was then tak
en off for repairs, and with
in the next day made all
right again.
If you want to be sure
of having a good and safe
ride in luxurious cars on
through schedules, the
Western & Atlantic is
the road you are hunting
for. It fills all the re
quirements, and the way
its passenger business
has increased, shows that
the public have found this out.
The Kennesaw Route always ahead.
NO. 9.