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The Confederates Destroy ing the O)
Western & Atlantic Railroad,
Above Big Shanty, Oct. 4, 1864.
gain the ridge west of the forts. En
tering the dark, dense woods the col
umn was, after a while, brought out
on the valley south of the forts, the
guide having lost his way. A second
attempt was made by him to pilot the
troops through the woods and over the
ridges, so as to make a lodgment on
the main ridge west of the line of
forts, but it was impossible. He
again lost his way, and came out of
the forest near where he started.
Considering that the troops had
been deprived of both rest and sleep
the two preceding nights, General
French halted them where they were
in the woods, and thus they obtained
about two hours sleep. After dawn
of day and when intelligent disposi
tion could be made, the command,
moving further west, reached the de
sired ground on the Allatoona ridge
about five hundred yards west of the
railroad.
It was now half past seven o’clock.
The pickets were driven in after sharp
skirmishing, and ahasty reconnoissance
made.
There was a fort of earth, having
five fronts about fort}-five feet in
diameter, on the east side of the ridge,
(marked T on the map herewith shown)
nearly three hundred yards to the
east of the railroad, with a deep ditch
around it. Its walls would average
twelve feet in thickness at the top of
the ditch. It had six openings for
artillery.
Beginning a few steps east of this
fort and running down to the creek
was what might be termed a “surface
ravine.” It was quite narrow at the
upper end and nowhere very broad,
but it was deep and the sides very
steep.
South of the fort and coming up
nearly to it was another ravine cutting
into the surface of the side of the main
ridge.
Beginning at the northwest corner
of this fort and running northwest was
a line of breastworks near the top of
the steep ridge. At a distance of
nearly seventy yards it turned to the
west and ran about thirty yards, and
then turned rather sharply to the
outhwest, facing a ravine which cuts
snto the ridge from the north, and
ended about forty yards beyond.
Across this ravine, whose west side
was a bluff about seventy feet high,
began what might be termed a con
tinuation of the line just described on
the opposite side. This ran north
west along the top of the precipice
some twenty yards or more, then west
about the same distance, then south
along the top of the perpendicular rail
road cut nearly forty yards, and ended
before reaching the point opposite the
fort across the cut. The north, or
middle, front of this embankment
would average ten feet in height and
about the northwest corner it is even
now over fourteen feet high. The west
ern front of this line completely enfilad
ed lines of troops advancing from the
north to the assault of the fort above.
On the west side of the railroad cut,
overlooking it,’there was the octagon
shaped fort just referred to, (marked C
on the map herewith shown) which in
the Confederate reports is called a
“star fort,” whose walls would average
ten feet in thickness at the base, with
a ditch about five feet deep and six
feet wide, in front of it, —the top of
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VIEW OF ALLATOONA PASS AND THE “ STAR FORT,” FROM THE SOUTH.
From a Photograph taken in 1864.
THE KENNESAW GAZETTE.
the parapet being ten feet above the bot
tom of the ditch. This fort had eight
openings through which artillery
could be fired. It had an average
diameter of seventy feet inside the
parapet.
Next, beginning on the farther side
of a ravine southwest of this fort,
about one hundred and twenty-five
yards from it, and running toward
the west, were two lines of earthworks,
facing south and being parallel to the
Cartersville road, which ran along the
top of the ridge. These works came
together in an angle almost at the
road, where, at a distance of nearly
two hundred and seventy-five yards,
from the “star fort” was a bastioned
redoubt, with opening for artillery,
(marked R on the map herewith shown).
These works were about four and one
half feet high, with headlog above.
The redoubt was finished with timber
facings on the inside, which held to
gether for years after the battle, and
some of the large chestnut logs of which
still remain. From this redoubt the line
of works ran northwest about fifty
yards down a spur ridge. A wing, or
traverse of it, ran back northeastward
some thirty feet or more to the top of
a steep ravine, furnishing a cross fire
down the' ridge and also into the ra
vine.
This redoubt and these works were
especially strong for defense, there
being immediately in front of the en
tire line three rows of stakes set in the
ground and slanting upward and out
ward. These rows were about eigh
teen inches apart, and the stakes were
over three feet long, and sharpened
at the upper end. In front of this
line, on the south and west, the timber
had been felled for some two hundred
yards, forming a most troublesome en
tanglement, and the entire ravine on
the north was similarly denuded of
standing trees and impeded by brush.
Between this line of works and the
main fort, overlooking the railroad cut,
the timber had also been felled, form
ing a dense entanglement.
Down the spur ridge running north
ward from the bastioned redoubt, just
described, about one hundred and fifty
yards from the northern end of it, at
right angles to its northern end, ran a
line of detached rifle pits to a ravine
on the east. Beginning at the opposite
side of this ravine, and running in the
same direction (eastward) was also a
line of detached rifle pits across anoth
er spur ridge to a deep ravine, which
broke down to the northwest just a
short distance from the main fort.
Across this ravine, on another spur
ridge, continuing easterly, some one
hundred and fifty yards north of the
fort, was a very deep ditch with
breastworks but a few feet behind it.
These continued across this spur to the
railroad cut. Beginning a little up
the hill, south of these works, a line
of detached rifle pits ran along the top
of the bluff, which is the east side of
the ravine, giving their occupants a
cross fire upon troops advancing up
the ravine to the fort.
The descent down the slope into
these ravines on both sides of the
main ridge is very steep, being rare
ly less than forty-five degrees, gener
ally even more, and in some places ap
proximating bluffs. On all sides the
natural difficulties of ascent were aug
mented by the felled trees and bushes,
which were so arranged as to make it
impossible for assaulting troops to ad
vance in line.
Finally, in enumerating the de
fenses, there were two redoubts west,
or southwest of the outer line of works.
These were isolated from the other de
fenses, and were some five or six
hundred yards from the railroad.
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