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Xjfflgk AGwfe 1 A A 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 1 1 ' : SGS® ||B „ -... S. W a. S.’< wWIk .igßa jwajSWMBSgR.y Yr jjj 21 J \ ' ''22 FT . J ll • G liSiS V isvy.,, ?. _ y,r.yEa£. .//■} ysS'ZA rll 1 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. 3