Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 11.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[218] them from tree to tree, from ridge to ridge, from earthwork to earthwork, from their first position to their last. A vast skirmish blazes from morning to night, along the ten or twelve miles of infantry lines, and our guns fill the air with round, reverberating oaths, drowning often the spiteful expletives of the musket. The enemy's sharpshooters reply bitterly to ours, but their artillery is very reticent. They seem to be nursing one grand, consuming hope — that we propose to assault. But Sherman seems satisfied with his steady progress, and, to return to our frigid metaphor, prefers to let the ice float down the river in its own good time, instead of expending energy in accelerating the motion of any particular floe. If we continue to make the mile per day which we now notch behind us regularly, we shall be in Atlanta in twenty-five days, by the mile-stones.

Our right wing is now threatening Marietta, four or five miles in rear of the rebel strong-hold at Kenesaw. Our left is also working past Kenesaw. Both rebel flanks, especially their left, are bent back, and it would certainly seem that Johnston should be retreating unless he intends fighting with his wings back to back, and by that means get our wings to shooting each other. It is believed certain that the rebel army must soon retreat south of the Chattahoochee river, where their prisoners now say will be made the last ditch. I cannot but believe, however, after seeing the strength and number of their fortifications, and witnessing the tenacity of their resistance, that they may at some time have intended to make Kenesaw their last ditch. We shall see. This much is certain — they are losing their hold on the strongest position between here and Atlanta.

Our lines are close to Kenesaw Mountain, and within very easy range of the numerous rebel guns planted on that bold feature in the land-scape. But we have great difficulty in developing the whereabouts of their guns, as they keep determined silence, in order to slaughter the Yankees by wholesale in case they make the hoped — for assault. The fire of our batteries on the left and right center having failed to provoke a competent answer, a locomotive was brought into action. The railroad is in plain sight of Kenesaw for several miles, and the rebels on that lofty peak observed, with increasing though undefinable apprehension, the fuming iron horse, gliding at a good rate of speed toward their position. The pace of the engine was not lessened until it had passed our skirmish line, and was nearing the base of the mountain, when the rebel artillerists, fearing, it would be hard to tell exactly what, opened their hitherto silent batteries lustily, and cheered furiously as the locomotive speedily crawfished, amid an extensive flight of shells. The engine escaped uninjured, and in a moment our guns opened again, and now being enabled to plant their shells in exactly the right place, they soon enjoined another sort of silence on the enemy's artillery. The batteries developed have since been subjected to a most constant and fierce bombardment.

Blair, on the left, has occupied Bush Mountain, the most important eminence east of Kenesaw. McPherson's corps are, with the other portions of the line, constantly skirmishing and gaining with equal rapidity upon the rebels. The artillery practice on the left is very fine. This arm of the service has, indeed, during the present contest, proven more than usually efficient.

Despite the almost incessant rain of the nineteenth, the right wing maintained a continued activity-steadily advancing the lines by a movement to the right flank, thus gradually drawing the lines of circumvallation closer and closer around Kenesaw Mountain. Hascall's division, the Second, which had been thrown in reserve by the closing in together of the Twentieth and Twenty-third corps, was late in the day thrown in to the extreme right, while Hooker's corps relieved in one of its divisions, was enabled to extend itself in the direction of the general movement. This latter was in a direction nearly north and south and at the same time bearing upon the rebel lines toward the south-east. The lines were advanced during the day about half a mile, abandoning, of course, the works thrown up to meet any demonstration on the part of the rebels, only to construct new ones at night, to be passed by in like manner next day. The rebels opposed to this forward movement only a desultory skirmish fire, aided occasionally by a few shots from a battery when our forces pressed too closely, but which were invariably silenced by a prompt reply from our guns. The losses of the day may have amounted to fifty men put hors de combat in the various commands. Among the wounded was Captain Courtois, of the Thirty-third New Jersey, of Geary's division, Twentieth corps. He was in command of a detachment of skirmishers from his own regiment and the One Hundred and Nineteenth New York, and was pressing hard upon the rebel line, when he was struck by a musket ball in the shoulder and severely wounded. The ground was open, and he was compelled to crawl away to the rear, slowly and painfully, a distance of half a mile. Occasionally he would rise and attempt to go forward erect, when the rebels would discharge a volley upon him, and seeing him drop to avoid fire, would cheer lustily. He finally escaped without further injury.

A brigade of General Stoneman's cavalry, under command of Colonel Adams, of the First Kentucky cavalry, penetrated to a point named on the maps as Powder Springs, finding there the rebel outposts, and a division of cavalry under Armstrong. These retired before our advance, without offering opposition, and left the post in our possession. This puts the cavalry forces about nine miles west of Marietta. and at least a mile south of it. The right wing of the infantry is fully down to a line running east and west through Marietta, and is continually swinging so