Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

[541] had no prospect of compensation, but in superiour skill and strategy But the condition of his army was excellent in every respect, and had been made so by the admirable skill and inspiration he had brought to the work of its regeneration. It was well-fed, well-clad, in high and hopeful spirits; and for the first time in its history there was no barefoot soldier in its ranks. Ninety days before, the army left by Bragg was disheartened, despairing, and on the verge of dissolution. By judicious measures Gen. Johnston had restored confidence, re-established discipline, and exalted the hearts of his army. There was reason now to hope that the Army of Tennessee, the most ill-starred and successless of all our armies, had seen its worst days.

In the first days of May, simultaneous with the onward movement of Grant in Virginia, Sherman began his grand march into Georgia. The Federal advance was in three columns-Thomas moving in front, direct upon Johnston's centre at Dalton, with his advance at Ringgold and Tunnel Hill; Schofield from Cleveland thirty miles northeast of Chattanooga, via Red Clay, on the Georgia line, to unite with Thomas; and McPherson, by a flank movement of some forty or fifty miles upon Johnston's lines of communications at Resaca, a station on the Western and Atlantic railroad, at the crossing of the Oostanaula river, eighty-four miles from Atlanta, and fifteen miles south of Dalton.,

The flank movement on Resaca forced Johnston to evacuate Dalton. On the 14th May, having moved to Resaca, he sustained, with perfect success, two attacks of the enemy on his breastworks, and drove him with a loss of two thousand men. But Johnston did not design to fight here; he determined to fall back slowly until circumstances should put the chances of battle in his favour, and he hoped by taking advantage of positions and opportunities to reduce the odds against him by partial engagements. In pursuance of this characteristic policy, he took up at leisure his line of retrograde movement in the direction of the Etowah River, passing through Kingston and Cassville.

In rear of Cassville Gen. Johnston had proposed to deliver a decisive battle, taking position on a bold ridge with an open valley before it. Two of his corps commanders, however-Polk and Hood-questioned the value of the position against the enemy's artillery, flatly declared their distrust, and were for abandoning the ground immediately. “So unwilling were they,” writes Gen. Johnston, “to depend on the ability of their corps to defend the ground, that I yielded, and the army crossed the Etowall on the 20th of May--a step which I have regretted ever since.” He had reason to regret it. While lie retreated towards Allatoona Pass, a division of Thomas' army was sent to Rome, capturing it with its forts and artillery, and its valuable mills and foundries. Meanwhile Sherman pressed steadily on for Dallas with a view of turning the difficult pass at Allatoona.