The Atlanta (Georgia) Campaign: May 1 - September 8, 1864., Part I: General Report.
Maj. George B. Davis, Mr. Leslie J. Perry, Mr. Joseph W. Kirkley, Ed.

At an early hour in the morning we took up our line of march from Mrs. Evans' farm in the direction of the railroad leading from Atlanta to Macon. We marched in rear of the Third Brigade. After proceeding some four or five miles, we reached a point on the Jonesborough road, about a mile and a half from the town and the railroad. A line of battle was there formed on the left of the Third Brigade, deploying the Sixteenth Infantry, Captain Barry, as skirmishers, and sending him forward with instructions to advance his line and drive the enemy until the railroad was reached. Capt. W. J. Fetterman, Eighteenth Infantry, acting assistant adjutantgeneral of the brigade, accompanied the Sixteenth, and reports its duties well and creditably performed. Captain Barry's regiment took possession of a point on the railroad, about two miles north of Jonesborough, and held it until the troops of the Fourth Corps occupied the ground. It then returned to the brigade, which had in the mean time been ordered forward and taken position on the right of the Third Brigade. The Nineteenth Infantry had been thrown to the front to make a connection with the skirmish line of General Morgan's division, on our right, and the Third Brigade, on our left. As we advanced some of the companies of the Nineteenth Infantry were thrown out of the skirmish line. and were formed in the line of battle on the right of the brigade. About 3 p. m. the brigade in a single line of battle, and without any support, was ordered to advance and attack the enemy in his works. Two regiments, the Sixteenth and Eighteenth, had to move through a dense thicket, which caused some confusion in their alignment. The two battalions of the Fifteenth and that part of the Nineteenth in the line of battle passed through an open field. After emerging from the wood the entire brigade had to pass a morass, densely covered with brambles and undergrowth, so that it was impossible to preserve an exact alignment. The officers and men, however, pressed through the swamp, and rushed gallantly up the hill in the face of a galling fire from the enemy, and before support of any kind was given them, succeeded in driving the enemy from their front line of works, which was held until some troops of General Baird's division were brought up to our relief. On the arrival of General Baird's troops the brigade, which had suffered severely from the enemy's fire, and had exhausted its supply of ammunition, fell back to the rear of the support, leaving them to finish the work they had so well begun; this General Baird's troops did with great gallantry. At dark, our ammunition replenished, we were again put in the front line, to the left of our point of attack, threw up works, held them through the night, and in the morning found no trace of the enemy. They had fled. In our attack a large number of prisoners were sent to the rear, but on account of troops from two divisions participating in the attack at the same point, it is impossible to say how many of the prisoners belonged to the brigade and how many to General Baird's troops. I deem it a most pleasurable duty to express the opinion that the [559] officers and men of this command are entitled to high commendation for the manner in which they went into and sustained themselves throughout this engagement. I but quote the language of a distinguished division commander, who witnessed the progress of the battle, when I say that “no troops ever fought better or more bravely.”

I have the honor to transmit herewith the reports of the different regimental and battalion commanders, and would respectfully call attention to their commendation of officers for gallant conduct. I would also respectfully call attention to the fact that there is not a sufficient number of .officers with the command to enable the brigade to operate as effectively as it could if more were present. In my judgment, the thanks of the country are due to all the officers of this brigade who participated in the battle for the intrepidity of their conduct in action. To the battalion commanders--Captain Jewett, First Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry; Captain McManus, Second Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry; Captain Barry, Sixteenth Infantry; Captain Kellogg, Eighteenth Infantry, and Captain Mooney, Nineteenth Infantry great praise is due for the manner in which they maneuvered their commands, and for their personal bravery in action. I regret to say that Captain Kellogg was severely wounded in the arm while leading his command (Eighteenth Infantry) up to the breastworks of the enemy. Captain Kellogg had crossed the works on horseback, and was urging the men forward at the time he was wounded. Captain Hull, of the same regiment, then assumed command, and fully sustained his high reputation as a soldier. It is due to the three officers serving on the brigade staff, Captains Fetterman and Mills, Eighteenth Infantry, and Lieutenant Estes, Sixteenth Infantry, to say that throughout the whole day's operations, their conduct was conspicuous for gallantry and bravery in the discharge of their duties.

Appended I have the honor to submit a condensed report of the number of muskets taken into the battle, together with the loss in killed, wounded, and missing.

Report of casualties of the Second brigade, First Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, for September 1, 1864.

The brigade was under the command of Brig. Gen. John H. King, and was constituted as follows: First Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry, Maj. Albert Tracy, 8 officers, 376 men; Second Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry, Maj. J. R. Edie, 10 officers, 307 men; First Battalion, Sixteenth Infantry, Capt. A. H. Stanton, 8 officers, 245 men; Second Battalion, Sixteenth Infantry, Capt. R. P. Barry, 5 officers, 257 men; First Battalion, Eighteenth Infantry, Capt. G. W. Smith, 13 officers, 257 men; Second Battalion, Eighteenth Infantry, Capt. W. J. Fetterman, 10 officers, 373 men; First Battalion, Nineteenth Infantry, Capt. James Mooney, 11 officers, 266 men; Eleventh Regiment Michigan Volunteers, Col. William L. Stoughton, 16 officers, 428 men. Total, 81 officers, 2,509 men. The brigade staff at the commencement of the campaign was: First Lieut. William J. Lyster, aidede-camp, acting assistant adjutant-general and ordnance officer; First Lieut. H. G. Litchfield, acting assistant inspector-general; Capt. J. B. Mulligan, provost-marshal; Capt. J. R. Morledge, commissary of subsistence; Surg. Lewis Slusser, brigade medical director.

We left Ringgold on the morning of the 7th with the rest of the division, marching via Tunnel Hill in the direction of Dalton, Ga., the vicinity of which place we reached on the 9th of May, took position in front of Buzzard Roost Mountain, within range of the enemy's guns, posted on its summit. The brigade remained in this position till the 11th, when it was moved back about half a mile to get out of range of the rebel guns, some small loss having been sustained from their fire. On the 11th the Sixty-ninth Regiment Ohio Veteran Volunteers, Col. M. F. Moore, having returned from its veteran furlough, rejoined the brigade with 23 officers and 324 men. On the 12th broke up camp at daylight and marched for Snake Creek Gap, which point we reached after night-fall, and bivouacked till morning. On the 13th the brigade was put in line of battle, moving in the direction of Resaca, Ga., with the Eighteenth Infantry as skirmishers. On the 14th the line of battle was kept up, and skirmishing continued throughout the day, which ended in driving the enemy to their works in and about Resaca. Occupying a position with the rest of our corps in the center of the army, we lay within 800 yards of the enemy's intrenchments till the morning of the 16th, being under fire all the time. On this morning, the commanding officer of the Eighteenth Infantry having been directed to detail a company to advance and feel for the enemy, Capt. Anson Mills was sent with his company to the front and entered Resaca, returning with some 20 prisoners, and reporting that the enemy had evacuated Resaca and left our front. The brigade then moved into Resaca, and on the morning of the 17th started with the rest of the army in pursuit, passing through Adairsville and Calhoun on the 18th, Kingston on the 19th, and to a point near Cass Station on the 20th, where we remained till the 24th. At this point all the regimental wagons were taken, by order of the division commander, which will account for the subsequent delay in reports, all company [561] and regimental papers and desks being left behind. The brigade again moved on the 24th, crossing the Etowah River at Island Ford, passing Burnt Hickory, and reaching Pickett's Mills, or New Hope, on the evening of the 26th. Here the brigade was put in line of battle as a support to a part of the Fourth Corps, and at night threw up works covering their whole front. The brigade remained in this position from the 27th of May till the 5th day of June, under fire all the time. Incessant vigilance and resolute determination were all the time necessary to hold the position. The enemy kept up during these days a continuous and fatal discharge of musketry, shell, and canister. The casualties at this point were numerous. During the time the brigade remained at Pickett's Mills, General R. W. Johnson, commanding the division, was somewhat injured by a 12-pounder shell, and being otherwise in ill health was granted a leave of absence. This placed General King, our brigade commander, in charge of the division, and the command of the brigade devolved upon Col. William L. Stoughton, Eleventh Michigan Volunteers, who retained it until 4th of July following. The conduct of the officers and. men during the nine days the command lay at this hazardous point is worthy of great commendation, and I take great pleasure in bearing testimony to their gallantry.

It having been ascertained on the morning of the 6th of June that the enemy had again fallen back from our front, the brigade, with the rest of the army, started in pursuit and marched to a point near Big Shanty, on the Georgia State railroad. Here we remained till June 10, when the brigade again marched, skirmishing and feeling for the enemy till the 22d, when it reached Kenesaw Mountain and relieved a brigade of the Fourth Corps, commanded by General Whitaker. Here we remained within 100 yards of the enemy's works and under fire of his artillery and sharpshooters till the morning of the 3d of July, when the opposing force once more retreated, and we again followed, picking up more prisoners and deserters by the way. The brigade passed through Marietta on the morning of the 3d in pursuit of the retreating enemy, following him in the direction of the Chattahoochee River. After advancing about two miles from Marietta, our troops came up with rear of the enemy, and sharp skirmishing ensued, participated in by the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Infantry. This continued till night, when the brigade bivouacked till morning. July 4, commenced pressing the enemy with a strong skirmish line, parts of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Infantry and Eleventh Michigan Volunteers. During the 3d and 4th the whole brigade was under severe and destructive fire, losing in killed and wounded some 50 men. On the latter day Colonel Stoughton, commanding the brigade, was severely wounded in the leg by a piece of shell. He was sent to the rear, and the command assumed by Col. M. F. Moore, Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteers, who retained it until General King returned to the brigade on the 13th of July. The troops behaved with coolness and bravery on both these days, and on the 4th succeeded in dislodging the enemy from their rifle-pits, and driving them into their main line of works. July 5, enemy again gone, having fallen back to the Chattahoochee, we started after and took position on the 6th about one mile to the right of Vining's Station, on the Georgia State railroad, fronting the enemy and the river. Here we remained in range of the enemy's artillery, an occasional shot passing our camp, until the 17th of July, when, the enemy having once more made a retrograde movement, we crossed [562] the Chattahoochee at Pace's Ferry. On the 13th, and during our stay on the north side of the Chattahoochee, General Johnson having returned from leave of absence, General King resumed command of the brigade. On the 15th of July the Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteers were temporarily detached from this brigade and attached to the Third Brigade of the division. July 18, pushed forward and crossed Nancy's Creek in pursuit. July 20, crossed Peach Tree Creek and took position in line of battle in the afternoon of that day. Here, although the brigade was not actively engaged with the enemy, it was exposed to a dangerous fire of shell and canister, which the enemy opened upon our forces. In the evening the brigade was ordered to the left about two miles to fill a gap on General Newton's left, the Fifteenth Infantry being detached and sent to a mill farther to the left to guard a bridge crossing the Peach Tree Creek. Remained in this position till the morning of July 22, when we rejoined the division and marched in the direction of Atlanta until within two miles of that place, where we took position, built works, and remained till August 3, all the time under severe musketry and artillery fire. During these twelve days all the battalions composing the brigade were engaged at different times on the picket and skirmish line, and in the face of fire engaged in steadily forcing the enemy back from our front. August 3, the brigade marched to the extreme right of the army and camped for the night. August 4, ordered to the front near Utoy Creek, where the Eighteenth and a part of the Fifteenth were deployed as skirmishers, and the rest of the brigade drawn up in line of battle near Bankston's house. The skirmishers drove the rebel picket across the Utoy, when we were ordered back for the purpose of breaking camp and crossing the Utoy,. which we did that night. August 5, this brigade was sent out with First Brigade, First Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, on reconnaissance, remaining out till dark, when upon our return we were ordered to the left, bivouacking in a field near the Utoy Creek. On the morning of the 6th we took position in the line of our army in works to the right of the Fifteenth Corps. On this day General King again assumed command of the division, and being notified that I was the senior officer present with the brigade for duty, I took command. General King did not return to the brigade during the remainder of the campaign. Lieut. Col. M. Mudge, Eleventh Michigan Volunteers, who joined after Colonel Stoughton was wounded. was present with the command, but was sick at the time and did duty but two days from the 6th until his regiment was withdrawn from the brigade; those were the 7th and 8th.

August 7, about I p. m. I was directed by the division commander to throw forward the Eighteenth Infantry as a skirmish line, to be followed by the Fifteenth Infantry in line of battle. This was done, and subsequently the Eleventh Michigan was sent forward to take position on the right of the Fifteenth. A spirited and determined engagement ensued, which resulted in driving the enemy from his rifle-pits, capturing a large number of prisoners, and advancing our line to within 150 yards of the enemy's main line of works. Here works were thrown up at night, and the position held until our army made its grand movement to the right, on the night of the 26th of August. I cannot speak too highly of the conduct displayed by the officers and men in this engagement. It was as severe as any of the campaign, and right well and nobly did the forces engaged sustain themselves. Capt. L. M. Kellogg, commanding the Eighteenth; Capt. Horace Jewett, commanding the First [563] Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry, and Capt. W. S. McManus, commanding the Second Battalion, Fifteenth, are entitled to be mentioned with special commendation for their bravery and for the skill with which theyhandled their commands. Capt. James Curtis, who had been in command of the First Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry, was struck in the mouth with a musket-ball just before the Fifteenth advanced. I respectfully refer to the reports of battalion and detachment commanders for the names of those officers who distinguished themselves on this occasion. Our casualties in this engagement were quite large, having lost 4 officers wounded, 22 enlisted men killed, 146 wounded, and 7 missing, making an aggregate of 179. The loss of the enemy is not accurately known, but it is believed to have nearly equaled ours in killed and wounded, and there was sent to the rear by the troops of this brigade over 125 prisoners, besides a considerable number sent to the rear who fell into the hands of troops not engaged in the fight. During the night of the 7th a spirited attempt was made to dislodge us from the ground we had gained, but was handsomely repulsed. On two successive days (19th and 20th), while we remained in the works at this position, our places were taken by an extension of the lines of the First Brigade, while we moved on each of those days some three miles to the right, to make, in connection with two brigades of the Second and two of the Third Division, a support to the Twenty-third Corps. On the night of the 26th of August, at 8 o'clock, we withdrew from the works, and moved with the rest of the army to the right, commencing that series of movements which ended with the battle of Jonesborough, on the 1st day of September. We marched some three miles to the right on the 26th, went into camp, and remained there during next day, and on the evening of the 28th reached the West Point railroad, which we assisted in destroying on the 29th. On the 30th moved again to the right, camping on the farm of Mrs. Evans, about two miles from Renfroe's. The 31st marched to Renfroe's in the morning, went into line of battle, and about the middle of the afternoon moved in the direction of the Macon railroad for about a mile and a half, when we were halted and ordered back to our camp of the previous night. At an early hour on the 1st of September we moved in the direction of Jonesborough. On this day the memorable engagement of Jonesborough took place. As I have made that engagement the subject of a special report, I would respectfully refer to that report for an account of the day's operations, and ask that it be considered a part of this, in order that I may not be too voluminous. On the 2d we went into Jonesborough, where we remained till the afternoon of the 4th, when we leisurely fell back to a position near Atlanta, which place we have occupied since.

At the commencement of the campaign we had 109 commissioned officers and 2,933 enlisted men. This number was increased during the campaign by recruits joining the different regiments to the number of at least 300. On the 15th of July the Sixty-ninth Ohio was detached from the brigade. On the 27th of August the Eleventh Michigan was relieved from duty with the brigade and ordered to Chattanooga, preparatory to being mustered out of the service, the time of the regiment having nearly expired. The casualties of the brigade during the entire campaign were, 1 officer killed and 16 wounded; 122 enlisted men killed, 512 wounded, and 43 missing, making an aggregate of 694. It is proper to state that Capt. E. Gay joined the Sixteenth Infantry, and assumed command of it at Cass Station, and Capt. Lyman M. Kellogg joined and assumed command [564] of the Eighteenth Infantry on the 14th of June. These officers, soon after joining, consolidated their commands, making but one battaliion out of the two in the Sixteenth, and one out of the two in the Eighteenth. On the 1st of September the number of officers and men present for duty with the brigade were, commissioned officers, 39; enlisted men, 1,318; aggregate, 1,357.

I transmit herewith the reports of the commanders of such battaions as remained with the brigade on the 1st of September, 1864.

I cannot close this report without calling attention to the fact that smore than one-half of an entire campaign of 120 days was passed by this brigade under the fire of the enemy, and that in every position in which they were placed, both officers and men performed their duty so as to entitle them to the thanks and gratitude of the country.

I have the honor to be, captain, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,