General Joseph E. Johnston, Narrative of Military Operations During the Civil War

Dalton and Atlanta.

At the beginning of the campaign my corps consisted of Cheatham's, Cleburne's, Walker's, and Bate's divisions (about twenty thousand muskets), and four battalions of artillery.

Cheatham's and Bate's divisions sent to report to Hood, and put in position at and to the right of Mill Creek Gap, where they were constantly skirmishing till night of 12th.

Cleburne's division moved to Dug Gap, and assisted Grigsby's cavalry to repel attack of part of Hooker's corps. [579] Walker had to be sent to Resaca, and moved subsequently to left front of Calhoun, to meet advance of McPherson.

At night my corps moved to Resaca. Heavy skirmishing and occasional assaults on my line at Resaca 13th, 14th, and 15th May--on 13th principally, on Cheatham's line; on 14th and 15th, on Cleburne's and Bate's lines. A man who assisted to disinter dead at Resaca, after the war, reported finding one hundred and seventy Confederate and seventeen hundred and ninety Federal dead.

Night of 15th moved to Calhoun, where Walker was already skirmishing all next day with McPherson. Polk's brigade of Cleburne's division had a sharp fight with a body of the enemy, and punished them handsomely.

On night of 16th moved to Adairville. Cheatham had a heavy skirmish with enemy on 17th.

Moved to Kingstree and Cross Station.

Formed line of battle on left of army; battle-order read to troops. Enemy in sight, and skirmishing begun. Troops wild with enthusiasm and delight.

On account of some movement of Hood, ordered to withdraw, about one and a half mile to Cassville line. Troops in fine spirits, expecting to attack enemy next morning. But Polk and Hood could not “hold their lines,” and that night withdrew and crossed Etowah following day.

At New Hope Church, Cleburne's division formed left of army. About four o'clock r. M. attacked by four corps of the enemy. Cleburne, with no advantage save well-chosen positions, repulsed corps after obstinate fight of an hour and a half.

At the close of fight, seven hundred Federal dead, within a dozen paces of Cleburne's line. Four color-bearers successively [580] killed within ten paces of line. Fifth bore off colors. Enemy's loss four thousand; Cleburne's, four hundred and fifty killed and wounded.

Bate's division, on left of army and in front of village of Dallas, ordered to envelop enemy, who not believed to be in force. Bate attacked, and was repulsed with loss of several hundred men.

At Kenesaw Mountain, in general assault by enemy. Cheatham's and Cleburne's divisions attacked by Blair's corps of the Army of the Cumberland; assault of enemy very resolute; at its close, three hundred Federal dead left in front of Cleburne's line, some lying against his works. Cleburne's loss two killed and nine wounded. Enemy in his front over eighteen hundred. On Cheatham's line enemy's loss still more severe. Cheatham's loss some two hundred and fifty. Fighting in front of Walker's, on right of Cleburne's, confined to skirmish-line held by Mercer's brigade, until many of the men bayoneted where they stood. Enemy's loss this day, in my front alone, could not have been less than five thousand.

But the heaviest losses of the enemy were not in the assaults and partial engagements of the campaign, but in the daily skirmishing. This was kept up continuously for seventy days, during which the two armies never lost their grapple. It soon became customary, in taking up a new position, to extend the skirmish-lines until they were only less strong than the main one. This line was well manned, and the roar of musketry on it was sometimes scarcely distinguishable from the sound of a general engagement. It was not unfrequently the case that one, two, or even three, lines of battle were repulsed in an assault upon one of our skirmish-lines.

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North Carolina campaign.

At Cheraw, South Carolina, received an order from General J. E. Johnston dated 25th of February, assuming command [581] of the Army of Tennessee and the forces of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

My orders on leaving Charleston had been to move to Greensboro, North Carolina, via Wilmington. Capture of latter place, 21st of February, left route by Cheraw the only practicable one.

Arriving at Cheraw in advance of my troops, I found Sherman had changed his course, hitherto directed to Charlotte, North Carolina, and was marching on Cheraw. His advance was within a few miles of the place. A staff-officer, Major Black, sent out to reconnoitre, was captured, but escaped by a daring act of horsemanship. As fast as my troops came up I pushed them out toward the enemy and held him in check until my transportation and supplies came up and I was ready to resume the march.

Cheraw was the terminus of the railroad, and I sent the accumulated rolling-stock back to the central part of the State or the point least exposed. Two thousand prisoners of war left at Florence when Confederate States prison was removed to Salisbury, North Carolina, were exchanged by a staff-officer sent to Federal commander at Wilmington for that purpose.

As I marched out of Cheraw, the enemy pressed my rear closely and there was a sharp skirmish over the bridge spanning the Great Pedee. Skirmishers and flying artillery opened from the opposite bank upon my rear-guard as it cleared the bridge. Major-General Butler, with a squad of cavalry, charged repeatedly for the head of the bridge and drove back the enemy. He passed the bridge himself after it had been fired in a dozen places. The enemy attempted to extinguish the flames, but were prevented by the First Georgia regulars, under Colonel Wayne, from the opposite bank of the river.

Left Cheraw March 3d, and subsequently received orders from General Johnston to move to Smithfield, North Carolina, by way of Rockingham and Fayetteville.

Hampton and Wheeler, who had been hanging on the [582] left flank of the enemy, gained a success over Kilpatrick's cavalry only less complete from encountering two brigades of infantry assigned to protect Kilpatrick from the rough usage he had been receiving from the hands of Wheeler.

A handsome little affair occurred at Fayetteville next morning. Infantry had crossed Cape Fear, and cavalry had not come in, when one hundred and fifty of the enemy's cavalry charged into the town, which was full of trains and led horses, but without troops. General Hampton, at the head of a dozen men-staff-officers and couriers-charged the body, killing two with his own hand, capturing some, and driving the remainder out of town.

Arrived in vicinity of Averysboro. Breaking off near here are roads leading to Raleigh, Smith's Lane. and Goldsboro; and, to ascertain whether I was followed by Sherman's whole army, or a part of it, and what was its destination, I determined to make a stand here, to develop numbers and object of enemy. I e elected a point where Cape Fear and Black Rivers were contiguous.

My force, two divisions, commanded by McLaws and Taliaferro, small originally, and now reduced by the desertions it had been impossible to prevent in a rapid march, and by the withdrawal of a brigade of South Carolina militia, which Governor Magrath had refused to let go out of the State, footed up six thousand effectives, including a brigade of South Carolina reserves. My flank was protected by Wheeler, with a part of his cavalry. The enemy brought against me the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps infantry, and Kilpatrick's cavalry. Sherman was on the field in person.

My troops, for the most part, had never seen field-service, were organized on the march, etc. Regiments and brigades went into action under disadvantages. But, during the day, they changed position under fire, and repelled all attempts of the enemy to break or turn their position, with the steadiness of veterans. My loss was five hundred killed [583] and wounded; the enemy's, if statement of prisoners subsequently captured may be credited, three thousand.¹ My troops were much cheered and inspirited by this affair.

I lost at Averysboro two guns, of Stewart's battery, I think — not taken by the enemy, but abandoned in one of the several rapid evolutions of the day, after every horse attached to the guns had been killed or disabled.

Received orders from General Johnston to march to Bentonville, some twenty miles distant, and arrived on the ground the morning of the 19th. In the afternoon was placed in command of the Army of Tennessee (four thousand), and Taliaferro's division (fifteen hundred), and ordered to attack on the right, to be followed up by Hoke (four thousand five hundred), McLaws (three thousand) on the left in reserve. Enemy's force on the ground believed to be thirty-five thousand. Moved forward at 3 P. M., carried enemy's temporary works, took three pieces of artillery and a stand of colors, and drove enemy one and a half mile, when at nightfall they were found to be in too great force to make it advisable to press them farther. Occupied at night line of battle in rear of advance position of the day, and next day intrenched.

In afternoon of 21st Cummings's brigade (Georgia infantry), three hundred effectives, commanded by Colonel Henderson, and eight of Terry's Rangers, attacked and [584] drove from the ground two divisions of the Seventeenth Corps, Federal infantry, commanded by General Mower, which had broken through the cavalry line which formed the left of the army, and had penetrated to within a few hundred yards of and were threatening the bridge over — Creek, near the village of Bentonville.

Agreeable to the direction of the general commanding, I have the honor to herewith submit the operations of the troops of my command since the 7th of May. On that day Major-General Stewart, with his division, took position at Mill Creek Gap in Rocky Face Mountain, three miles northeast of Dalton, the enemy appearing in his immediate front. In the afternoon Major-General Bate, with his division, reported to me, and was placed in position on the left of Stewart, and west of railroad. On the 8th Major-General Cheatham, with his division, reported to me, one brigade of which was placed in position on the right of Stewart and along the crest of Rocky Face. On the right the division of Major-General Stevenson was in position, extending across Crow Valley, General Hindman occupying the right of my line. Some skirmishing took place along the line on the 8th, and on the 9th the enemy made five different attempts to gain the mountains, but were each time driven back, and foiled in all their designs. After this nothing of very great importance occurred up to the time the army marched for Resaca. On arriving there I took position on the right of the army, Hindman's division on my left, Stevenson's in the centre, and Stewart on the right. On the 14th the enemy made repeated assaults on Hindman's left, but not in very heavy lines. Walthall's brigade, occupying the left of Hindman, suffered severely from enfilade fire of the enemy's artillery, himself and men displaying conspicuous valor throughout under very adverse circumstances. Brigadier-General Tucker, commanding brigade [585] in reserve, was severely wounded. About the middle of the day on the 15th, the enemy made assaults upon Stevenson's front and the right of Hindman in several lines of battle, each successive time being repulsed with loss. At four o'clock in the afternoon General Stewart moved forward, from the right, with his division, driving the enemy before him, but was subsequently forced to resume his original position before largely superior numbers. During the attack on General Stevenson, a four-gun battery in position thirty paces in front of his line, the gunners being driven from it, was left in dispute. The army withdrew that night, and the guns, without caissons or limberboxes, were abandoned to the enemy, the loss of life it would have cost to withdraw them being considered worth more than the game. After this the march was continued to the south side of the Etowah via Adairsville, and Cassville; some slight skirmishing at the latter place. On the morning of the 24th the march was resumed in the direction of Dallas, and, on the morning of the 25th, with my entire command, I arrived at New Hope Church, four miles east of Dallas. About mid-day the enemy was reported advancing, when my line was forward, Hindman on the left, Stewart in the centre, and Stevenson on the right. At five o'clock P. M. a very determined attack was made upon Stewart, extending along a very small portion of Brown's brigade of Stevenson's division. The engagement continued actively until night closed in, the enemy being repeatedly and handsomely repulsed at all points. Then Hooker's entire corps was driven back by three brigades of Stewart's division; prisoners taken were of that corps. Too much praise cannot be accorded to the artillery under the immediate direction of Colonel Beckham, which did great execution in the enemy's ranks, and added much to their discomfiture.

On the morning of the 26th, the enemy found to be extending their left. Hindman's division was withdrawn from my left, and placed in position on the right, the enemy continuing to extend his left. Major-General Cleburne, with [586] his division, was ordered to report to me, and was massed on Hindman's right. On the morning of the 27th, the enemy known to be extending rapidly to the left, attempting to turn my right as they extended. Cleburne's was deployed to meet them, and, at half-past 5 P. M., a very stubborn attack was made on his division, extending to the right, where Major-General Wheeler, with his cavalry dismounted, was engaging them. The assault was continued with great determination upon both Cleburne and Wheeler until after night, but every attempt to break their lines was gallantly repulsed. About ten o'clock at night, Brigadier-General Granberry, with his brigade of Texans, made a dashing charge on the enemy, driving them from the field, their killed and wounded being left in our hands. During this engagement two or three hundred prisoners were captured, all belonging to Howard's corps. After the engagement around New Hope Church nothing of very great importance transpired while occupying that line. The enemy changed position to Lost Mountain, my corps in the centre. Afterward I moved to the right near Kenesaw Mountain; subsequently changed position to the extreme left of the army. However, nothing of importance occurred on my line while in this position, save that, on the 22d of June, the divisions of Stevenson and Hindman attacked the enemy, driving him from two lines of works, and capturing some prisoners belonging to Schofield and Hooker. From here the army changed position to the vicinity of Nickagack Creek, my corps on the left.

We subsequently withdrew from this position, and took up a line on the immediate north bank of the Chattahoochee River. After remaining here for several days, the enemy crossed the river and went into bivouac. For further particulars, I refer you to reports of generals of divisions. I inclose Major-General Cleburne's report, and will forward others as soon as received.

The Secretary of War directs that you report by telegram to General R. E. Lee, Petersburg, Virginia, for orders.

Assume command of the Army of Tennessee and all troops in the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Assign General Beauregard to duty under you as you may select. Concentrate all available forces and drive back Sherman.

It is too late to expect me to concentrate troops capable of driving back Sherman.

The remnant of the Army of Tennessee is much divided. So are other troops.

I will get information from General Beauregard as soon as practicable.

Is any discretion allowed me?

I have no staff.

I respectfully urge that four months pay be immediately given to the troops of this department, and a small part in specie to each private, and that the money be sent to Major Deslond.

Four months pay for twenty thousand men.

The Navy Department has a quantity of coffee here. It would be very valuable to our troops. I suggest its transfer.