During all these movements, constant skirmishing occurred between the opposing armies. The heaviest attack took place on the 28th, and was made by a strong rebel force upon General McPherson’s troops, when they were in the act of closing up to General Thomas in front of New Hope Church. The Federal troops being strongly protected by breastworks, repulsed the enemy bravely, and succeeded in driving him back with heavy loss. A brief pause succeeded this demonstration, which was at times broken by a renewal of skirmishing; after which the movements against the enemy were continued, and on the 1st of June General McPherson moved to the left, and occupied the position of General Thomas in front of New Hope Church, while that general and Schofield were ordered to move five miles farther to the left, thus giving the Union troops the occupation of the roads leading to Allatoona and Ackworth. General Stoneman’s cavalry was next pushed into Allatoona, at the east end, and General Garrard’s at the west end, of the Pass, thus accomplishing the real intention to turn Allatoona.
The bridge across the Etowah which had been destroyed by the rebels was immediately rebuilt; and General Sherman moved his army upon Ackworth on the 4th, thus compelling Johnston to leave his intrenchments at New Hope Church, and to move westward to cover Marietta. The National troops reached Ackworth on the 6th, and rested there for a few days.
Allatoona Pass, being considered by General Sherman as specially suited to the purpose, was chosen by him as a secondary base of operations, and was, according to his orders, made suitable for defence.
On the 9th of June, the army moved forward to Big Shanty, having been on the previous day strengthened by two divisions of the Seventeenth corps, and one brigade of cavalry, which had been absent on furlough. Between Big Shanty and Marietta a mountainous district intervenes, which has three separate and well-defined summits, the most easterly of which is called the Kenesaw Mountain, and lies directly north and northwest of Marietta, and west of the railroad; it has a spur, called the Little Kenesaw, which juts out for a considerable distance in a northeasterly direction. The second of the highest summits, known as Lost Mountain, lies directly west of Marietta, and midway between these two lies Pine Mountain. These three mountains are connected by ranges of smaller eminences, upon all of which the rebels had erected signal stations, from which they could observe all the operations of the National troops.
A great battle was impending; and the rebels, swarming about the summits of the hills, “thick as leaves in Vallambrosa,” made the place alive with moving figures, and the air vocal with the hum of voices, the noise of felling timber, and the many hundred sounds of hurried preparations for the coming struggle.
General Sherman describes the scene as “enchanting—too beautiful to be disturbed by the harsh clamors of war;” but beyond him lay the Chattahoochie, which must be reached; and no way to reach it lay before him except to cut his way through the rebel army, that stood between him and the goal to which all his motions then tended. The moment for attack approached. General McPherson was ordered toward Marietta; General Thomas to Kenesaw and Pine Mountain; and General Schofield toward Lost Mountain. The rebel front extended westward, and was upwards of two miles in length; and was so drawn that Kenesaw Mountain, the controlling point of the whole region, formed a sort of citadel for the enemy.
General Johnston’s force was estimated at sixty-three thousand, besides a force numbering fifteen thousand of Georgia militia, which was placed at his service. The preparations for attack had been going on for five days, and on the 14th, the battle for the possession of the mountains began.
THE BATTLES OF KENESAW MOUNTAIN.
June 14, 1864.
Heavy skirmishing had continued from the opening of this battle till the day on which the great fight occurred which ended in giving the Unionists possession of the enemy’s position on Kenesaw Mountain. Upon the 14th, the rebel general, Bishop Leonidas Polk was killed, while commanding on Pine Mountain, during a heavy cannonading by the Fourth corps. During the same night the enemy, having discovered that General Hooker was moving to cut off their retreat, abandoned their works, which were quickly occupied by Stanley’s division of the Fourth corps. A paper was found affixed to a stake near the rebel works on Pine Mountain, on which was written, “Here General Polk was killed by a Yankee shell.” It was subsequently ascertained that the rebel generals Johnston and Hardee, who were standing near Polk, narrowly escaped being killed at the same time.
General Johnston now drew back his centre to the chain of hills which connected Kenesaw and Lost Mountain, still keeping his right and left flank respectively on these mountains. During the 15th, 16th, and 17th, heavy skirmishing continued from morning till night; which told upon the endurance of the troops almost as much as a pitched battle would have done. Late in the evening of the 17th, severe skirmishing opened in front of Stanley’s division. At the same time the enemy engaged Harkens’ brigade, of Newton’s division, and a regiment—the Ninety-third Ohio—of Hazen’s brigade; and toward nightfall a heavy fire was opened all along the front of General Howard’s line. The batteries of Bridge and Bradery were speedily brought to bear upon the rebels, and with telling effect; while upon the left the batteries of Logan and Blair were making themselves heard in most formidable manner. Night drew on, and a brief silence ensued, but the rebels had not yet abandoned the attack. A correspondent of the day thus describes the renewal of the battle: “It was a beautiful night. The soft moonlight beaming from the clear southern sky, floated through the forest trees, lighting them with a bewitching kind of beauty. The air was calm and balmy, the sky without a cloud. Fireflies, sparkling like diamonds, were flitting around. The cry of the whip-poor-will resounded through the forest, and the plaint cry of the croaking frogs rose from the marshes like the tinkling of sleigh-bells. Smoke and flames shot up from buildings that had been fired by shells. Soon a dropping shot along the line, followed by rapid musketry firing, roused us from our solemn kind of torpor. The rebels had opened on our skirmish line, and a brisk fight ensued. Our batteries soon opened, hurling shell and canister into their ranks. The attack also extended to our left, where they vainly strove to regain their lost position, but were again repulsed by Logan’s command. The rebels were foiled in their attack at all points, and the horrid din of battle soon gave way to the placid stillness of night.”