Early in the afternoon, the Fourteenth corps, of Thomas' army, came up and took position between the railroad and Howard's left. Still later, at 4 o'clock, the Fourth corps came up, and the leading division, Kimball's, deployed in front of Gist's brigade. At 5 o'clock Newton's division, of the Fourth corps, got into position in the woods on Kimball's left, the two divisions far overlapping Gist's brigade, and extending a quarter of a mile beyond the right flank of Hardee's position. General Sherman's plan of attack was to assault with the Fourteenth and Fourth corps, and send the Seventeenth (Blair's) around Hardee's left flank to his rear, on the railroad, assured by these combinations of his certain capture. Davis brought his corps (Fourteenth) up in handsome style, about 4 o'clock, concentrated his assault on Lowrey, carried the position on the railroad, and captured most of Govan's brigade, with its brigadier-general and two 4-gun batteries. The brigade on Govan's left, Granbury's, threw back its right and defended itself on that flank and in the front. Lowrey and Hardee were promptly on the scene. Vaughan's brigade was brought up from Cheatham's division, and with the Fifth and Fifteenth Arkansas of Govan's brigade, charged the position of the enemy in Govan's line, recaptured most of it and confined the assaulting force to the position immediately on the railroad, from which they fired directly down Lowrey's line. Meanwhile the assaults in front were unsuccessful.
Simultaneous with the attack of Davis, Kimball's skirmishers east of the railroad engaged those of Gist's brigade, and at 5 o'clock an assault was made which fell on Whiteley's sharpshooters and Capers' regiment. Davis' troops on the west side of the cut fired into Whiteley's flank, and he withdrew his battalion from the barricade. Kimball's troops pushed up and occupied Whiteley's position, and drove back the three left companies of the Twenty-fourth South Carolina. On the left of his regiment Colonel Capers had made a barricade of logs, at right angles to the line, as a protection against a fire from the west side of the cut. Assisted by the adjutant-general of the brigade, Maj. B. B. Smith, and Lieutenant Holmes, adjutant of the Twenty-fourth, Colonel Capers rallied his companies, which, led by their commanding lieutenants, Easterling (Company B), Beckham (Company G) and Seigler (Company K), charged the barricade, drove Kimball's men out, and reoccupied their positions. Turning on the position which the sharpshooters had vacated, Major Smith and Lieutenants Easterling and Beckham, with Companies B and K, immediately attacked it, and Major Whiteley bringing up his battalion in gallant style, the whole left of Gist's brigade was re-established and the enemy driven to the bottom of the ridge. In this battle the brave Maj. D. F. Hill, of the Twenty-fourth, was killed, while directing the fire of the left of the regiment. It was now growing dark, and the lieutenant-general in person rode up and congratulated Colonel Capers on the success of his regiment. The commander of the Fourth corps, General Stanley, in his report explained his delayed attack as "in part owing to the dense undergrowth in front of the enemy, and further, to the slow progress the skirmishers made in pushing back those of the enemy. Grose and Kirby both reported that they could not carry the position in their front owing to the perfect entanglement made by cutting down the thick undergrowth in front of the rail barricade the rebels had hastily thrown up." This was the entanglement made by Gist's men with their pocket-knives. General Stanley continues: "Newton's division had a much longer circuit to make and when moved forward the right brigade (Wagner's) found no enemy in front [Wagner was far to the right and on the rear of Gist's right regiment], but received a fire from the rear of their right flank." This was from the right of the Forty-sixth Georgia. That regiment and the Sixteenth South Carolina kept up a steady fire in their front and on their flanks, that of the Sixteenth materially assisting the Twenty-fourth in its contest over the left barricades.
Night came on and it was unusually dark, so that the active fighting ceased. Hardee had stood the shock and held his position, with the single exception of Govan's brigade front, and that had been in part gallantly restored under his eye. About midnight General Hardee had successfully left his lines, and by daylight of the 2d he was in line of battle at Lovejoy, 5 miles in the rear of Jonesboro, with all trains packed and his weary and heroic battalions hard at work on a defensive line.
It is of this battle on the 1st and of its results, that General Hood reported to Richmond: "Hardee's corps was attacked in position at Jonesboro. The result was the loss of eight guns and some prisoners. Hardee then retired to Lovejoy's Station, where he was joined by Stewart's and Lee's corps." No dates were given by General Hood. Stewart and Lee did not reach Lovejoy's until the evening of the 3d, and Sherman's advance was deploying in Hardee's front by sunrise on the 2d. A battle was successfully fought all that day by the pickets, and again on the 3d, so that when Stewart and Lee came up from Atlanta on General Hardee's right rear, the Federal line of battle had been held at bay and the Confederate commander had only to strengthen a well-chosen position by the reinforcement of Lee's and Stewart's corps. If the attack of August 31st was disappointing, surely the splendid defense of September 1st, the successful retreat to Lovejoy's and the defiant resistance of a single corps on the 2d and 3d, with the safety of the trains, ought to have cheered the heart of the commanding general and inspired a gallant soldier's commendation.
Following these events, Sherman retreated to Atlanta, Hood concentrated his army at Palmetto, near the Chattahoochee, Hardee was supplanted by Cheatham in corps command, and General Gist took command of Cheatham's division. In Manigault's brigade, of Edward Johnson's division, the Tenth South Carolina was under command of Lieut.-Col. C. Irvine Walker, the Nineteenth of Capt. Thomas W. Getzen. Gist's brigade was commanded by Col. Ellison Capers, the Sixteenth regiment by Capt. John W. Boling, and the Twenty-fourth by Capt. W. C. Griffith.
On September 29, 1864, Cheatham's corps broke camp at Palmetto, crossed the Chattahoochee, and marched northward on the west of Atlanta and Sherman's army. Gist's brigade camped on the road to Lost mountain on the 4th and 5th of October. After a dreadful night of storm, they marched through rain and mud on the Dalton road, and pushed on for the next three days through Van Wert, Cedartown and Cave Springs to Coosaville on the Coosa river, on the 9th. Thence marching through the beautiful valley of the Armuchee and through Sugar valley, they came before Dalton on the 13th at 1 p. m. General Hood summoned the fort, which surrendered after John C. Brown's division (including Gist's brigade) was ordered to carry it by assault.
Leaving Dalton on the afternoon of October 14th, Gist's brigade passed Rocky Face, through Mill Creek gap, familiar places to the soldiers of that army. After camping a night at Villanow, they resumed their march, passing Taylor's ridge through Ship's gap, and camped in the Chattooga valley. Early next morning, October 16th, Colonel Capers was ordered to march back with his regiment, and hold Ship's gap until ordered to retire. In disposing his regiment for the defense of the gap, Colonel Capers placed Companies A and F, Captains Steinmeyer and Sherard, under Captain Roddey, acting major, about a quarter of a mile in advance down the mountain, and instructed Roddey to deploy his companies, taking advantage of the woods, and to detain the enemy as long as he could, falling back on the right and left of the regiment when pressed too hard. Colonel Capers, from an open place on the ridge, seeing the enemy's columns and counting seventeen flags, reported by courier to General Gist, who sent him a dispatch to hold the gap as long as he could, but not to lose his regiment. It was then about 11 o'clock, and Roddey was skirmishing heavily. Colonel Capers sent his adjutant-general, Holmes, to Roddey. Just as that officer had returned and was talking to the colonel, the enemy was heard to raise a shout from the direction of both flanks of Roddey's force, and suddenly the firing ceased. In a few minutes some men of Companies A and F, who had escaped capture, came in and reported that the enemy had passed around each flank of their line, and charging from the rear had cut off Roddey and most of his command. Soon after this the Federals came up the mountain, and charged the Twenty-fourth, which was holding the gap with the right and left companies deployed to protect the flanks. The well-directed fire of the gallant Carolinians repulsed the attack. Learning soon after that a force was moving around to get in his rear, Colonel Capers conducted his regiment to the rear by the right flank, each company firing up to the moment of marching. At the foot of the ridge they were relieved by cavalry, and the regiment was conducted to the bivouac of the brigade on the Summerville road. The Twenty-fourth lost 4 officers and about 40 men in this spirited skirmish at Ship's gap. Captains Roddey, Steinmeyer and Sherard and Lieutenant Gray were captured with about half of the force they commanded. It could not be ascertained how many of those cut off were killed or wounded. Only 8 were wounded in the gap.
On the next day the march of Cheatham's corps was continued. On October 18th they crossed the line of Georgia and Alabama, and on the 21st halted at Gadsden, where they received their mail and drew blankets, clothing and shoes, not enough to supply all necessities, but to relieve the most needy. Twenty men of the Twenty-fourth were absolutely barefooted when they reached Gadsden. That evening General Hood communicated to the army his purpose to cross the Tennessee and march into that State. The route lay through the beautiful valley of the Tennessee, desolated by the enemy, and Hood addressed a field circular to the army, calling attention of the troops to the ruined homes on every hand and exhorting officers and men to resolutely vow the redemption of Tennessee from the grasp of the foe. It was noted in the report of the colonel: "The circular was received by the Twenty-fourth with a hearty cheer, though many of the gallant soldiers who cheered were absolutely suffering for clothing and shoes."
The march to the Tennessee, then across that river and on to Franklin, was through rain and mud and snow, with sometimes not more than three biscuits a day to the man. Yet the troops were cheerful and dutiful. Finally, on the afternoon of November 30th, they came upon the field at Franklin. Cheatham's corps was deployed on the left. The divisions were formed in two lines from right to left as follows: Cleburne's, Brown's and Bate's. In Brown's division, Gist's and Gordon's brigades occupied the front and Carter's and Strahl's the rear line. Stewart's corps was on the right of the pike. At 4 o'clock p. m. the two corps moved down the hills, Brown's division marching by the right flank of regiments until they had descended the slopes, then forming forward into line. As they advanced, the front line of the enemy was steadily driven back. Says Colonel Capers in his report:
Just before the charge was ordered, the brigade passed over an elevation, from which we beheld the magnificent spectacle the battlefield presented. Bands were playing, general and staff officers and gallant couriers were riding in front of and between the lines, a hundred flags were waving in the smoke of battle, and bursting shells were wreathing the air with great circles of smoke, while 20,000 brave men were marching in perfect order against the foe. The sight inspired every man of the Twenty-fourth with the sentiment of duty. As we were pressing back the enemy's advance forces, Lieut.-Col. J. S. Jones fell mortally wounded in front of the right of the regiment. General Gist, attended by Capt. H. D. Garden and Lieut. Frank Trenholm of his staff, rode down our front, and returning ordered the charge, in concert with General Gordon. In passing from the left to the right of the regiment, General Gist waved his hat to us, expressed his pride and confidence in the Twenty-fourth, and rode away in the smoke of the battle, never more to be seen by the men he had commanded on so many fields. His horse was shot, and dismounting he was leading the right of the brigade when he fell pierced through the heart.