General Morgan, whose command was there, relates, that “a corporal of Company I, Sixtieth Illinois, broke from the line, and under the cover of projecting ledges got up within twenty feet of a squad of rebels on the summit. Taking shelter from the sharpshooters, he called out:
“ ‘I say, rebs, don’t you want to hear Old Abe’s amnesty proclamation read?’
“ ‘Yes! yes!’ was the unanimous cry, ‘give us the ape’s proclamation.’
“ ‘Attention!’ commanded the corporal, and in a clear and resonant voice he read the amnesty proclamation to the rebels, beneath the cannon planted by rebel hands to destroy the fabric of Government established by our fathers. When he arrived at those passages of the proclamation where the negro was referred to, he was interrupted by cries of ‘None of your Abolitionism; look out for rocks!’ And down over his hiding-place descended a shower of stones and rocks. Having finished the reading, the corporal asked:
“ ‘Well, rebs, how do you like the terms? Will you hear it again?’
“ ‘Not to-day, you bloody Yank. Now crawl down in a hurry and we won’t fire,’ was the response; and the daring corporal descended and rejoined his command, which had distinctly heard all that passed. I regret I could not learn the name of the corporal, for he must get promotion at the hands of Father Abraham and Governor Dick Yates.”
Another incident of army life at this crisis of the campaign will interest you: While on Rocky Face General Howard stood upon a ledge of rocks from which he could see a large force of rebels upon a projecting spur of the ridge immediately beneath him. Tired of gazing upon the enemy, the General, in the absence of hand grenades, lighted the fuse of shells, and amused himself by dropping them down into the centre of the enemy, in whose ranks there was quite a lively commotion in consequence. The frightened enemy little suspected that the hand that dropped the shells into their ranks was the companion of the one lost at Fair Oaks by the fearless leader of the Eleventh Army Corps.
The flank movement was led by General McPherson with the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Corps, and Garrard’s division of cavalry, supported by General Thomas with the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, while Generals Howard and Schofield, with the Fourth, Twenty-third, and Stoneman’s division of cavalry, “amused the enemy in front.” Suddenly General Johnston waked up from his dream of security, and hastily abandoning his stronghold fell back upon a new position to save his communications, which were around the town of Resaca, almost due south from Chattanooga, and distant from it by railroad fifty-six miles. It is situated in Gordon County, Georgia, on the north bank of the Coosawattee River, which flows southwest, changing its name to the Oostalantee, and joins Etowah at Rome, the two forming the Coosa, which, joining the Tallapoosa, forms the Alabama, and flows into the Gulf at Mobile.
The railroad bridge at Resaca, destroyed by the rebels on their retreat, is one of the most important, perhaps the most important, on the Western and Atlantic Railway; it is six hundred feet long. The distance from Resaca to Atlanta is eighty-two miles by rail, and the country much more favorable for our operations than that from Chattanooga to Resaca.
The rebel general began to learn lessons of caution in the flanking school of General Sherman, and so guarded the extremities of his army that the latter was compelled to try a direct assault in front. For three days the sound of battle at intervals echoed among the hills, with constantly increasing advantage to the vigilant, skilful, and unyielding Sherman, until he had in his possession commanding hills, with railroads and bridges in his rear. Eight guns, two flags, large quantities of stores, and several hundred prisoners, were the trophies of the hard-earned victories.