Battles of the Civil War

by Thomas Elbert Vineyard

There was terrible fighting on the next day during which the outworks were captured by General Butterfield, but he was unable to hold his position gained on account of the raking fire from Hardee's corps, which galled him very much.

During the night Johnston withdrew his army from Resaca toward Atlanta, and was closely followed by Sherman, who sent a part of his army under General Davis to capture Rome, a small town in Georgia, where there was quite a number of iron factories.

This he did, and destroyed the factories, which were a serious loss to the Confederates, for they were used for the manufacture of cannon and other munitions of war.

Johnston brought his army to a halt at Adairsville, at which place he had fully decided to give battle to Sherman, and had so informed his officers. After skirmishing with the enemy for some time he suddenly changed his mind and withdrew his army to Cassville, where he took a strong position and issued a spirited address to his army, and had fully decided to give battle to Sherman, but, on account of his superior numbers, Sherman had been able to turn the right flank of the Confederate army.

On the advice of Hood and Polk, Johnston again withdrew his army from its position and took a much stronger position a few miles south on Kenesaw Mountain.

On account of these several retreats, gave rise to a cause of a great deal of dissent among his soldiers, as well as the inhabitants of the country through which he passed, which left them in the hands of the enemy, but it is conceded that Johnston did the best he could, as his army was inferior to that of Sherman both in numbers and equipment, and he was waiting for an opportunity to catch Sherman's army divided, or to get a strong position which would help him in repulsing any attack made by Sherman. This strong position he found at Kenesaw Mountain, and here made ready for battle in earnest.

A few days prior to this, while Johnston's army was retiring from its former position at Cassville, they became engaged with a division of the Federal army at Pine Mountain, in which battle General Polk was killed by a cannon ball. This was a serious loss to the Confederacy. He was a graduate of West Point; but after being graduated he took work with the Episcopal church as bishop, but at the outbreak of the war he entered the Confederate army and served with distinction. Only a short time before his death it is reported that he administered the ordinance of baptism to Generals Johnston and Hood. It is said that he was rebuked by some of his church for taking up arms. He replied that he felt as a man plowing in a field and was called by his neighbor to help extinguish the flames from his house which was on fire, and after the fire would go back to work. He was succeeded in command by General Loring.

Sherman decided to attack Johnston at Kenesaw Mountain, this being anticipated by Johnston and, on account of his strong position, met with his approval. This desperate battle was fought on the 27th day of June. Sherman's army advanced against the strong Confederate works again and again during the day, but every charge was repulsed, the mountainside being swept by the musketry and artillery of the Confederates. Sherman's loss in this battle was more than 3,000 men, while that of the Confederates was less than 1,000.

Sherman was convinced that his success did not lay in attacking his antagonist in a strong position, and turned upon Johnston's right and attempted to pass around him to Atlanta in the same manner in which Grant was trying to pass around Lee to Richmond.

Sherman succeeded in drawing Johnston away from Kenesaw Mountain, and Johnston withdrew his army by shorter roads within the entrenchments before Atlanta, which was immediately confronted by the Federal hosts. This was a critical time for Sherman, as the North was in a presidential campaign in which it appeared that the success of the war party depended upon his capture of Atlanta; and on the other hand it was a critical time for the Confederates, for the loss of Atlanta would mean the loss of their iron foundries, where they manufactured most of their munitions of war, and besides would divide their country in two divisions again as Grant's capture of Vicksburg had divided it before.