Ohio, severely wounded. This gives Dodge a position about one mile and a quarter east of Nickajack Creek. He has one brigade of Schofield on his left, and Morgan L. Smith's division on his right and rear. The cavalry and infantry demonstration on the Turner's Ferry road reached a point, as they think, half a mile* from Nickajack, and found it tolerably well fortified, with four guns in position. This brought the infantry to a halt, and they have not advanced since. They will, however, hold all the ground they have gained, and be ready to try the strength of the enemy's works, if it is deemed desirable. I have about 15,000 men across the creek with Dodge, and Logan's two divisions (Osterhaus' and Harrow's) in reserve at the forks of the road. They got in late and completely worn out. I do not think more than half of the divisions arrived. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Major-General SHERMAN, JAS. B. MCPHERSON, Major-General. Commanding, &c. HDQRS. DEPARTMENT AND ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, GENERAL: I send you herewith sketch of the position of the Army of the Tennessee to-night. Early this forenoon Gresham's division, of Blair's command, charged and carried a line of rebel rifle-pits on the Turner's Ferry road, and then pressed forward until about 6 p. m. they gained a position on Nickajack Creek, within about 500 yards of rebel intrenchments on the Chattahoochee. Leggett's division moved down to Howell's Ferry, on the Chattahoochee; drove the enemy away on the opposite side of the river, where they were erecting rifle-pits; left a brigade there and four 24-pounder howitzers (brass), and then moved up the river toward the mouth of Nickajack Creek and connected with Gresham. We have had some pretty lively skirmishing and a good deal of artillery firing. The enemy appear to have strong works north of the Chattahoochee, but if they remain where they are to-morrow I think we can punish them severely, as I am getting batteries into position to-night. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi. BLAKE'S MILL, GA., July 18, 1864-9.30 p. m. GENERAL: Inclosed please find sketch of my position to-night and copy of Special Field Orders, No. 70, paragraph VI, from these headquarters. In pursuance of this order, the different commands were in motion promptly at the hour designated, the Seventeenth Corps closing up on the Fifteenth, and the Fifteenth and Sixteenth *Reads a mile and a half in Howard's quotation from this report: see p. 37. +Not found; but see sketch with McPherson to Schofield, July 5, Part V, which is probably a duplicate. Not found. § See Part V. coming together by heads of column at the Widow Rainey's, and the infantry (Fifteenth Corps) reaching a point about one mile from Braman's [Browning's] Court-House, just as the last brigade of the cavalry was passing. The cavalry under Brigadier-General Garrard pushed on and struck the railroad, and five regiments were set to work to destroy it. A brigade of infantry (Lightburn's), of Morgan L. Smith's division, was also sent down, and the two forces together thoroughly destroyed over three miles of track, upsetting the ties, breaking the iron loose, piling up the ties, putting the iron on top, and setting fire to the pile. The whole of the Fifteenth Corps was marched to the immediate vicinity of Braman's [Browning's] Court-House, the Sixteenth to the point indicated on the map, and the Seventeenth to Blake's Mill, to be used as a reserve to reenforce either flank in case the enemy advanced or was found in strong force. There being no water in the vicinity of Braman's [Browning's] Court-House, just before dark, after the brigade returned from the railroad, the Fifteenth Corps marched to Henderson's Mill and went into camp. There is no telegraph line along the railroad. During our operations we saw no indications of any heavy force of the enemy; nothing but cavalry, which fell back and disappeared readily on our approach. Inclosed please find copy of report just received from General Garrard.* Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, JAS. B. MCPHERSON, Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi. IN THE FIELD, July 21, 1864-3 p. m. GENERAL: Brigadier-General Leggett, commanding Third Division, Seventeenth Army Corps, advanced his lines and captured a hill, quite a commanding position, this forenoon; also, some 60 prisoners, principally from Cleburne's division. General Leggett is on my extreme left. The Fourth Division (late Gresham's) made a demonstration at the same time in favor of Leggett, and the loss in the two divisions is between 260 and 300 killed and wounded. The hill is two and a quarter miles from Atlanta, and a portion of the enemy's works around the town are in view. The enemy made one vigorous assault and two feeble attempts to recapture the hill, but were signally repulsed. Since that time he has been moving troops in the direction of our left. General Leggett reports having seen at least ten regiments of infantry passing in that direction. I have strengthened that portion of the line with all the available troops I have got, and I will simply remark in closing, that I have no cavalry as a body of observation on my flank, and that the whole rebel army, except Georgia militia, is not in front of the Army of the Cumberland. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Major-General SHERMAN, Commanding. *See Part II, p. 808. No. 438. Reports of Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, U. S. Army, commanding Army of the Tennessee, of operations July 22. BEFORE ATLANTA, GA., July 24, 1864. I have the honor to report the following general summary of the result of the attack of the enemy on this army on the 22d instant: Total loss, killed, wounded, and missing, 3,521 men and 10 pieces of artillery. We have buried and delivered to the enemy, under flag of truce sent in by them, in front of the Third Division, Seventeenth Army Corps, 1,000 of their killed. The number of dead in front of the Fourth Division, of same corps, including those on the ground not now occupied by our troops, General Blair reports, will swell the number of their dead on his front to 2,000. The number of their dead buried in front of the Fifteenth Corps up to this hour is 360, and the commanding officer reports as many more as yet unburied, burying parties being still at work. The number of the dead buried in front of the Sixteenth Army Corps, 422. We have 1,000 wounded of theirs in our hands, the larger number of their wounded being carried off during the night after the engagement by them. We have also captured 18 stand of colors, and have them now. We have also captured about 5,000 stand of arms. The attack on our lines was made seven times, and seven times repulsed. Hood's and Hardee's corps and Wheeler's cavalry engaged us. We have sent to the rear 1,000 prisoners, including 33 commissioned officers of high rank. We still occupy the field, and the troops are in high spirits. A detailed and full report will be forwarded as soon as completed. Recapitulation: Our entire loss, 3,521; enemy's dead thus far reported buried and delivered to them, 3,220; total prisoners sent North, 1,017; total prisoners wounded in our hands, 1,000; estimated loss of the enemy, at least 10,000. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Major-General SHERMAN, Major-General. Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi. HEADQUARTERS FIFTEENTH ARMY CORPS, Near East Point, Ga., September 10, 1864. CAPTAIN I have the honor to make the following report of so much of the battle of July 22, in front of Atlanta, as took place after the command of the Army of the Tennessee devolved upon me, in consequence of the unfortunate death of Major-General McPherson. To properly understand the action after I assumed command, the disposition of the troops, together with the occurrences up to that time, are essential. I may, therefore, not improperly state them: On the morning of July 22 the Army of the Tennessee was the left of the army, and occupied a position extending across the Atlanta and Augusta Railroad, about a mile and a half from the enemy's works on that side of Atlanta. The troops were disposed as follows: The Second Division of the Sixteenth Corps was in position on the extreme right, connecting with the left of the Twenty-third Corps. The Fifteenth Army Corps, connecting with Sweeny's division, was in position with the First Division, Brig. Gen. C. R. Woods, on the right, the Second Division, General M. L. Smith, in the center, and the Fourth Division, General Harrow, on the left. The extreme left of the line was held by the Seventeenth Corps, disposed as follows: The Third Division, General Leggett, on the right, and the Fourth Division, General Giles A. Smith, on the left. The Third Division, General Leggett, occupied a hill, a military position of great importance, and the Fourth Division was in position on a continuation of the ridge along the McDonough road, with its left flank refused toward the east. The First Brigade, Fourth Division, Sixteenth Army Corps, General Fuller, was in reserve to the Seventeenth Corps. The Second Cavalry Division, General Garrard, which had been covering the left flank and the trains of the command at Decatur, having been sent on an expedition to Covington, the Second Brigade of the Fourth Division of the Sixteenth Army Corps, commanded by Colonel Sprague, was posted at Decatur, three miles to our rear and right, to cover the supply trains. The position occupied by the army was intrenched, and crossed the Augusta railroad at the connection of the First and Second Divisions of the Fifteenth Corps. At at early hour in the morning it was discovered that the enemy had abandoned their line of works in our front, and fallen back to their main intrenchments about Atlanta. Our lines were at once advanced, the rebel pickets readily driven in, and the line which the rebels had held the evening before was occupied. By order of General McPherson, the troops at once commenced to reverse the works. The Fifteenth Corps was moved up to the rebel line in the same position, by divisions, as it held the previous day. Of the Seventeenth Corps only the skirmish line was advanced. The main force remained on the hill and the ridge along the McDonough road, a prolongation of the line of the Fifteenth Corps, two regiments of Colonel Hall's brigade, the extreme left of General Smith's division, being refused. Soon after the occupation of this line, General McPherson ordered General Dodge to withdraw General Sweeny's division, of the Sixteenth Corps, from the right and mass it in the rear of a new position, to be selected for the Seventeenth Corps. The division moved along a road parallel to the railroad, and bivouacked about three-quarters of a mile in rear of the Seventeenth Corps. General McPherson also ordered General Dodge to put a brigade of his Fourth Division or the left of the position assigned to the Seventeenth Corps. The brigade had not yet moved when the attack was made. The interval between the Fifteenth and Twenty-third Corps, made by the withdrawal of Sweeny's division, was filled by moving up the right of the Fifteenth and left of the Twenty-third Corps. Very soon after 12 o'clock the pickets of General Giles A. Smith's division, of the Seventeenth Corps, which had been thrown out a mile and a half in rear of his line and in front of General Sweeny's division, of the Sixteenth Corps, were attacked. Skirmishers were thrown out by General Sweeny, who at once found the enemy advancing toward the Sixteenth Corps. The enemy had moved a heavy force into the woods on the left flank and rear of the Seventeenth Corps, with the evident intention of striking the left of the Seventeenth Corps, and at the same time throwing a heavy column in its rear. At the time the firing commenced General McPherson was near the Fifteenth Corps. Upon hearing the fire he rode rapidly toward the left of the army. I rode at the same time in that direction, but learning from an officer, whom I met, that an attack was being made in force, I returned to my corps. A short time afterward Lieutenant-Colonel Strong brought me an order from General McPherson to send a brigade to fill the interval between the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps. I sent the Third Brigade, of the First Division, Colonel Wangelin commanding. In the mean time General McPherson had reached the field of operations. In riding across the interval to Giles A. Smith's division, General McPherson was killed by the enemy's skirmishers. The rebel force, Hardee's corps, advancing rapidly, forced back the pickets of Giles A. Smith's division, and struck the left flank exactly perpendicularly to his line of battle. At the same time a heavy fire was opened from batteries posted on a ridge in their rear, the fire being directed upon the rear of the Seventeenth Corps. Simultaneously with this attack the enemy emerged from the timber, in front and to the right of the Sixteenth Corps, in three columns. It was evident that the movement was intended to strike the Seventeenth Corps on the flank and rear at the same time, and that the rebel commander was not aware of the presence of General Sweeny's division in that part of the field. General Dodge had at the first skirmishing put his Second Division, with two batteries of artillery, into line of battle, with Fuller's brigade on its right. The enemy moved upon the rear and right of the command of General Dodge. This movement exposed the flank of the enemy's column. General Dodge at once pushed forward two regiments, the Twelfth Illinois and Eighty-first Ohio, that delivered so destructive a fire on the enemy's flank that his column gave way. A charge was made, and the enemy fell back to the woods. General Dodge then withdrew his line a short distance to the rear. Colonel Wangelin's brigade, of the Fifteenth Corps, about this time came up on the double-quick, and was at once engaged with the head of a column of the enemy through the interval between the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps, with the evident intention of striking the Seventeenth Corps in the rear of Leggett's division. Wangelin, although his brigade was small, threw it into line of battle, and, moving under a heavy fire, steadily pushed the enemy back and gained a slight elevation of ground, and constructed a breast-work of rails. The Second Brigade, of the Fourth Division, Fifteenth Corps, was on the right of General Leggett's division, of the Seventeenth Corps. Being satisfied, from the direction of the firing, that the enemy was fishing a column through the interval before mentioned, as well as by the movement of wagons and artillery from that direction, General Walcutt, commanding the brigade, changed his front to the left rear. brigade was scarcely in position when a force of the enemy appeared in its front. The brigade became at once engaged, and repulsed the advancing line. The enemy reformed and attacked the division of General Leggett. This gave General Walcutt an enfilading fire upon them, which he made very effective by opening fire from a section of 24-pounder howitzers, belonging to the Seventeenth Corps. A 20-pounder Parrott, belonging to the Seventeenth Corps, which had been abandoned, was retaken by the Forty-sixth Ohio, under heavy fire. The division of Gen. Giles A. Smith, attacked on the flank and rear, was at once moved to the opposite side of their works. Its flank was partially driven in, and the enemy, by the rapidity of his assault and the heavy force with which The |