by Earl J. Hess
5. Bloodgood to Crawford, September 9, 1864, OR, 38(2):427; Newton, “Battle of Peach Tree Creek,” 151.
6. Elliott, Soldier of Tennessee, 201–5; Johnston to Cooper, October 20, 1864; Stewart to Mason, January 12, 1865; and Loring to Stewart, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(3):617, 871, 876–77; Castel, Decision in the West, 373, 375.
7. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):883; Featherston to Hood, December 18, 1866, John B. Hood Papers, NARA; Warner, Generals in Gray, 86. Featherston wrote three versions of his report, all of them essentially saying the same thing, because his original was captured by the enemy in the latter stages of the war. See Winfield S. Featherston to William W. Loring, September 1, 1866, box 10, folder 26, Ezra A. Carman Papers, NYPL.
8. Featherston to Hood, December 18, 1866, John B. Hood Papers, NARA; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864, OR, 38(3):886.
9. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864; and Huddleston to Neilson, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(3):881, 886, 890.
10. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864; and Jackson to Neilson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):881–82, 886, 889; Featherston to Hood, December 18, 1866, John B. Hood Papers, NARA.
11. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864; Stigler to Neilson, September 15, 1864; Dyer to Neilson, July 23, 1864; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864; Jackson to Neilson, July 23, 1864; and Huddleston to Neilson, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(3):882, 884–87, 889–90; Featherston to Loring, November 20, 1867, Winfield Scott Featherston Collection, UM; Featherston to Hood, December 18, 1866, John B. Hood Papers, NARA; record of events, Company H, 31st Mississippi, SOR, pt. 2, 34:47.
12. Featherston to Hood, December 18, 1866, John B. Hood Papers, NARA; Bloodgood to Crawford, September 9, 1864, OR, 38(2):427; Byrne, Uncommon Soldiers, 172–73; Bradley, Star Corps, 142–43.
13. Dyer to Neilson, July 23, 1864; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864; Jackson to Neilson, July 23, 1864; and Huddleston to Neilson, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(3):885, 887, 889–90.
14. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):883.
15. My estimate of Ward’s strength is based on Coburn’s report that his brigade had 1,315 men engaged on July 20. See Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864, OR, 38(2):390.
16. Warner, Generals in Blue, 538–39; Roberts to sister, August 13, 1864, John H. Roberts Civil War Letters, WHS.
17. McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 128; Brant, History of the Eighty-Fifth Indiana, 67–68; Welcher and Ligget, Coburn’s Brigade, 235; Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864; Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864; and Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864, OR, 38(2):345, 389–90, 404. Coburn gave Crist a certificate testifying “that he was the first man to notify him that the Rebels were coming.” See Newton, “Battle of Peach Tree Creek,” 153–54, 157.
18. McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 128–29; James A. Congleton Diary, July 20, 1864, LC; Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864; Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864; and Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864, OR, 38(2):327, 389–90, 404; Brant, History of the Eighty-Fifth Indiana, 68.
19. Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864, and Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864, OR, 38(2):327–28, 390; McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 129.
20. Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864, and Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864, OR, 38(2):390, 404–5.
21. Crane to Coburn, no date, OR, 38(2):413–14.
22. Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864, OR, 38(2):390.
23. Crane to Coburn, no date, OR, 38(2):413; Brant, History of the Eighty-Fifth Indiana, 68; McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 129. Other men estimated the distance at which firing started between Coburn’s brigade and the Confederates as fifty yards, not fifty feet. See Austin to wife, July 21, 1864, Judson L. Austin Papers, BHL-UM.
24. Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864, OR, 38(2):405–6; McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 129.
25. Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864; Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864; and Anderson to Crawford, July 27, 1864, OR, 38(2):328, 390, 422; Austin to wife, July 21, 1864, Judson L. Austin Papers, BHL-UM; Charles A. Booth Journal, July 20, 1864, WHS; Brant, History of the Eighty-Fifth Indiana, 68; Byrne, Uncommon Soldiers, 172–73.
26. Crane to Coburn, no date, OR, 38(2):414; McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 130.
27. Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864; Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864; and Crane to Coburn, no date, OR, 38(2):390, 405, 413; McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 129.
28. McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 129; Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864, OR, 38(2):345.
29. Harrison to wife, July 21, 1864, Benjamin Harrison Collection, IHS; West to not stated, September 21, 1864, SOR, pt. 1, 7:29; Smith to Harrison, September 15, 1864, and West to Grubbs, September 22, 1864, OR, 38(2):356, 377; Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 139; John L. Ketcham letter, July 21, 1864, in Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 151.
30. Newton, “Battle of Peach Tree Creek,” 155; Fleharty, Our Regiment, 90.
31. John L. Ketcham letter, July 21, 1864, in Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 150; Merrill to J. L. Mitchell, August 1, 1864, Samuel Merrill Papers, ISL; Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864, OR, 38(2):345.
32. Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864, OR, 38(2):345.
33. Ibid.; Harrison to wife, July 21, 1864, Benjamin Harrison Collection, IHS; John L. Ketcham letter, July 21, 1864, in Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 152; Bohrnstedt, Soldiering with Sherman, 127; McWilliams, Recollections, 139.
34. Smith to Harrison, September 15, 1864, and Case to Dunlevy, July 30, 1864, OR, 38(2):356, 367–68.
35. Case to Dunlevy, July 30, 1864, OR, 38(2):368.
36. Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864; Dutton to Mitchell, August 5, 1864; and Case to Dunlevy, July 30, 1864, OR, 38(2):346, 363–64, 368; Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 139–40; Merrill to J. L. Mitchell, August 1, 1864, Samuel Merrill Papers, ISL.
37. Newton, “Battle of Peach Tree Creek,” 156.
38. Dutton to Mitchell, August 5, 1864, and Case to Dunlevy, July 30, 1864, OR, 38(2):364, 368; DeRosier, Through the South, 132–33; diary, July 20, 1864, and Johnson to Folks at Home, July 25, 1864, Andrew Jackson Johnson Papers, IHS; Wheeler to parents, brother, and sister, July 21, 1864, Lysander Wheeler Letter, GLIAH; James A. Congleton Diary, July 20, 1864, LC; Bohrnstedt, Soldiering with Sherman, 125; Newbury, “At Peach Tree Creek”; Bode to editor, July 21, 1864, Indianapolis Daily Journal, August 2, 1864.
39. Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864; Smith to Harrison, September 15, 1864; and West to Grubbs, September 22, 1864, OR, 38(2):346, 356, 377; Wells, “A Western Man’s Account of Peach Tree Creek”; Fleharty, Our Regiment, 90–91; Reyburn and Wilson, “Jottings from Dixie,” 240, 242, 243n. R. Jenkins, Battle of Peach Tree Creek, 235, contends that the 79th Ohio and 102nd Illinois helped to repel the extreme right of Scott’s Brigade as it attacked Geary’s division to the west, before they turned their fire on Featherston’s men who were striking at the rest of Harrison’s brigade. But the sources cited in this note all clearly agree that the 79th Ohio and the 102nd Illinois fired only toward Featherston’s command to the left.
40. Case to Dunlevy, July 30, 1864, OR, 38(2):368; Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 140; Newton, “Battle of Peach Tree Creek,” 156.
41. Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864, OR, 38(2):345–46.
42. Ibid., 346–47; Fleharty, Our Regiment, 91; Reyburn and Wilson, “Jottings from Dixie,” 241.
43. Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864, OR, 38(2):442; Winkler to C. H. Young, July 28, 1864, Frederick C. Winkler Papers, WHS.
44. Arnold to Young, September 25, 1864, and Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):460, 466; H. Osborn, Trials and Triumphs, 160; Underwood, Three Years’ Service, 227; Priest, John T. McMahon’s Diary, 163.
45. Winkler to C. H. Young, July 28, 1864, Frederick C. Winkler Papers, WHS; George Hoenig Journal, July 21, 1864, www.russscott.com; Hurst, Journal-History, 139–40; H. Osborn, Trials and Triumphs, 161; Pula, Sigel
Regiment, 257; Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864, and Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):442, 466.
46. Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):466–67; Winkler to C. H. Young, July 28, 1864, Frederick C. Winkler Papers, WHS.
47. Winkler to C. H. Young, July 28, 1864, Frederick C. Winkler Papers, WHS; Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):467.
48. Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864, and Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):443–44, 466.
49. Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):467; Winkler to C. H. Young, July 28, 1864, Frederick C. Winkler Papers, WHS.
50. Winkler to C. H. Young, July 28, 1864, Frederick C. Winkler Papers, WHS; Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):467.
51. Howard to Whipple, September 18, 1864; Newton to Fullerton, July 21, 1864; Newton to assistant adjutant general, Army of the Cumberland, September, no date, 1864; and Kimball to assistant adjutant general, Second Division, Fourth Corps, August 4, 1864, OR, 38(1):202, 290, 298, 306; Benjamin T. Smith Reminiscences, 157, ALPL; Beaudot, 24th Wisconsin, 321–22. Castel, Decision in the West, 377, contends that Magevney and Carter advanced far enough to outflank Kimball’s right. There is no evidence to support this idea; Newton believed the threat came from Loring’s Division.
52. Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864, and Buckingham to Young, September 8, 1864, OR, 38(2):442–43, 453; Buckingham to Horace J. Munsey, August 6, 1864, Philo Beecher Buckingham Papers, AAS; Storrs, “Twentieth Connecticut,” 136; Fenton, “From the Rapidan,” 501.
53. Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864; Buckingham to Young, September 8, 1864; and: Hurst to Young, September 23, 1864, OR, 38(2):443, 454, 462; Buckingham to Horace J. Munsey, August 6, 1864, Philo Beecher Buckingham Papers, AAS; Hurst, Journal-History, 140.
54. Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864, and Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):443, 467.
55. Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864, and Buckingham to Young, September 8, 1864, OR, 38(2):443, 454; Buckingham to Horace J. Munsey, August 6, 1864, Philo Beecher Buckingham Papers, AAS; J. Cate, If I Live to Come Home, 196.
56. Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864, and Stephens to Gary, September 7, 1864, OR, 38(2):328, 484.
57. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):883–84.
58. Ibid., and Pulliam to Neilson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):883, 888.
59. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864, and Jackson to Neilson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):883, 889; Dunn to Stumpy, August 1, 1864, Matthew Andrew Dunn Letters, MDAH; W. Jordan, “Matthew Andrew Dunn Letters,” 123–24.
60. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864; Dyer to Neilson, July 23, 1864; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864; and Huddleston to Neilson, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(3):882–83, 885, 887, 891.
61. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864; Dyer to Neilson, July 23, 1864; Stigler to Neilson, September 15, 1864; and Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864, OR, 38(3):882, 885, 887; Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864, OR, 38(2):328.
62. Wheeler to parents, brother, and sister, July 21, 1864, Lysander Wheeler Letter, GLIAH; Johnson to Folks at Home, July 25, 1864, Andrew Jackson Johnson Papers, IHS; Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 140.
63. Grunert, One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Regiment Illinois, 86; Harrison to wife, July 21, 1864, Benjamin Harrison Collection, IHS; Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864, OR, 38(2):347.
64. Case to Dunlevy, July 30, 1864, OR, 38(2):368; Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 140.
65. Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864; Ragan to not stated, September 22, 1864; and West to Grubbs, September 22, 1864, OR, 38(2):347, 374, 377; West to not stated, September 12, 1864, SOR, pt. 1, 7:27; Bohrnstedt, Soldiering with Sherman, 125; Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 140–41; Harrison to wife, July 21, 1864, Benjamin Harrison Collection, IHS; Merrill to J. L. Mitchell, August 1, 1864, Samuel Merrill Papers, ISL.
66. Merrill, Seventieth Indiana, 152; Johnson to Folks at Home, July 25, 1864, Andrew Jackson Johnson Papers, IHS.
67. Stewart to Mason, January 12, 1865; Loring to West, September 15, 1864; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864; and Jackson to Neilson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):871, 877, 887, 889.
68. Loring to West, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(3):877; Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864; Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864; Crane to Coburn, no date; and Wood to Beecher, September 23, 1864, OR, 38(2):328, 405, 413, 443; Wheeler to parents, brother, and sister, July 21, 1864, Lysander Wheeler Letter, GLIAH.
69. Featherston to Loring, November 20, 1867, Winfield Scott Featherston Collection, UM; Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864; “Return of casualties in Featherston’s brigade in the engagement near Peach Tree Creek, Ga., July 20, 1864”; Stigler to Neilson, September 15, 1864; Pulliam to Neilson, July 23, 1864; and Jackson to Neilson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):883–85, 888, 890; record of events, Company B, H, 31st Mississippi, and Company D, 40th Mississippi, SOR, pt. 2, 34:18, 47, 169; record of events, field and staff, 3rd Mississippi, SOR, pt. 2, 32:759; Howell, To Live and Die, 333.
70. Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):881, 883.
71. Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864; Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864; Case to Dunlevy, July 30, 1864; Ragan to not stated, September 22, 1864; West to Grubbs, September 22, 1864; Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864; Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864; and Bloodgood to Crawford, September 9, 1864, OR, 38(2):329, 347, 368, 374, 377, 390–91, 406, 427; Welcher and Ligget, Coburn’s Brigade, 240; Brant, History of the Eighty-Fifth Indiana, 68; Reyburn and Wilson, “Jottings from Dixie,” 242; Hurst, Journal-History, 141; West to not stated, September 21, 1864, SOR, pt. 1, 7:29; Merrill to J. L. Mitchell, August 1, 1864, Samuel Merrill Papers, ISL.
72. Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864; Harrison to Speed, August 12, 1864; Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864; Buckingham to Young, September 8, 1864; and Winkler to Young, September 25, 1864, OR, 38(2):329, 347, 406, 454, 467; McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 130.
73. Featherston to Hood, December 18, 1866, John B. Hood Papers, NARA; Featherston to Robinson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):882; Featherston to Loring, November 20, 1867, Winfield Scott Featherston Collection, UM.
74. Cox, Atlanta, 156; Oatis to [Robinson], September 12, 1864, OR, 38(3):887.
75. Ward to Perkins, September 7, 1864, and Coburn to Speed, July 28, 1864, OR, 38(2):328, 390; Merrill to Emma, July 24, 1864, Samuel Merrill Papers, ISL; Alfred H. Trego Diary, July 20, 1864, CHM; Bohrnstedt, Soldiering with Sherman, 126.
76. Brant, History of the Eighty-Fifth Indiana, 68; Bradley, Star Corps, 143–44.
77. Miller to Crawford, July 27, 1864, OR, 38(2):406; Beasecker, “I Hope to Do My Country Service,” 300.
78. Beasecker, “I Hope to Do My Country Service,” 301; Johnson to Folks at Home, July 25, 1864, Andrew Jackson Johnson Papers, IHS; Harrison to wife, July 21, 1864, Benjamin Harrison Collection, IHS.
79. Henry Lyon to editor, July 22, 1864, Indianapolis Daily Journal, August 1, 1864; Anderson, They Died to Make Men Free, 223–24; McBride, History of the Thirty-Third, 133.
Chapter 7
1. Blair, A Politician Goes to War, 188; Warner, Generals in Blue, 169–70.
2. Blair, A Politician Goes to War, 188; Geary to Perkins, September 15, 1864, and Pardee to Creigh, August 10, 1864, OR, 38(2):137–38, 199–200; Cox, Atlanta, 156; Boyle, Soldiers True, 231; Clarke, “The Fight for the Battery at Peach Tree Creek.”
3. Candy to Forbes, August 1, 1864; Pardee to Creigh, August 10, 1864; and Reynolds to Brannan, September 9, 1864, OR, 38(2):158, 200, 470; Foering diary, July 20, 1864, John D. Foering Diary/Papers, HSP.
4. Jones to Forbes, August 1, 1864, and Warner to Mindil, September 8, 1864, OR, 38(2):212–13, 252; Elliott to Lamont [March 21, 1895], SOR, pt. 1, 7:22; Dunkelman, Patrick Henry Jones, 57; R. Jenkins, Battle of Peach Tree Creek, 169–71. For a differing view of the formation adopted by Geary’s division, see Dunkelman, “‘Worst Sight,’” 71, 75.
5. Geary to Perkins, September
15, 1864; Barnum to Forbes, September 11, 1864; Chatfield to Wheelock, September 16, 1864; Van Voorhis to [Wheelock], September 8, 1864; and Barnum to Wheelock, September 7, 1864, OR, 38(2):137–38, 272–73, 291, 299, 302; J.W.M. to editor, July 21, 1864, Indianapolis Daily Journal, July 26, 1864.
6. Warner, Generals in Gray, 269–70.
7. Scott to Robinson, July 23, 1864; Ives to Graham, July 24, 1864; Milligan to [Graham], July 24, 1864; and Nelson to Graham, July 24, 1864, OR, 38(3):895–98; Cannon, Inside of Rebeldom, 237.
8. Cannon, Inside of Rebeldom, 237.
9. Scott to Robinson, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(3):895; Long, “A Good Word for the Twentieth Corps.”
10. Geary to Perkins, September 15, 1864; Jones to Forbes, August 1, 1864; Fourat to Stockton, July 23, 1864; and O’Connor to not stated, September 7, 1864, OR, 38(2):138, 213, 224–25, 230; Pierson, “From Chattanooga to Atlanta,” 350.
11. Cannon, Inside of Rebeldom, 238; Geary to Perkins, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(2):138; Pierson, “From Chattanooga to Atlanta,” 350.
12. Fourat to Stockton, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(2):225; Loring to West, September 15, 1864, and Ives to Graham, July 24, 1864, OR, 38(3):877, 896; “Special” letter to editor, July 20, 1864, Augusta Daily Constitutionalist, July 23, 1864; Noyes, “Excerpts from the Civil War Diary,” 347.
13. Pierson, “From Chattanooga to Atlanta,” 351; Fourat to Stockton, July 23, 1864, and O’Connor to not stated, September 7, 1864, OR, 38(2):225, 230.
14. Jones to Forbes, August 1, 1864, and Fourat to Stockton, July 23, 1864, OR, 38(2):213, 225; Zinn, Mutinous Regiment, 131. The state flag lost by the 33rd New Jersey is today housed at the New Jersey Historical Society in Newark. See Atlanta: Voices of the Civil War, 100.
15. Clarke, “The Fight for the Battery at Peach Tree Creek”; Lockman to not stated, no date, OR, 38(2):236.
16. Geary to Perkins, September 15, 1864, OR, 38(2):138; Blair, A Politician Goes to War, 189; Castel, Decision in the West, 377; R. Jenkins, Battle of Peach Tree Creek, 178, 180–81; Ives to Graham, July 24, 1864, and Nelson to Graham, July 24, 1864, OR, 38(3):896, 898; Banning, 35th Alabama, 52.