Overview

On June 25, 1864 General William Tecumseh Sherman ordered a series of attacks on the Rebel positions on Kennesaw Mountain. The main blow was to be struck at a low ridge about 1.5 miles south of Pigeon Hill. If the frontal assault broke the Confederate line, Sherman intended to drive through to the Western and Atlantic Railroad two miles east of Kennesaw Mountain.

Commanders

General Sherman commanded three armies, the Army of the Cumberland, Army of the Ohio, Army of the Tennessee. George Thomas, a master at the art of defense, commanded the Army of the Cumberland, largest of Sherman's armies. Major General John Palmer commanded the XIV Corps with divisions under Absalom Baird, David Stanley and Jefferson C. Davis. Davis had been a Lieutenant inside Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War. John Newton was part of Oliver Otis Howard's IV Corps. It would be the men under Newton and Davis who would try to take the Confederate position.

Joseph E. Johnston was one of the most amiable generals in the Confederate Army. In fact, about the only person he didn't like was Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Like General Thomas, Johnston was considered to be a master of defense. William Hardee commanded the center of the Rebel line between W. W. Loring and John Bell Hood. Johnston considered Hardee to be his most dependable corps leader. Hardee had Frank Cheatham on the crest of a low ridge forming the southern end of Hardee's line while Patrick Cleburne men protected Cheatham's northern (right) flank.

Preparation

After receiving Sherman's orders on June 25, Thomas scouted his line looking for the best place to attack. That night he told Davis that his men would "storm the enemy's works" near his position. Davis ordered his three brigades under James Morgan, John Mitchell and Daniel McCook Jr. to withdraw from the Union line and form a camp a mile to the rear (behind the present-day parking area on Cheatham Hill Road for the Kolb's Farm Loop). On the evening of June 26, Davis told his men they would strike the Confederate line the following morning.

Thomas would later write there were two reasons why he chose to attack at this point in the Confederate line. First, the natural cover and the jutting salient brought his men closer to the Confederate line here than in any other place where his Army of the Cumberland was positioned. Second, Thomas believed that Frank Cheatham had failed to protect his line with adequate amounts of abatis and other anti-personnel devices.

Union Attack

Cheatham, hard-drinking Tennessean who advertised Jack Daniels after the war did have a couple of tricks up his sleeve. His entrenched men were back from the military crest of the hill, but well positioned to withstand any Union assault. Mebane's battery of concealed artillery, positioned to the right of Cheatham's center with two regiments from Vaughan's brigade in front of it, could sweep the field near his defensive works with grapeshot and canister. Finally, he had a regiment on the front line withhold firing until the Yankees rose to the clearing in front of the entrenchments.

At the bottom of Cheatham Hill three brigades formed behind the Union line. Two brigades would strike the Confederate line at the top of the hill while a third would try to outflank the line to the left. A secondary attack would strike Cleburne's position north of Cheatham. Finally, Geary's Division from the XX Corps moved in support of the attacking Yankees bring the total number of Yankees in the attack to about 5,000 men. It was a typical Sherman advance.

The end of a 15-minute artillery barrage indicated the start of movement for the Yankees. As Harker's men passed through the Union line they crossed a small tributary of John Ward Creek and then into the open and Davis's men weren't far behind. Sporadic Confederate fire turned into a "murderous volley"

As the men climbed Cheatham Hill they were suppose to form a battleline, but the fire was so heavy there was no chance of that. Moving towards the forward salient was Mitchell on the Union right and McCook on the Union left. Harker headed for the line in front of Mebane's battery. South of Mitchell, 'Fighting Joe' Hooker pushed Geary's division forward towards the southern side of Cheatham's defenses.

Standing near Phelan's battery, intently watching the action develop was a man wearing no insignia, as if he was a private. He was not loading the cannon or firing guns. This was Frank Cheatham. As the Union soldiers reached Cheatham's defenses they would surge up the parapet, then fall, repeatedly unsuccessful in their attempt to breech the defensive line.

After killing Charles Harker and driving back his men, Vaughan's men turned their fury upon McCook and Mitchell. Dan McCook, a law partner of Sherman's reached the earthwork before he was mortally wounded by a bullet in the right breast, about 4 inches below the collar bone. The Confederates in the trenches began to chant "Chickamauga, Chickamauga", the chant used by the Army of the Cumberland as they took Missionary Ridge during the Battle of Chattanooga.

At this point most of the Union troops withdrew about 25 yards from Cheatham's line to a small dip where they would be protected from fire. They began firing on the Rebel position, allowing others who were trapped directly in front of Cheatham's line to withdraw.

The men of Maney's and Vaughan's brigades were drawn to the line to see what had transpired. In front of them was a "frightful and disgusting" sight a member of the 9th Tennessee wrote after the war. Almost immediately both sides began calling the salient the Dead Angle.

From the regroup position, the Union soldiers of McCook's and Mitchell's brigade could be resupplied at night. Work began on a tunnel to blow the Confederate position.

Cheatham's losses for the hour-and-a-half battle were 26 dead and 169 wounded or captured. Jefferson C. Davis reported the losses for his division alone at 824 with 131 killed in action.

The Civil War in Georgia
Beginning with the Great Locomotive Chase and the battle of Chickamauga, to the Atlanta Campaign and the March to the Sea

Article Links
'Fighting Joe' Hooker
Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Ohio
Army of the Tennessee
Fort Sumter
Frank Cheatham
George Thomas
Jefferson Davis
John Bell Hood
Joseph E. Johnston
Kennesaw Mountain
Kolb's Farm Loop
Patrick Cleburne
Western and Atlantic Railroad
William Hardee
William Tecumseh Sherman

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