Today in History:

701 Series I Volume XXXIX-I Serial 77 - Allatoona Part I

Page 701 Chapter LI. NORTH Georgia AND NORTH ALABAMA.

bring them up as support. Finding that I could hold the enemy is check, about twenty minutes after the artillery opened fire I ordered the right wing of the Twenty-ninth Michigan Infantry, a new regiment which had just arrived and been placed in position behind breast-works on left flank, to move to the front and occupy the line of rifle-pits on left or redoubt. This they did, under a warm fire form enemy's battery and small-arms, in good style for a new regiment. Soon after, I ordered up the balance of the regiment, directing 100 men under the major to be sent to Fort Numbers 1. About 4 o'clock I ordered Captain Charles S. Cooper, chief of artillery, to send a section of Battery F, First Ohio Light Artillery, to occupy a small earth-work on the left and about 300 yards in rear of the redoubt occupied by Battery A, First Tennessee. Opening upon the enemy with 12-pounder Napoleons, soon silenced the enemy's battery of five guns. The fight continued until dark, the enemy being unable to drive us back an inch, notwithstanding he made several attempts to charge my line in his usual boisterous manner. I then withdrew my forces inside main works, leaving 100 of Twenty-ninth Michigan to strengthen the picket-line and hold this line of rifle-pits. I had stationed all of the One hundred and second Ohio Infantry left in camp, with a detachment of about 150 men of Thirteenth Wisconsin Veteran Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Blake, in Fort Numbers 2, which fort I placed immediately in charge of Colonel William Given, One hundred and second Ohio Infantry, with instruction to watch well our right flank. During the engagement my pickets on the line from the redoubt to the river on the right remained in their position, and when night came my picket-line was intact. I have since ascertained that I was attacked by Walthall's DIVISION, of Stewart's corps, Hood's army, 5,000 strong, whom I really fought with less than 500 men and a section of artillery, as the Twenty- ninth Michigan and the small detachment of Eighteenth Michigan Infantry were not engaged. I am satisfied that the bold front I showed him deterred the enemy from charging and saved to us a strong position, which if held by the enemy would have caused us much trouble and great loss of life. The enemy attempted to send in two flags of position, which if held by the enemy would have caused us much trouble and great loss of life. The enemy attempted to send in two flags of truce, but owing to the fact that he continued moving his troops into position, they were not permitted to come it. I suppose it was a demand for surrender, which would never have been acknowledge by me.

The general commanding arrived at dark and assumed the general direction of movements. During the night the gun-boat Stone River arrived with detachments of One hundred and second Ohio and Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, numbering about 1,200 men; also a detachment of Seventy-THIRD Indiana Infantry, from Athens, numbering eighty men. The morning of the 27th dawned upon us, showing the enemy still in front of us on our left, and extending around toward river nearly to the Moulton road. Re-enforcements came in slowly, consisting of 250 Fourteenth U. S. Colored Infantry, under Colonel T. J. Morgan; 195 Sixty-eighth Indiana Infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel H. J. Espy, and about 70 men of Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry, equipped as infantry, under Captain Wilson. Another detachment of Seventy-THIRD Indiana, under Lieutenant Colonel A. B. Wade, arrived, making about 150 of Seventy-THIRD Indiana Infantry. Nothing worthy of especial mention occurred during the day, with the exception of the driving back of enemy's skirmishers on our front and right flank by a detachment of Seventy-THIRD Indiana Infantry, under Lieutenant Wilson, Seventy- THIRD Indiana Volunteer Infantry. For particulars see sub-report marked A. *

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*See Wade's report, p. 709.

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Page 701 Chapter LI. NORTH Georgia AND NORTH ALABAMA.