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SEVEN. The Residue of a Long Day
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138 Seven.TheResidueofaLongDay While the Fifteenth, Fourth, and Fourteenth Corps conducted fierce attacks against the Confederate center, Schofield’s Army of the Ohio quietly worked on Johnston’s left flank all morning of June 27. Sherman’s double approach—experimenting with assaults combined with a tried and true method of seeking to turn the enemy’s flank—held promise of results in one way or another. While everyone’s attention was focused on the bloody dramas at Pigeon Hill, Cheatham’s Hill, and the line between those two heights, Schofield created a small but significant advantage for the Federals with minimal loss and little fanfare. In Sherman’s plan, Schofield was to move down Sandtown Road early on June 27, cross Olley’s Creek, and head for the railroad if at all possible. If that were not feasible, he was to secure a position from which further advances could be made. Sherman sought any information about the unknown terrain south of Johnston’s army, any advantage of position he could use to further his goal of prying the Confederates from their line of heavy entrenchments. Schofield entrusted this assignment to Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox’s Third Division, which had not been engaged during the past few days. Moreover, Cox controlled the area around Cheney’s House near the junction of the Powder Springs and Sandtown Roads, one of several intersections that would play a role in Sherman’s flanking maneuvers. He was well placed to cross Olley’s Creek while Brigadier General Milo S. Hascall ’s Second Division extended Hooker’s line. Hascall would divert Confederate attention with artillery fire while Cox made his move, and Major General George Stoneman’s cavalry division of the Army of the Ohio was to cover Cox’s right flank.1 Schofield had to deal with Brigadier General William H. Jackson’s cavalry division of Loring’s Army of Mississippi. Jackson placed Brigadier General Lawrence S. Ross’s Texas Brigade in his center, straddling Sandtown Road just south of the crossing of Olley’s Creek. Ross maintained his headquarters at the house of Mr. Shaw, only a quarter of a mile from the creek. tHE rESIduE of a loNg day : 139 Brigadier General Frank C. Armstrong’s Mississippi Brigade was positioned to the left of Ross, representing the extreme left unit of Johnston’s army, while Brigadier General Samuel W. Ferguson’s Alabama and Mississippi Brigade held the line to the right of Ross’s troopers.2 Sherman hoped to keep abreast of Schofield’s progress from his command post on Signal Hill, a height near the center of Thomas’s sector. The telegraph line that John C.Van Duzer had stretched for thirteen miles along the rear of the Federal army group worked well all day; it kept Sherman in touch with all of his subordinate commanders much faster and more easily than relying on couriers. At one point during the day, Sherman noticed a good deal of smoke coming from one part of the contested line and wondered what it meant. Schofield was able to inform him that artillery rounds had set fire to dry leaves between the opposing positions and that it did not affect operations.3 Cox put together an effective plan to cross Olley’s Creek and push on south in careful stages. The troops of Colonel Robert K. Byrd’s Third BriRuff ’s Mill Moss Cheney Kolb To Marietta Sandt own Road Smyrna Station Shaw Armstrong Ross Ferguson Cameron Cox Reilly Armstrong Ross Ferguson Jackson Reilly 24 KY Byrd Cameron C o x S p r i n g s M a r i e t t a R d . P o w d e r Hooker Williams Barter Hascall Geary Gibson Hood Baker W e s t e r n & A t l a n t i c R a i l r o a d Stovall Schofield N o y e s C r e e k Olley’s Creek Nickajack Creek Stewart Clayton Operations South of Kennesaw [44.204.24.82] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 03:11 GMT) 140 : tHE rESIduE of a loNg day gade had already crossed the stream the previous day and established a small foothold on the other side, in an area not adequately covered by the Confederate cavalry. They had constructed a crude bridge at this crossing one mile north of the Sandtown Road bridge. Colonel Daniel Cameron’s Second Brigade was to cross the bridge early on June 27, while...