Battle of Dallas

John A. Logan

Finally convinced that Johnston's entire army was facing him from well-established entrenchments, Sherman planned to shift his troops from the right to the left flank. His goal was to reach a position beyond Johnston's right flank and seize the railroad near Acworth. Once this movement was completed, Blair's XVII Corps would move from Rome to Allatoona Pass and Sherman's work gangs could rebuild the railroad bridge across the Etowah. Sherman's divisions were not all with their proper corps. From left to right they were Johnson (XIV Corps), Wood (IV Corps), Milo S. Hascall and Jacob D. Cox (XXIII Corps), David S. Stanley and John Newton (IV Corps), Hooker's three divisions (XX Corps), Davis (XIV Corps), and McPherson's divisions (XVI and XV Corps). Sherman's orders for May 28 were for McPherson to send Davis' division back to Thomas and shift his position toward the left, taking over Hooker's lines. Hooker was directed to occupy Schofield's lines. Schofield was instructed to move to the extreme left flank after picking up Hovey's division. Baird's division (XIV Corps) would guard all the wagon trains at Burnt Hickory.[23]

William B. Bate

On the evening of May 27, Wheeler reported that Sherman's left flank along Little Pumpkinvine Creek was exposed and Hood convinced Johnston to attack it. That night Hood's corps pulled out of line and was replaced by Polk's corps without the Union troops discovering the move. From midnight to 6 am, Hood's troops marched 5 to 6 mi (8.0 to 9.7 km) through the dense woods to reach their jumping off point. However, Wheeler's morning report notified Hood that the Union lines were now behind the creek and bolstered with breastworks. Hood passed this information to Johnston, who called off the assault and ordered Hood's sleepy troops to take position on Polk's right flank. In fact, Sherman was so anxious about his left flank that the previous evening he ordered Howard to bend his line back and barricade it against attack.[24]

On May 28, Johnston received reports that Sherman's right flank troops were shifting northward. The reports were mistaken, but Johnston ordered Hardee to have Bate's division probe the Union defenses near Dallas. If the Union defenses were abandoned or weakly-held, Bate was ordered to seize them with his 5,000-man division. Jackson's cavalry division, also about 5,000-strong, was ordered to assist.[25] Bate's division was deployed with Joseph Horace Lewis's Kentucky brigade on the right, Jesse J. Finley's Florida brigade in the center, and Thomas Benton Smith's Georgia-Tennessee brigade on the left.[26] Jackson's division included Frank Crawford Armstrong's Mississippi brigade, Ross' Texas brigade, and Samuel W. Ferguson's Alabama-Mississippi brigade.[27] After meeting with his brigade commanders and Jackson, Bate outlined his plan. Bate directed Armstrong's dismounted troopers to attack first, and if they ran into little or no resistance, four cannon shots would be fired as a signal for the infantry brigades to attack. If the cavalrymen encountered strong defenses, no cannons would be fired and the attack would be canceled. Bate and the others were sure that they would meet only token forces.[28]

Battle of Dallas, May 28, 1864[29]

The Union defenses were held by Logan's XV Corps, from right to left, the divisions of William Harrow, Morgan Lewis Smith, and Peter J. Osterhaus. On Osterhaus' left flank was James C. Veatch's division of Dodge's XVI Corps.[29] Worried about the rifle fire coming from the Union lines, Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Montgomery of the 1st Mississippi Cavalry Regiment went to a hilltop battery position to observe the Federal defenses. He was nearly killed by a sniper, but in his brief glimpse was able to see that the Union lines were well-manned. He tried to warn his immediate superior Colonel R. A. Pinson, but Armstrong and Bate were convinced they faced only a skirmish line. At 3:45 pm, Armstrong's dismounted cavalrymen rushed Harrow's division, overran the picket line, and captured three guns from the 1st Iowa Battery. They penetrated a gap in the defenses, but Logan galloped up, bringing reinforcements and shouting, "Give them hell boys!" A counterattack by the 6th Iowa Infantry Regiment threw back Armstrong's men and recaptured the guns. Armstrong's men quickly retreated to their trenches.[30]

After witnessing the brusque repulse, Bate ordered the signal guns not to fire and sent couriers to each of his brigade commanders to cancel the planned assault. Thomas Smith received the message and had his troops stand down. However, Lewis and Finley did not get the message in time and they believed that they missed the signal amid all the shooting. They ordered their troops to attack and hundreds of them were shot down by Logan's and Veatch's well-entrenched soldiers. Again and again, the Confederates tried to rush the Union lines but were unable to get closer than 50 yd (46 m), finally stopping their attacks at 6 pm. Impressed by the bravery and persistence of their enemies, the Federals believed that they defeated an entire corps. Johnston only reported a loss of 300, but Lewis' Kentuckians lost 51% out of 1,100 soldiers. Bate's division and Armstrong's cavalry suffered at least 1,000 casualties and possibly as high as 1,500. Logan reported 379 casualties and Veatch's right-most brigade did not report a single casualty.[31] The American Battlefield Trust stated that Union casualties were 379 while Confederate casualties were 1,200.[32]

James McPherson

The fighting at Dallas on May 28, caused McPherson to ask Sherman to postpone the planned shift to the left. Sherman called off the move and May 29 was spent in skirmishing along the 10 mi (16 km) long opposing front lines.[31] Sherman's shift to the left was rescheduled for the night of May 29, but on McPherson's front, soldiers thought they were being attacked and both sides fired at phantom enemies all night long. Sherman again postponed the shift to the night of May 31. Meanwhile, Garrard's division moved from the extreme right to the extreme left where it joined Stoneman's cavalry with orders to head for Allatoona Pass. At the appointed hour, McPherson carefully pulled out from the area near Dallas and marched to occupy the Union lines farther north. By the morning of June 1, McPherson's transfer was in progress without alerting the Confederates facing them.[33] That day, Stoneman's horsemen occupied Allatoona Pass and the repair of the railroad line was begun from Kingston to the Etowah. Schofield's and Hooker's corps pulled out of line near New Hope Church and were replaced by McPherson's two corps.[34]

Francis P. Blair Jr.

On June 2, Schofield's XIII Corps moved to the intersection of the Allatoona road and the road from Burnt Hickory to Marietta (see the upper right of the New Hope Church map near Cross Roads Church). He deployed the divisions of Hovey, Cox, and Hascall, from right to left.[35] Supported by Butterfield's division (XX Corps),[36] Schofield's divisions moved east, driving back enemy skirmishers. The advance was made through forest so thick that the skirmish line could not be seen 200 ft (61 m) away and the troops were guided by compass. Cox's division crossed Allatoona Creek in a thunderstorm and found itself faced by a line of Confederate entrenchments. Hascall and Hovey came up on the left and right, respectively, and all three divisions entrenched.[35] They were faced by the Confederate divisions of Cleburne and Walker.[36] That day, the divisions of Baird and Johnson from Palmer's XIV Corps filled the gap between Schofield's new position and Pickett's Mill. On June 3, Hooker extended his corps to the left of Schofield. Stoneman's and McCook's cavalry arrived at Acworth and[37] Garrard's cavalry occupied the railroad south of the Etowah. Sherman's engineers and railroad crews were now able to repair the track as far as Acworth. Schofield pulled Hovey's division out of line and ordered it to move to Allatoona Church, which it reached in the evening.[36] The Confederates evacuated the trenches in front of Schofield and took up a new line facing north.[37]

Believing that Sherman was about to sweep around his right flank to seize Marietta, on the night of June 3, Johnston ordered a 6 mi (10 km) retreat. On June 4, Sherman directed McPherson to pull his troops from the area around New Hope Church, march behind the other Union forces, and take a position on the far left flank. When Johnston's soldiers abandoned their lines on the night of June 4, the Federals did not even realize they were gone. The Confederate retreat was conducted in the rain and the soldiers arrived at their new defenses muddy and exhausted.[38] Johnston's line ran from Lost Mountain in the southwest to Brushy Mountain to the northeast, with a salient in the center at Pine Mountain. Sherman rearranged his forces so that Schofield was on his right flank, Thomas in the center, and McPherson on his left flank at the railroad. Blair's XVII Corps arrived at Acworth on June 8, joining McPherson.[39] The next action was the Battle of Gilgal Church on June 15.[40]

Joseph Johnston

Between May 23 and June 6, Sherman's Union forces sustained 4,500 casualties while Johnston's Confederate army lost 3,000 casualties. During the month of May, Sherman's troops suffered 12,000 casualties out of 100,000 while Johnston's losses numbered 9,000 out of a total of 65,000–75,000. Sherman's losses were soon replaced by the addition of Blair's XVII Corps and other units, but Johnston's army had only the Georgia militia to rely on for reinforcements. Unfortunately for Johnston, by the beginning of June, Sherman's army grew stronger relative to the Confederate army despite heavier losses. In the fighting around New Hope Church and Dallas, Johnston held up Sherman's advance for two weeks by effectively countering his opponent's maneuvers. However, in May, Sherman's forces advanced 80 mi (129 km) into Georgia and forced the Confederates to give up a number of excellent defensive positions. The bitter fighting and harsh conditions also taxed the soldiers' physical and mental health. Hundreds of men from both armies were sent to the rear sick or exhausted while others deserted. Marauders from both armies stole from the local inhabitants.[41] Cox claimed that both Union and Confederate armies sustained 9,000 casualties in the month of May.[42] In the battles of New Hope Church and Dallas, Gaston Bodart stated that the Union army numbered 80,000 and the Confederate army 40,000, and that Union casualties were 2,400 and Confederate casualties were 3,000.[43]

William T. Sherman

On April 30, 1864, Sherman's forces counted 110,000 soldiers of which 99,000 and 254 guns were available for "offensive purposes". The 25,000 non-combatants with the army included railroad employees and repair crews, teamsters, medical staff, and Black camp servants. According to Albert Castel, Thomas' Army of the Cumberland numbered 73,000 troops and 130 guns, McPherson's Army of the Tennessee counted 24,500 soldiers and 96 guns, and Schofield's Army of the Ohio was made up of 11,362 infantry, 2,197 cavalry, and 28 guns.[44] Cox asserted that Sherman began the campaign with nearly 100,000 men and 254 guns. The Army of the Cumberland had 60,000 men and 130 guns, the Army of the Tennessee had 25,000 men and 96 guns, and the Army of the Ohio had 14,000 men and 28 guns.[45] Battles and Leaders stated that on May 1, Sherman's army included 88,188 infantry, 4,460 artillery, and 6,149 cavalry, a total of 98,797 soldiers. On June 1, there were 94,310 infantry, 5,601 artillery, and 12,908 cavalry, a total of 112,819 soldiers. The June figure may include Blair's XVII Corps.[46]

On April 30, Johnston's Army of Tennessee reported 41,279 infantry, 8,436 cavalry, and 3,227 artillerymen serving 144 guns. Battles and Leaders calculated Johnston's reinforcements as follows: Hugh W. Mercer's brigade (2,800) from the Atlantic coast on May 2, Cantey's division (5,300) from Mobile, Alabama on May 7, Loring's division (5,145) from Mississippi on May 10–12, French's detachment (550) on May 12, Jackson's cavalry (4,477) on May 17, French's division (4,174) on May 19, and William Andrew Quarles' brigade (2,200) on May 26. Jackson's cavalry received 643 more soldiers on June 10. Other possible reinforcements were from Georgia state regiments (1,200), men returned from furlough (3,399), recruits (799), and returned deserters (649).[47] There were about 8,000 non-combatants supporting the army, many of whom were men unfit for combat.[48]

The site of the battle is now Paulding County High School. The Confederate trenches lay along the southern edge of the campus, as marked by a Civil War Marker sign along Highway 61. The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 64 acres at the battlefield through mid-2023.[49]

• Dallas Union order of battle

• Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches kreigs-lexikon, (1618-1905). Stern.
• Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Vol. 4. Secaucus, N.J.: Castle. 1987 [1883]. ISBN 0-89009-572-8.
• Boatner, Mark M. III (1959). The Civil War Dictionary. New York, N.Y.: David McKay Company Inc. ISBN 0-679-50013-8.
• Castel, Albert E. (1992). Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-0562-2.
• Cox, Jacob D. (1882). "Atlanta". New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
• "Dallas Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust. 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
• Foote, Shelby (1986). The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 3. New York, N.Y.: Random House. ISBN 0-394-74622-8.

• "Battle of Dallas Map". American Battlefield Trust. 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021. This is an excellent map.
• "The Campaign for Atlanta: The "Hell Hole" (May 21-June 6)". National Park Service. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
• "Dallas". American Battlefield Trust. 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

33.9127°N 84.828°W / 33.9127; -84.828