Terry's Mill Pond

Marker Text:
The flat area south was the bed of Terry's mill pond- the impounded waters of Sugar Creek. Tom Terry (1823-1861) operated the grist mill that stood 800 yards downstream. It was burned by Federal troops on July 29, 1864 and was rebuilt and operated some years after the war.
The considerable area of the pond made it a landmark in the 1850-1860s, and further prominence attached to it because it is cited in military annuals recording the movement of Walker's & Bate's divisions, Hardee Army Corps (CS), to the battlefield of July 22, 1864, which indicate that General Walker was killed near the upper end of the mill pond.

044-52 Georgia Historical Commission erected 1956

Location: Glennwood Avenue at Interstate 20 interchange
GPS:
Visited: June 26, 2008

On my route towards McPherson's Avenue to see if there was a monument or marker to his death at what I assumed was his point of death, I see come across this marker as well at the General Walker monument. I presumed initially that this was the General Walker Death marker, but was mistaken. I now believe that the marker for General Walker's death is missing. More on that later.
This marker denotes the location of a large pond that, at one time, had a grist mill. It was located in the route of Walker's and Bate's men as they came up Sugar Creek towards what they thought was the rear of McPherson's line.
A couple of questions pop up immediately here for me, some of them for the Civil War and some of them for current day.
Where is Terry's Mill Pond? There is no pond here at the intersection of Glennwood Avenue and Interstate 20. For that matter, where is Sugar Creek? I am not familiar with either one of these bodies of water. This exit is familiar to me since my father used it for many years as he went to work. I remember passing the cannon as we cut down Wilkinson road towards his office. That was in the mid to late 70s. I have no recollection of a creek or pond. I can barely make out any flat area around since the interstate has obviously been constructed since the sign was installed and has destroyed the flat ex-pond area. This is one of those things that you can only say...hummm okay, there used to be a pond here, but there isn't know and hasn't been one for some time. I would have never known if the marker hadn't been here.
As for the Civil War question: General Walker was killed near the north end of the pond on July 22, 1864, which happens to coincide with the date of the skirmish that was a little north of here. If the battle started half a mile north of here at Memorial Drive and Clay Streets, how did he die here? Where there skirmishers positioned this far south? If there were skirmishers and there was gunfire, don't you think that the divisions north of here would have heard and not been surprised?
I will post the General Walker monument next, but I wanted to relay something that happened after that here were it is relevant.

Unfortunately my quest for McPherson's monument had run out of time for the day, I had to make my way back home before the full onset of Atlanta's afternoon rush hour traffic. Plus I had plenty of questions to digest for one day. As I made my way down Wilkinson Drive, I passed a low flat area that I found out was a DeKalb County park, Memorial Park. This park apparently encompasses some of the former Terry's Mill pond and butts up to the interstate boundary as well. So some of my question was answered. Now I know that there was a Terry's Mill pond and I can see some of the remnants of it.

Bate's Battle Line

Marker Text:
July 22, 1864. General Bate's division, Hardee's Army Corps (CS) was deployed on the right of Walker's division when they advanced north from Terry's Mill Pond. Being on the extreme right of the corps, Bate's troops moved up the east side of Sugar Creek Valley and swung westward to face Rice's 16th Army Corps brigade (US) posted on the hill (Murphy's High School) and northward along the old Clay Road (Clay street).
This attack failed to dislodge Rice's brigade. Bate's command composed of Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky troops - the 5 regiment of the latter being the celebrated "Orphan Brigade" commanded by Brigadier General Joseph H. Lewis.

044-47 Georgia Historic Marker erected 1985

Location: Memorial Drive in parking lot near Wilkinson Drive
GPS:
Visited: June 26, 2008

Now the story from the attacker's side, well the attackers in this scenario anyway. The defenders offense's side of the story, not the offensive defender's side. The confederates on the move to attack the back side of the federal line met the reserve troops moved forward to prevent just such a move. This sounds like a big game of chess but with live troops made of flesh and, some of them at least, about to die far from home.
So the attack met resistance and, most likely, not exactly where they expected to meet it.
The attackers did not have much success it seems, even with the celebrated "Orphan Brigade." After some research, this statement makes sense now. It is just there to show that some Kentucky soldiers, who could not return home during the war, were present. Kentucky was not part of the Confederate States of America, but was a border state. Recruitment efforts were made to draw on the support for the secession effort and the war. Several brigades were raised and sent south for the war effort. But, since Kentucky was never captured nor occupied by the Confederate States of America, these soldiers could never go home for fear of punishment; therefore they were orphaned from their state. Now that would have been a lot of information to place on a small marker. So they made me work for that little tid-bit.
Other than that information, the marker only determines a little of what we already have determined, that Sweeny's men moved south and met the unexpected north to west thrust of Hardee's men. What is surprising here is that this thrust, in this area, has no real effect. They cannot dislodge Rice's men.
All of this leading up to the Battle of Atlanta and it all comes to naught...so far.

Mersy's Brigade

Marker Text:
July 22, 1864. Colonel August Mersy's brigade of Sweeny's division, 16th Army Corps (US), was aligned on the right of the division when it went into action to meet the assault of Walker's division (CS) advancing up Sugar Creek valley (from Glenwood Avenue).
The left of Mersy's line rested on the hill were Murphy's High School stands. The right of the line extended southwest to join Fuller's 4th division, 16th Army Corps, on the high ground beyond the valley (near McPherson's monument).
General McPherson saw this part of the battlefield from the hill 3/8 mile due west of this marker (near Memorial drive and East Side avenue) enroute to his rendezvous with death.

044-50 Georgia Historical Commission erected 1956

Location: Memorial Drive at Dixie Avenue, Atlanta Georgia
GPS:
Visited: June 26, 2008

I left the last two markers and was driving east on Memorial drive towards Maynard Terrace in order to cross the Interstate, go to McPherson's Avenue and see if I could find his destination for the final ride. But I had to stop and turn around in order to go back to a small car wash where I passed a historical marker. Sensing it was of the first encounter of the Battle of Atlanta, I stopped.
This is part of Sweeny's men that had marched south. This would be part of the extension of the federal line near Glenwood avenue and Flat Shoals road. According to the marker, this line met with the men of Fuller's division, apparently near the Glenwood avenue and Flat Shoals road intersection, so McPherson's movement to protect his left flank had been completed or nearly completed when the battle began. But, to me, this line of protection accentuates the bulge in the federal line by flipping it back and around in a very narrow band. I could understand if Sweeny's men were to continue their southward movement to extend the line and had not yet arrived. I could also see the issue with determining the best defensive position to take in unfamiliar territory. Walker's men came up through a creek valley to the high point to the left of this marker so there must have been some consideration from Sweeny about how to get his men further south without breaking the brigades and therefore weakening his line further.
Note that the Murphy High School referenced on the marker is named as such, it is now Alfonso Crim High School. But it occupies the same ridge line apparent to the left, or east, of this marker. To the right, or west of this marker, about half a mile (3/8 a mile according to the marker), is "McPherson's Last Ride" marker (and "Gresham's Division" marker as well). After pausing to observe the encounter of Mersy's brigade here, McPherson rode off over the hill and down a rode through the pine trees to his death. This marker states what has been insinuated by the other markers.

McPherson's Last Ride

Marker Text:

July 22, 1864. When General McPherson heard the firing to the southeast while at luncheon (Whitefoord Avenue and the railroad), he mounted his horse and, sending away most of his staff on various missions, galloped south to this hill.
Here, he observed Dodge's 16th Army Corps in desperate combat with Bate's and Walker's divisions (CS) in Sugar Creek valley. Anxious about the left of the 17th Army Corps (at Glenwood and Flat Shoals Roads), he proceeded on a road through the pines in that direction, accompanied by an orderly and Signal Officer William Sherfy, who reluctantly followed after vainly warning the general that Confederate troops had seized the road.

044-44 Georgia Historical Commission erected 1956
Location: Memorial Drive near East Side Avenue
GPS:
Visited: June 26, 2008

Two days after Gresham's (and Leggett's) division pushed Wheeler toward Leggett's Hill, now the federals must defend the hill from a similar direction. This flanking attack should pin them against the defense line of Atlanta. There must have been a concerted effort to attack eastward from the siege lines, possibly at the railroad cut. But what could they really expect to achieve against an army that is basically surrounding them, cutting off their supplies, may be larger than there force, and does not have to worry about protecting the civilians or their long term welfare? It would be like taking little jabs at the heavy weight fighter all the while waiting for him to hit you with a left hook, a knock out blow. I mean I understand the will to fight for your home and country. I am not sure what was expected of General Hood at this time though. What did Jefferson Davis charge him with, the defeat of General Sherman's invasion?
This area was within a state of flux, changing hands just two days ago. Now from the marker, the left edge of McPherson's line was at Glenwood and Flat Shoals road not a mile from this marker and even closer to the intersection of Interstate 20 and Moreland Avenue, the sight of Leggett's Hill. That is not much of a buffer zone and quite a bulge that he should have expected to be vulnerable. Therefore the reason for shifting of Sweeny's division south to extend the line. Ah..the markers are starting to connect now and tell the story. A puzzle piece begins to show the picture now when connected to several other pieces, even if they are not located adjacent. I can fill in some pieces when there are blank spaces.
Now, the marker lets you know McPherson's fate. It was his last ride. I knew that McPherson died here in the Battle of Atlanta. The fort in East Point is named for him, Fort McPherson. There is a McPherson Avenue in East Atlanta. Now I am assumming that is where he died. I never knew the location of his death, only that it was in the battle for the city. I will quest for this marker as well.
But on my way towards McPherson's avenue, I was delayed by other markers, all along Memorial Drive and inter-related to this fateful day almost 144 years ago.

Gresham's Division

Marker Text

July 20, 1864. Brigadier General Walter Q. Gresham's 4th division, leading the advance of the 17th Army Corps (US) against Wheeler's Cavalry (CS) and forcing it west to Leggett's Hill, halted here at sundown.
Leggett's 3rd division was brought forward and would have moved against Wheeler's position on half mile west, but for failure to get orders.
While making a personal reconnaissance of Wheeler's position in his front, Gresham received a wound that ended his military service.
In 1893-1895, he was Secretary of State in President Groover Cleveland's Cabinet

044-43 Georgia Historical Commission erected 1956
Location: Memorial Drive near East Side Drive
GPS:
Visited: June 26, 2008

Well, this is disheartening. In the last post, I indicated that I thought I knew where Leggett's Hill was located in the present day. Apparently I was wrong. I went over to a hill that is just off of Moreland Avenue near the intersection of Hosea Williams Avenue. There were no markers present and I know that there is a Leggett's Hill historical marker. I have seen a picture of it on one website, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, and read about someone else reaching it as they walked the route of Hardee's Army Corps. I will have to find the link to that site and post it here. The Carl Vinson website indicates that Leggett's Hill is near the intersection of Interstate 20 and Moreland Avenue, which was another reason that I thought that I was correct with my hill. There are no other significant hills around and Leggett's Hill was supposed to offer a view into the defenses of Atlanta. I guess it was called "Bald Hill" as well since there were little to no trees on it(?).
Anyway, during my search for the hill, I ran across this marker, as well as the "McPherson's Lat Ride" marker.

This marker is July 20th and we pick up from the "Wheeler Delays Blair" action. Wheeler, in a delaying action engaged Blair but retreated back towards Leggett's Hill. Now Gresham's division is pushing him west ward. From the marker position that would be towards the Interstate 20 and Moreland Avenue interchange.
From our last marker, we know that there was a general push towards the west from Decatur and that Sweeny first moved west and then south, which would put those troops a little east of here, possibly a mile or so. That is where the "Battle of Atlanta Began Here" marker is as well.
This marker is on Memorial Drive as well, but down by East Side Avenue.
Re-reading the marker text, something does not quite make sense. Gresham's 4th division was pushing Wheeler towards Leggett's Hill, but Leggett's division was brought forward. Why was Gresham doing reconnaissance? Is Gresham just doing his duty to give Leggett an accurate view while in the process of turning things over? Was it to be a cooperative attack with both Gresham and Leggett's division against a cavalry?
And is the hill named after the Leggett's division commander or it this just an extreme coincidence? I am thinking the former, not the later. I mean how common a name is Leggett?

Other questions that come to mind from this marker...
The push from the confederates comes on July 22nd, when the federals occupy Leggett's Hill. The action from this marker is on July 20th, only two days prior. And the federals apparently don't take the hill on the 20th, when Gresham is wounded, because Leggett's division doesn't have any orders at that time. So that means that this whole area is in a state of flux. The confederates see that the federals are enveloping them and half-heatedly fight it off but are unsuccessful. This whole state of flux makes the idea that the Generals were lunching and lounging leisurely on July 22nd just one mile or so north from here under the trees. And this is the big generals, not just the division commander level. The Army of the Tennessee general and Sherman himself. Definitely a different time in warfare. I would think that Sherman's army is like modern day or World War Two paratroopers. A whole self sufficient (mostly anyway) fighting force that mixes the traditional chain of command mode with a more close contact type of command structure, thereby putting all of the army corps at risk. This has its advantages, but some distinct disadvantages....like the wounding of a Brigadier General in battle...or worse. This marker is a two for one. There is one directly next to it as well that occurs two days later.

Battle of Atlanta Began Here

Well the title of the marker says it all. Imagine my surprise.





Text of the Marker - Verbatim, but translated by me without all the abbreviations.


July 22, 1864. Sweeny's 2nd division, Dodge's 16th Army Corp (US), having been held in reserve north of the Georgia railroad (Candler Park), was ordered to support the left of Blair's 17th Corps in East Atlanta.


Marching via Clay Road, Sweeny's column halted here at noon to await further orders. Mersy's brigade led the advance, followed by Rice's.


Thus, by mere accident, the two brigades were posted where they intercepted the surprise attack by Walker's and Bate's divisions (Hardee's Army Corps) (CS), aimed at the rear of Blair's 17th Army Corps intrenched (sic) along Flat Shoals road, 1 mile west of this point, thereby precipitating the battle.

Georgia Historic Marker Number 044-46 Erected 1983

Location: Clay Street at Memorial Drive
GPS:
Visited June 19, 2008

Alright before we get to the content of the marker and the significance of it, there are a couple of things that don't make sense to me from the information in this marker.
I presume that Mersy's and Rice's brigades were Union under Sweeny's command, but according to the marker they "led the advance." That wording makes it seem as though they charged the Confederate lines. The reality is probably more along the lines that they led the movement southward down along Clay road. In reality, this movement was spread out along front close to a mile or so long and was not only down Clay road. I will have to measure the distance to the Mersy's Brigade marker further west down Memorial Drive.
The second thing that doesn't make so much sense to me is the location of Blair's 17th Army Corps. The marker says that they were entrenched at Flat Shoals road, 1 mile west of this marker. The only way that Walker and Bate would be able to reach that area is if they were making a swinging loop around. The present day Flat Shoals road does not cross Memorial Drive and is close to a mile and a half away at this point. What were they doing all the way over here? They may have been trying to push up the Memorial Drive road towards Leggett's Hill, which was, from what I have gathered, near the intersection of Flat Shoals road and Moreland avenue in East Atlanta. That makes a little more sense because it would bring in the Confederates push directly into the rear of the Union lines. But it leaves the attacking force's right flank wide open for a counter attack. It would be a risky move. Especially given the fact that once the orders were written and dispatched, adjusting them was a difficult and uncertain task in the days of runners.
Okay, so here my perception changed again. What is defined as The Battle of Atlanta begins here, on the east side of Atlanta away from present day (and, I am sure 1864 day) downtown Atlanta.
Currently this is the in-town suburbs of Atlanta. This section is either in Kirkwood area, or directly south of the Kirkwood area. I wouldn't classify it as ghettos or slums, but it is economically depressed. The housing market here is sketchy. From the mid 1990s or so and on, several houses and areas near here have been renovated and updated in an effort to ride the wave of renovation that has struck several near by areas. But this area, like East Atlanta and Grant Park, are still hit and miss. But that has nothing to do with the battle or the markers.
Here is verification that my initial perception of the southeast attack from Chattanooga to Savannah is entirely incorrect. The encounter at Peachtree Creek, which precedes these events, is not included in the Battle of Atlanta, as per this marker. So now we have the Union, coming from the east and pushing south to cover a flank, being attacked by the Confederates who are marching north to attack to the west. Apparently everyone was in a state of confusion. I certainly am. These events warrant more investigation and information on troop movements prior to July 22, 1864 at noon.
Nevertheless, the two sides clashed here, along Memorial Drive, and the Battle of Atlanta had begun. Now I have used Memorial Drive as long as I can remember. It took me a long while to connect the end that crosses Interstate 285 and continues on towards Stone Mountain (I think that part is Cynthia McKinney Parkway now) to the end that passes the State Capitol. But it is a great thoroughfare. Never did I connect it with the battle though. I see it in different light now. I wonder if all of the people who live next to this marker (and the others as you will see) understand what happened here and how it has affected their black american community. Somehow I doubt that they know. I cannot guess if they would care.

Wheeler Delays Blair

One of the two markers that triggered this interest in the local historical markers.

Text of the Marker - Verbatim, but translated by me without all the abbreviations.
McPherson's Army of the Tennessee (US) seized Decatur July 19, 1864 and on July 20th moved towards Atlanta in two columns - the 15th and 16th Army Corps via the Georgia railroad, the 17th by roads south of it where Wheeler's Cavalry (CS), guarding the right of Atlanta's outer defense line, was posted.
Wheeler encountered Blair's 17th Army Corps at Clay Street and, in a contest lasting all afternoon, endeavored to halt it - both forces using artillery. Toward evening, Wheeler withdrew west to Leggett Hill, where he was relieved at Midnight by Cleburne's division (of Hardee's corp) (CS), which had been withdrawn from the engagement at Peachtree Creek for this purpose.

Georgia Historical Commission Marker Number 044-42 Erected 1956

Location: Hosea Williams Drive at Clay Street
GPS:
Visited: June 19, 2008

So here we are, at the first marker, but smack in the middle of the preliminary movements prior to the Battle of Atlanta. The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was over, the encounter at Peachtree Creek was over, and Decatur was occupied by solders of the Union.
Now, at this point and time, I had always believed that the Battle of Atlanta happened in a rather linear fashion beginning at Kennesaw Mountain and continuing with the March to the Sea, southeast towards Savannah. So now, with the information on this marker, a flanking action to cut off the supply line and a push from the east towards a fortified city is described. This changes my perception and triggers some understanding of other markers that I had read along Dekalb Avenue where there were battles over the railroad line.
If, as I believed at the time, the battle followed a southeastern course, then those markers on Dekalb Avenue would have occurred after Atlanta had fallen. I had never been quite comfortable with the idea that the Union forces and the Confederate forces were still fighting over the railroad after the city had fallen. And I had never been comfortable with the idea that the Union commander did not sidestep the fortifications, attack at weak points, or siege the city.

So, from this marker, Union forces, after capturing Decatur on the east side of Atlanta, move towards the eastern defenses of the city and, along the way, encounter some of the defenders. The defenders delay the Union forces for an entire afternoon until they withdrawn to Leggett's Hill, where ever that is. The Confederate forces are relieved by another division that has come from the Peachtree Creek encounter.
Now when talking of the Battle of Atlanta, the encounter at Peachtree Creek is what comes to my mind, right after the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. The area a little east of the actual battle area is currently called Peachtree Battle. So for the Confederates to remove a portion of the defenders there and shift them to the south east, the threat must have been significant, and possibly expected.







An assumption of mine from the text of the marker: A.C. equals Army Corps. While reading this, and some others, I originally mistook the A.C. for Armored Cavalry since the markers that I read dealt with cavalry corps. After some research, I latched onto the Army Corps translation.