Bald Hill in the Atlanta Campaign

[scone]

Matt i had relatives in the 28th Alabama as well.. John & George Harris Company F they where brothers. john was wounded and captered at chickamuga. George was Wounded at Missionary Ridge & Resaca, Ga but dont know how bad. or if he stayed with the army till the end.

regards, Steven

[larry_cockerham]

I believe it is time for the Iowa boys to put the flag in it's rightful place, Alabama, where it can be held in the esteem it deserves. Tell 'em I said so! My gg grandfather who fought with the 10th TN Cavalry moved to northeastern Iowa when in his 70s and his buried in Mitchell County. He would send it back if he could!

[larry_cockerham]

Whitfield was a farmer and carpenter who is listed on the 1870 and 1880 censuses. He joined the 63rd Regiment, Company B, Confederate States Army, composed mainly of men from southwestern VA in December of 1863 in Dalton, Georgia. His 1909 pension application states he was “struck by a piece of shell in the siege of Atlanta on 9 Aug 1864”, “wounded in both legs, the wounds still visible and at times sore (in 1909)”. He was “partially disabled in my legs on account of varicose veins and occasional swelling of the wounds.” The 63rd regiment was commanded by Col. Lynch and was under the direction of General John B. Hood. Whitfield was reported sick at Ocmulgee Hospital on 11 August 1864 with “V.C. shell wound on posterior of both legs”. I discovered an interesting quote on page 62 of Jeffrey C. Weaver’s 63rd VA Infantry which reads: “Captain Clark wrote to his brother on August 10, 1864 from near Atlanta: We are fighting here in the Corps fighting all the time and some battling every day. Have had some land fighting on the flanks but we have had no loss in them. Our Corps occupy the center. We had one killed and three wounded yesterday out of our regiment with a shell…” Doubtless Whit Parker was among the three wounded.

[scone]

Larry i'm not sure of the location of the 63rd on the 9th being that they moved all over and around the city during last bit of the campaign.

Hoods Hq was n the corner of Whitehall Street and Faith Alley (Thanks to spies and deserters the federalls know the the location) and shell the day lights out of it. other places to stay away from: the rail car Shed, Five Points (center of town I guess)vicinity of churches and buliding with tall chimneys because the yanks sighted their cannon on them.

regards steven

[larry_cockerham]

Steven and Rob and the rest of you, I greatly appreciate your teaching me more about this battle which I had not really focused on previously. I had somehow gained an obviously incorrect impression that Whit Parker must have been out on some outpost when he was hit by the shell. Guess that wasn't the case at all. I also noted that the railroad ran directly from this part of Atlanta to Macon, the site of the hospital where he was taken after his wound. A distance of about 80 miles with severe wounds would have been a bit uncomfortable, though perhaps not as bad as having Sherman's guns aimed in your general direction! The city hall in Macon was converted to a hospital during that period and must have been his destination for aid. I suspect his Maker was watching out for him. May we all have that same fortune.

[scone]

Larry the info above came from Decision in the west - the Atlanta Campaign of 1864 by albert Castel

A very good read..

Steven

[30th_il]

Rob/Alabaman...I haven't forgotten to look up my sources. I have been a bit distracted and busy getting my daughter ready to to go to college. We move her tomorrow (Friday) and I hope to get back to checking these things out for you after she is settled. I will be in touch. Matt.

[Alabaman]

Howdy, Matt. Glad to hear from you! I've been real busy here, too. I have 2 sons 15 & 14 years old. School just started (last Monday) and "we're" still in the 'adjustment' stage..if ya get my meaning.;-) My sincere Congrats to your daughter on attending college!! I hope y'all the best in everything.

The research material sounds GREAT! Thank You Matt. Thats fine on the timing. I know how busy it is being a dad & that comes first. Then we can travel back in time & re-trace the footsteps of our ancestors. Talk to you soon..Rob


Howdy, Larry. Not problem about the 63rd info. Glad to help in my "small" manner!
It seems that Sherman ordered the field guns to open upon Atlanta as soon as the city came into range, ref: 4th US Army Corps. This would have been before Aug. 9. Each gun was ordered to fire (I believe) 50 rounds/day mostly at the city but sometime to the outer defensive line. Scone is right; could've been the 63rd was "on special duty" anywhere in front of Atlanta during this time. From what I've gathered (we'll see more possibility with Matt's knowledge too) the outer Atlanta ditches were manned around the 9th Aug. A proper defense, from watching Shermans troop deployment, probably had regiments/brigades being quickly ordered here & there.
Re: the wounded & hospitals: This was a TERRIBLE time for our ancestors. The wounded were triaged & wounds to exremities held priorty. Next treated were chest & stomach wounds. The minor wounded & men with head & neck wounds came next. The head/neck wounds were thought to be "mortal woundings" & treated last to save the ones who "had a chance", in the knowledge of their day. After being first treated in a field hospital for basic "stopping blood loss" & dressing wounds it was off to the General Hospital in Atlanta. Surgery was performed in earnest here. Thousands of wounded were being treated (then) and in the (anticipated) coming fighting. Bed space was of VITAL need so...ASAP after the patient was post-op & able, they were loaded onto Railroad cars (boxes on wheels filled with straw) & were sent to safe haven to "heal & get better" at what were Convalescent Hospitals. These were pre-picked Towns along the RR which enabled: 1) easy transport/unloading on a large scale 2) safety & good atmosphere. Remember, the General Cmdg. wanted these men back on duty ASAP! Trouble was the constant stopping/starting & heat..or..time. This was ROUGH on the wounded. I remember when I was wounded (gunshot) in the leg, I felt EVERY "bump" in the road the ambulance hit & groaned aloud, even with Morphine in me! Mine shames in comparison to theirs. Imagine these RR cars shaking/bumping long & the Summer HEAT! It makes me wince. Patient info was taken (records of admission/diagnosis/identiication/personal effects, etc.) which was done at the RR depots. Yep, they passed through these first. The original in Forsyth is still there. I visited it. The historical society said a wardated stretcher was still inside! From the depot(s), it was off to the designated hospital via springless farm wagons driven usually by civillians. This was "only" a 1/2 mile or less trip. Probably felt like eternity as gunshot wounds cause GREAT swelling/stiffness/pain upon movement. If further surgery was needed, it was performed now or maybe later. Lord Bless them for their suffering. The overwhelming numbers of wounded/sick swamped these Convalescent hospital buildings especially after 20-22 July and "tent hospitals" were set-up. There was simply no suitable building available besides private homes, which were already utilized. Having said all this, the mortality rate of soldiers haing "survivable" wounds was fairly low. If you died, it was usually from blood poisoning (septicemia.) There again, I experienced this (full blown septicemia) also & survived. I ran a 104-105 F fever compliments of fabric/fiber entering the wound from my clothing. Surprisingly, you don't realize you're "that" sick & you are only weak. But you are! You are dying & all around you seems distant & in slow motion. You ache horribly all over, like when you have the flu. I received antibiotics...these boys didn't have the luxury, sorry to say.
I hope this gives everybody a little glimpse of what these men experienced. It probably was much, much worse. I pray not. In the spirit of all our ancestors...Sincerely, Alabaman (Rob).

[larry_cockerham]

That was a great post, Rob. Yes, you started to evoke a feeling of discomfort in me as I was reading and getting a mental picture. That's one of the challenges of this hobby, attempting to get close enough to the time and conditions to even appreciate the challenges that occurred. I tried to send the file of my TWO ARMIES ON THE SAME ROAD again to your webtv address. Apparently still no go. I can cut and paste a few pages at a time until you get tired if you wish?

[scone]

After doing a little more reading in "Decision in the west" Lees corp was southwest of Atlana betwen East Point and the Sandtown rd. guarding the rail line in the area and this was Aug 7th . this is not the 9th but gives you a better idea where the corp was.

regards, Steven