July 26, 1864: Sherman dispatched his cavalry to raid Confederate rail lines south of Atlanta, sending McCooks division to Smiths Ferry, Garrards to Flat Rock, and Stonemans to Covington. Stoneman lobbied Sherman for permission to go on to Macon, continue the destruction and attempt the rescue of the prisoners held at Camp Oglethorpe and Andersonville if practicable. The result was disaster. Stoneman was the former leader of the Army of the Potomacs cavalry corps, and like a lot of Eastern Union officers sent West, he was eager to polish his reputation. So he decided it was practicable, forgot all about attacking the railroad, and tore off for Macon. He moved slowly and allowed himself to get cut-off and surrounded by a mixed bag of regulars and militia, and was forced to surrender his command. Worse was that he left McCook in the lurch. McCook actually managed to deal the Army of Tennessee a very heavy blow when stumbled into a 500-wagon baggage train, slaughtering more than 1,000 mules that the South simply could not replace (if youve read my books, you know all about the importance of horses and mules in the Civil War). He also tore up a few miles of track, but got pinned down on the 29th by Wheeler and had to issue an every man for himself order to save most of his command. Even so, he lost 600 of his men. #cw150 #civilwar #georgia #cavalry
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 20:30:00 +0000
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