Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER XIX. CAPTUEE OF ATLANTA. ATI OUST AND SEPTEMBEB. 1864. The month of August opened hot and sultry, butour position before Atlanta was healthy, with ample supply of wood, water, and provisions. The troops had become habituated to the slow and steady progress of the siege; the skirmish-lines was held close up to the enemy, were covered by rifle- trenches or logs, and kept up a continuous clatter of musketry. The main lines were held farther back, adapted to the shape of the ground, with muskets loaded and stacked for instant use. The field-batteries were in select positions, covered by handsome parapets, and occasional shots from them gave life and animation to the scene. The men loitered about the trenches carelessly, or busied themselves in constructing ingenious huts out of the abundant timber, and seemed as snug, comfortable, and happy, as though they were at home. General Schofield was still on the extreme left, Thomas in the centre, and Howard on the right. Two divisions of the Fourteenth Corps (Baird's and Jeff. C. Davis's) were detached to the right rear, and held in reserve. I thus awaited the effect of the cavalry movement against the railroad about Jonesboro', and had heard from General Garrard thai Stoueman had gone on toMacon; during that day (August 1st) Colonel Brownlow, of a Tenessee cavalry regiment, came in to Marietta from General McCook, and reported that McCook's whole division had been overwhelmed, defeated, and captured at Newnan. Of course, I was disturbed by this wild report, though I discredited it, but made all possiblepreparations to strengthen our guards along the railroad to the rear, on the theory that the force of cavalry which had defeated McCook would at once he on the railroad about Marietta. At the same time Garrard was ordered to...