The rebels evidently understood our maneuver, and just as careful not to provoke a fight as we were. Before night had set in, we received orders to prepare to march the next morning at six oclock, and to prepare five days rations during the night, which would keep our cooks busy all night. Our negro cook had proved to be very faithfull, and we had no concern about our rations. By eight oclock the next morning we were in line and marching, in the rear of Gen Thomas'es corps; and for many hours we were in hearing of what sounded to us as a hard battle. That our movement was a very important one was indicated by the vigor of our movements. We must have covered some 18 miles that day, and went into camp near the mouth of what was called snake creek gap which is a narrow valley running between two mountain ridges, and was perhaps four or five miles long. The road ran throgh, and along the creek, and had never been used other than a neighborhood road, and of course our pionneer forces had very arduous work to perform. About four oclock the next day we passed out of the gap into a level creek bottom where we had a partial view of a grand army marching. Our situation was now southwest of Resaca, where a hard battle was to be fought, during the next two days. A battle semed to be raging at that time in the front. My regiment was ordered to march out on the Dolton road, and act as a picket in that direction. This was the road that the rebels at Dalton would have to march over to reach the miane army at Resacka, hence a strong picket was necessary. The rebel column did not pass near us and we were left in place during the night. In the morning we were advised that a fierce battle was on by nine oclock, but for some unaccountable reason we were not ordered in, notwithstanding the fact that our (the 23 corps were leading the battle, and suffering sevier losses.) At two oclock Gen Willicks brigade found us and had us fall in on the right of his brigade. He said to us in broken Duch: "Fall in I takes you into de fight; and he was as good as his word. We marched in line of battle, guided by the sound of, which had advanced more than a mile since morning. We stayed with Wilick till we reached the outer line of works, that had been taken by our corps in the fore noon, and were in direct line with the with the artillary fire of the rebels, whose shells that ranged too high to strike our front line, passed over to us and exploded among us but did little damage to us other than to keep us dodging. The general left us here to find our way to our divission, which which was a mile in our front. It must have been five oclock, when we took the place of a regiment that had fought all day, and had suffered greatly. In front of our position was several batteries, situated on a high ridge, and these guns did great damage when the gunners succeeded in firing them; and to prevent them from doing that, we had to sharpshoot the gunners and keep them down. Our position was also on a high ridge, with a narrow valley between us and the rebels. Our main line was consealed just behind the crest, onto which men were sent as sharpshooters to pay their attention to the rebel gunners. The rebels also had sharpshooters, who were very complimentary, and our men were onley safe when they had a tree between them and the front. Here we lost one of our best soldiers (James Clark), but no other serious casualties. Just before night the firing ceased along our line, but twas very vigorous on our left, where an assaulting column of the rebels was defeated with great loss. While it was yet daylight I got a good view of the valley, and our lines in two columns, close up to the rebel works; but did not seme to be fighting, as there was no sound of battle on either side. In fact after the rebel repulse on our left, there was very little firing anywhere. The generals on both sides were evidently planing for the great contest that was sure to follow on the morrow. Just after dark we were relieved, and marched immediately to the rear, about a mile I should judge, passing throgh a field hospital enrout. Probably a hospital ground would be more proper, as there was nothing there but the ground as yet; five acres of which half had been laid out in squares, streets and alies, and the dead, and the dead and wounded places where the tents would be erected, when they should arrive from the rear. >From piles of limbs we knew that the surgeons were already busy, and doing their work by very dim lights. Looking at the situation now from a scientific point, it is a wonder that so many of our mamed comrads lived throgh thes crude operations. We were halted in line of battle, but not near the fighting line. We afterwards learned that our corps formed a hollow square around the wagon trains of the army. We also learned early in the morning that Joe Hooker was to lead the fight that day on the salient of the enimy, which was the now celebrated sunken fort. If he should succeed in taking that, the rebel line would be broken and a disastrous defeat incured for the rebel army. All day long til 4 oclock the battle raged with varryied results. While Hooker did not succeed in taken the "sunken fort" he did succeed in silencing the guns; for the posession of which hundreds of men perished, and the guns were so riddled with shot and shell they were wortthless to us the next morning when they fell into our hands. About 4 oclock the firing ceased, and a very impressive calm settled down upon us. By this time a blue haze had enveloped the battlefield, which was the result of powdersmoke. The ambulance now go tbusy, and made a constant dull roar, that to us appeared like a mournful funeral sound. When the darkness of night closed around us this mournfull sound continued till about 9 oclock. At ten oclock we laid down on our arms, and was soon asleep; from which we were awaked at 11:15 by a sudent unearthly roar of artillery first, followed by that of musketry, all of which lasted about 20 minuts, and then ceased as sudenly as it had begun. Years afterwards in Iowa, I met an ex-confederate soldier, who was there, and he said that the uproar was caused by the Georgia malitia, who got scared at the lightning bugs, that were very thick that night; but I think that Johnson was preparing to retreat, and ordered the firing to impress us with the idea that the enimy would be found in the morning, ready for business. I do not think that it fooled gen Sherman, judging by the promptness with which he followed the rebel army in the next morning. We had no further disturbances that night, and when we awoke in the morning we soon found that there was no enimy before us. By nine oclock we were in line of battle and ready to march. A detail of men from each regiment was made to burry the dead; amoung which was some of my company, and saw the sunken fort, with its piles of dead from both armies, which they discribed as the sickning sight that they ever saw, and hoped that they would never witness such again. We marched along the outer edge of the battle field, and the stench was so great that I had no desire to get closer to it. Our corps crossed the river marched on a parallel, but several miles north east of the center; which as usual was comanded by Gen Thomas; with Gen McFerson on the right. About noon we came to a small, but deep river, that delayed us some time in crossing. Here I got into conversation with a negro man who displayed more intelligence than any man that I met in Georgia. He said that there was an old lady living in that part of the country, who had a half dozen sons in Brags army at the time of the Chickamoga fight, and she was in the habit of taking in a pack horse load of provission, when ever she could reach them, and she made one of her visits while the battle was going on, and while there the rebels brought in some of our cavelrymen; who always presented a clean nice appearance, and were usually fine looking men. She returned to her home, very much discouraged. She told her neighbors that the south could never whip them thar yankees. She said that them prisnors were fine looking men, and that they stood up and looked so brave by the side of the southern soldiers, who looked more like prisoners, than did the yanks. She said that she did not believe they could ever whip such men as that. After crossing the river, which I believe was called the "Coosey" we marched till late in the evening, but saw no enimy, and to all apparencies was as peacfull as could be. But the center and the right wing were having some fighting all of the time, as those commands marched in the immediate rear of the retreating army. We did not see any of the balance of the army till we got to Cartersville, on the Etowa, where we met a part of the center. Gen Sherman thought of crossing the river here, and taking Altoona, a very strong rebel position on the other side, just beyond a gap in a high range of hills. This is an old southern town, situated on the railroad, and surrounded by a very good country. I think that we remained here four or five days, resting, and getting supplies. It was claimed that Gen Sherman was here, but I did not see him. I was very much indisposed for the first time, while I was in the service up to this time, but kept on foot till we got orders to march, when I applied for medicine, and a ride in the ambulance but when I reported there was so many that were worse off than I was that I went back to my regiment and marched with the column. Instead of crossing the river, we down it till we came to a pontoon bridge, that had been laid by Gen Hookers command. to be continued next week. Sandi SCKY Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=south-central-kentucky Barren Co Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=kybarren Sandi's Genealogical Puzzlers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/gorin/puz.html GGP: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/