Rain-Soaked Resaca Battleground
Original post | May 19, 2013 for the Civil War Sesquicentennial
On a rain-soaked, muddy hillside, men in blue and gray converged. Surfacing from their encampments that covered acres around the battlefield, men mustered out for inspection prior to battle. To the left, the confederate army held their ammunition check, readying their cannons and soldiers, barricaded behind an earthen trench. to the right, the blues of the federal troups lined the upper ridge of the mountainside with at least six canons stationed before them. A man waved a flag on the right. a man answered on the left. men on horses came over the right ridge and gradually took their place at the middlemost point - eerily slowly, as if they were heading home after a long day. from the left, riders and horses did the same. As they clustered in the middle, men on horseback exchanged words and movements, and suddenly, the gunfire overwhelmed the resonance of the rain which was beginning to fall once more. The smoke from the guns and cannons separated the horizon. soon, the exhaust overshadowed every action, and as quickly as the process began, it ended. Fallen men covered the valleys and hillside as those that remained retreated to their starting point.
It was cold and rainy on this day, some 149 years since the day Generals Sherman and Johnston led their men through the terraced grassland. As I watched the reenactment, I kept thinking, 'what if there were 10,000 men like history tells us?' or 'as miserable as I am, it was worse for them and they couldn't stop and get warm.' It was a new experience for me, one that gave me an unpredicted respect for those who fought years ago. The cannon blasts shook me to the core. The men on horses, as calm as they seemed, surely knew that this might be their last ride.
On historic Chitwood Farm in Resaca, the Georgia Division of Reenactors Association and the National Park Service held the 149th anniversary of the Battle of Resaca. For an entire weekend, men camped in period tents on the hills surrounding the original Resaca battlefield and lived the life of the men they were portraying. As I approached the scene, one young man emerged from his tent and said, "my prayers have been answered." He started walking hurriedly down the hill, and then turned back to me. "We're going to war," he added and disappeared.
Each year, volunteers come together - rain or shine - in remembrance of the battle forged and the lives lost. Scenarios for each battle are based on the research of William R. Scaife, noted historian. the commanders for the 2013 event were General Terry Hancock [confederate] and General Hunter Poythress [federal].
This is the story of Sesaca:
It was the first major battle of the Atlanta campaign. General Joseph E. Johnston's confederate army of 55,000 soldiers were threatened by the 110,000 soldiers of the union under the command of General William Sherman. For two days, the troops fought with no clear victor.
General Sherman, realizing the futility of his frontal attack, sent his army south in an attempt to cut the Confederate's railroad supply line. General Johnston was forced to abandon his stance and the confederate army moved during the night across the Oostanaula River. The federal troops advanced the following morning, finding the trenches empty. it was over, but the fierce fighting took the lives of over 11,000 from both armies. The fighting moved south.
Withdrawn from Resaca
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca. On the 13th, the Union troops tested the Rebel lines to pinpoint their whereabouts. The next day full scale fighting occurred, and the Union troops were generally repulsed except on the Rebel right flank where Sherman did not fully exploit his advantage. On the 15th, the battle continued with no advantage to either side until Sherman sent a force across the Oostanula River, at Lay’s Ferry, towards Johnston’s railroad supply line. Unable to halt this Union movement, Johnston was forced to retire. [www.civilwar.org/battlefields/resaca]
