That time of year again, for the ghosts.

May 26, 2023, 7:36 PM

The Atlanta Campaign- 159 years later..

May 25, 1864: The Battle of New Hope Church
Union General William T. Sherman had hoped to avoid the trap laid for him by Confederate Commander Joseph E. Johnston at Allatoona Pass by moving his army west away from his supply line on the Western and Atlantic Railroad. As soon as Johnston received reports of this movement, however, he began pushing his own forces west to intercept the Federal host at the city of Dallas. There they put up a defensive line six miles long (called the Dallas Line) and waited for the Union approach.
Hood's Corps was on the Confederate right- his line cutting right through the cemetery of New Hope Church. He got reports from a captured Union soldier that Union General Hooker's XX Corps planned to attack, and Hood gave the order to his men to be ready for it.
Three Divisions from Hooker's Corps (Williams, Butterfield and Geary in reserve) marched forward at 5pm, cutting through nearly a mile of tangled brush and forest before assaulting. Their target was the ground held by Stewart's Division. The Confederates took position in the old cemetery, refusing to dig earthworks there as it would disturb the graves. The Federals plunged into a deep ravine that would later be christened the "Hell Hole" and took heavy firing from the rebel forces when they tried to clamber up it. The fighting was so one- sided here that when offered reinforcements for his heavily- outnumbered Division, Stewart blatantly refused.
Confederate Andrew J. Neal (serving in a Florida Battery) would later write in a letter to his sister: "It is fun for our troops to stand in their trenches and mow down their lines as they advance."
The attack fell apart after a staggering two and a half hours of heated combat, due to a torrential downpour and severe thunderstorm moving through the battlefield. Some report there may have even been a tornado in the area. The Union survivors took shelter behind what rocks and tree coverage they could find and eventually were able to pull themselves back to their camps after dark.
It was a small victory for the Confederate forces, and proved to be the first in a series of fights and skirmishes that would leave Sherman frustrated at the trench warfare he found himself bogged down in.
Casualties for this battle would come to nearly 1,665 Union and 300-400 Confederates.

Painting: New Hope Church by Rick Reeves