July 28, 1864

	Union	Army of the Tennessee	562
	Confederate	Two Corps of Army of Tennessee	3,000
	Total Losses		3,562

Battle Location:  Fulton County
Campaign:  Atlanta Campaign (1864)
Theatre:  Main Western
Winner:  Union
Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard		Gen. John Bell Hood
Union Commander		Confederate Commander
Ezra Church, a Methodist meeting house located at a road junction about three miles west of Atlanta, was the site of the third and final Confederate offensive thrust during the battle for Atlanta. On 18 July 1864, Confederate general John Bell Hood assumed command of the Army of Tennessee; he replaced General Joseph E. Johnston. Hood immediately attempted to crush the Union forces under the command of Major General William T. Sherman at the battles of Peachtree Creek on 20 July and later Bald Hill (also called the battle of Atlanta) on 22 July. These attempts, however, ended in Confederate defeats. In an effort to cut Atlanta"s rail supply lines from Alabama, Sherman ordered his command to shift from positions east of Atlanta to an area west and slightly south of the city. A few miles southwest of Atlanta, the Macon & Western Railroad joined the Atlanta & West Point Railroad at a small town called East Point, Georgia. These were the only rail lines supplying the needs of the besieged Atlanta. Between 25 and 27 July, the Union Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Major General Oliver O. Howard, marched from the Union left flank to the Union right. Upon reaching the right flank of the Union position on 28 July, Howard turned due south toward the railroad junction at East Point. To check this move General Hood ordered his old corps, now commanded by Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee, to march west and occupy a position from which to block Howard"s extension of the Union right. Another Confederate corps, under the command of Lieutenant General Alexander P. Stewart, followed a mile behind Stephen Lee"s corps. Hood planned to stop the Union advance with Lee"s corps and circle the head of the stalled Federal column and strike Howard"s unguarded outer flank with Stewart"s corps. On the afternoon of 28 July, Stephen Lee"s corps attacked Howard near Ezra Church. From the start, things did not go according to Confederate plans. Instead of hitting the Union forces on their exposed flank, the rebels ran up against the front of Major General John A. Logan"s XV Corps of Howard"s Army of the Tennessee, which, in anticipation of the Confederate attack, formed a barricaded line at a right angle to the rest of Howard"s forces. Without informing Hood of the change in the situation, nor waiting until Stewart"s men were in place on his left, or his own corps fully in place, Stephen Lee attacked the Union lines one division at a time. The Federals quickly fortified their lines with fence rails, logs, and pews taken out of the Ezra Church meeting house. The Federal line lay along a slightly elevated ridge that aided the defenders. Around 11:30 A.M., the first Confederate wave charged out of the thick brush. The Union line buckled under the pressure of the initial assault, but the rebel forces were beaten back. Logan"s corps, composed of three divisions, poured volley after volley into the rank of Stephen Lee"s men, inflicting heavy casualties upon the Confederate attackers. By 1 P.M., Lee charged again, absorbed heavy casualties, retreated, and moved forward a third time. Most of the Rebel pressure came against the Union center and right, positions held by the divisions of Generals William Harrow and Morgan. Smith. After the third failed Confederate assault, and unable to get around the Union right flank, Stephen Lee ordered up portions of Stewart"s corps to reinforce Southern forces attacking the Federal right. Throughout the afternoon, the Confederates launched three more charges against the Union positions; each turned back with heavy losses. By late afternoon, the Southern soldiers refused to attack and they slowly retreated back into the defensive works surrounding the city. For the third time in eight days, Confederate losses were heavy. Stephen Lee"s troops suffered 3,000 casualties to Howard"s 632. In addition, only a misleading map prevented forces reinforcing Howard from falling on the left flank of the Confederates and totally destroying Stephen Lee"s command and opening the way for a quick capture of Atlanta. Hood"s foray at Ezra Church did stop Sherman from cutting Atlanta"s supply line, but the heavy losses suffered by the Confederates in this and the previous sorties of Peachtree Creek and Bald Hill destroyed the offensive power and spirit of the Army of Tennessee. Hood remained on the defensive from this point on in the Atlanta campaign.
My Source:  Encyclopedia of the American Civil War — Franklin Forts