July 20, 1864

	Union	Army of the Cumberland	1,710
	Confederate	Army of Tennessee	4,796
	Total Losses		6,506

Battle Location:  Fulton County
Campaign:  Atlanta Campaign (1864)
Theatre:  Main Western
Winner:  Union
Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas		Gen. John Bell Hood
Union Commander		Confederate Commander
The battle of Peachtree Creek was the first battle conducted by Confederate general John Bell Hood after he assumed command of the Army of Tennessee on 18 July 1864. With Union major general William Tecumseh Sherman"s army bearing down on Atlanta, Hood felt compelled to attack his enemy to keep from losing the city. When Hood assumed command from Joseph E. Johnston, Union forces were located south of the Chattahoochee River, near Pace"s Ferry and Roswell, Georgia. When Confederate cavalry were driven across Peachtree Creek on the 18th, Hood formed a line of battle. The next day, the Federal troops began crossing Peachtree Creek, and Hood put in place his plan of attack. Hood hoped to strike the enemy as they were crossing the creek. Peachtree Creek presented a formidable obstacle to a crossing army, having been described by Union colonel John Coburn as a muddy stream, about forty feet wide, ranging in depth from four to twelve feet, and impassable except by bridges. The Confederates burned most of the bridges spanning the creek, but the Federals quickly rebuilt them. In spite of stubborn Confederate resistance, many of the Union troops had crossed the creek by the morning of the 20th. Hood, however, wanted to strike them while the crossing continued. He placed Alexander P. Stewart"s corps on the left of the Confederate line, William J. Hardee"s corps in the center, and Benjamin F. Cheatham"s corps on the right. The main target of Hood"s forces was Major General George H. Thomas"s Army of the Cumberland, composed of V, XIV, and XX Corps. Hood wanted to crush Thomas before he could fortify himself. Cheatham, therefore, was to attack Thomas"s left, which was separated from the remaining Union troops by Early"s Creek, and thereby prevent them from aiding the remaining Union forces. This would enable Stewart and Hardee to attack the rest of Thomas"s army, drive them back toward Peachtree Creek, and trap them in the small area formed by the Chattahoochee River and the creek. Everything on the south side of the Peachtree was to be taken. On the morning of the 20th, Hood decided to move his troops slightly to the east to protect the approach to Atlanta from Union troops in the vicinity. Cheatham"s corps would move to the right about one mile, while the remaining two corps would move only half a mile. The redeployment was to be completed in time for the battle to begin at 1:00 P.M. Cheatham, however, moved slowly and then advanced two miles. Hardee and Stewart followed in order to remain connected to Cheatham, and the battle was delayed until almost 4:00 P.M. At that time, the Confederates advanced. The battle began on the Confederate right when Bate"s, Walker"s, and part of Cheatham"s divisions of Hardee"s corps attacked Brigadier General John Newton"s 2d Division of IV Corps. The Confederates managed to flank Newton"s left, but were repulsed with the help of artillery. After several other charges, they retreated. In the middle of the Confederate line, William W. Loring"s division of Stewart"s corps, commanded by Brigadier General Winfield S. Featherston, tried to exploit a gap between John W. Geary"s and William T. Ward"s divisions of the XX Corps. Initially, the Confederates forced Ward"s skirmishers from an important hill. They then encountered heavy fire from their front and right. When Cheatham"s division of Hardee"s corp, located to the right of Featherston, did not immediately advance and attack, Featherston"s men had to retreat as the Union countercharged. The fighting turned fierce, described by Colonel (and future president) Benjamin Harrison, commander of the Union 1st Brigade as "hand to hand and step by step." On the left of this portion of the Union line, the 26th Wisconsin found itself isolated in the fight for the hill. Attacked from the front and left, they managed to hold their position. During the last half hour of their battle, they had to use the ammunition from dead Confederate soldiers. The extreme heat and the intensity of the fighting caused many of these soldiers to collapse after the battle. Finally, after several charges on the Union position, the Confederates withdrew. Loring"s division experienced almost a 50 percent casualty rate, with the 31st Mississippi reporting 164 casualties of 215 soldiers, including seventeen of twenty-two company officers. To the left of Loring"s division, the fighting was equally fierce. Here, Edward C. Walthall"s division of Stewart"s corps was confronting Brigadier General Alpheus S. Williams"s 1st Division of XX Corps and part of Geary"s. Attacking the Union along a ridge, the Confederates also sent troops down the ravines running to the right and left of the ridge. Those Confederates moving to the right combined with troops from Loring"s division and briefly forced back one of Geary"s brigades. The front, right, and rear of Geary"s division had been enveloped by Confederates, but after three hours of fighting the Confederates were thrown back, and the Union maintained possession of the ridge. Geary later commented that he had never seen more heroic fighting. Fighting to the right of Geary"s troops, every field officer and more than half of the men in the 61st Ohio, XX Corps, were either killed or wounded as some of the Confederates got within ten feet of the Ohioans. Meanwhile the Confederates who went down the left ravine bypassed Williams"s right and came upon troops from the XIV Corps. Exploiting a quarter mile gap between Williams and the XIV Corps, the Confederates managed to get on the flank and rear of Joseph F. Knipe"s troops of XX Corps. The Southern troops, however, were forced back due in large part to effective artillery fire. After about three hours of fighting, Hood realized that the attack had failed, and he ordered all his troops to withdraw to their former positions. Despite outnumbering the Union forces, the Confederates suffered severe casualties. Union casualties totaled around 1,700, whereas estimates placed Confederate casualties at 2,500. Hood"s resolve to fight, however, had not been defeated. He attacked the Union again just two days later at Bald Hill.
My Source:  Encyclopedia of the American Civil War — Scott M. Langston