In late July 1864, Major General William T. Sherman’s Union army closed in on General John B. Hood’s Confederate army defending Atlanta. On July 20 Hood lashed out against the Union right wing north of the city. Repulsed but undaunted, Hood turned to strike the Federal left wing, Major General James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee, east of Atlanta. He deployed Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham’s corps northeast of the city and sent Lieutenant General William J. Hardee’s corps around McPherson’s left flank with orders to crush the Army of the Tennessee on the morning of July 22. Both corps were then to assail the rest of Sherman’s host.

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Among the blue-clad soldiers moving against Atlanta was Major Thomas T. Taylor of Georgetown, Ohio. Twenty-seven years old and dashingly handsome, Taylor was a lawyer and sometime newspaper editor who had been with the 47th Ohio since the fall of 1861. During the opening phase of the Atlanta Campaign, Taylor had remained with his regiment, part of Major General John A. Logan’s XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee. In mid-May he had been placed in command of Brigadier General Morgan Smith’s divisional skirmishers, 15 companies in all. By July 22 he was highly adept in skirmish tactics, as will be seen in the following passage from the letter he wrote four days later to his wife, Netta, describing what he saw, experienced, and did during the Battle of Atlanta, ‘the most eventful day of this campaign.’ Taylor’s letters have been lightly edited for clarity.

An the morning as usual at daylight I went down to the skirmish line to learn the condition of things. Soon Gen’l Morgan L. Smith sent an order to move forward my line and feel the enemy. I pushed forward and soon began driving his [the enemy's skirmish] line. At his skirmish pits I redressed it [Taylor's own line] and advanced on his main works and soon drove his skirmishers in, but without giving them time to form I hurried forward with a shout and a volley which set the rebels skedaddling and a regiment of reserves in full and rapid retreat. In the main [out-lying] works I again dressed the line and pursued them, capturing a few prisoners and two lines of skirmish pits and drove them square into their [main] works and occupied with my line a portion of the corporation of Atlanta, not more than 600 yards from their forts. Here they served us with ‘minnies’ [mini bullets], case and solid shot and shells. I soon discovered where their skirmish pits were and made my line crawl forward in some places within 20 yards of them and build rail barricades. I found one set [of his own skirmishers] timid and awkward and I had to crawl up to a point where I wished a post, show them the bearings and range and help them build it … .

Their skirmishers were kept so close [to the ground] that I had only two wounded by musket balls. One solid shot knocked down a rail pile and buried the men under it. A Captain thought destruction had come and wished to retire but I make it a point never to give up my ground if my flanks are protected [and] so they rebuilt it. I sent back for shovels to dig good pits but our Division General was not at liberty to send them to us. Our men in authority appeared to think the enemy were evacuating Atlanta because they were moving columns to the left. About 9 or 10 a.m. Logan’s Senior Aide came out and I showed him how earnestly they [the Confederates] were working in town upon their fortifications and asked if it looked like an evacuation. He said no. I then asked him for tools, but they came not. Our Commanders appeared infatuated with the thought of evacuation of Atlanta.

After a time two regiments of infantry and a section of artillery were sent out as a second reserve. I laid down and got a good nap and awoke about 121/2 m. Just after I got up Lieut. [Adolph] Ahlers [of the 47th Ohio] and two men were wounded near me and I was struck with dirt, bark or something and Ahlers reported me wounded. My negro went to the rear with the horses, but came back. About 1 p.m. I moved to a high point in the line and sat down. Firing soon commenced and became very heavy on the extreme left and in the rear … .

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