Confederate Battery Position

This battery was one of several cavalry outposts maintained by Wheeler's Cavalry (CS) to watch the ferries and fords along the Chattahoochee River in 1864. The battery position consisted of a single piece of light artillery protected by strong earthworks. At 3:30 P.M. on July 8, 1864, Cox's Division, 23rd A.C., Army of the Ohio (US), made one of the first crossings of the Chattahoochee River at this point. Wading the river, Federal forces scaled the steep slopes of this position capturing the gun. So quick was the crossing, the surprised and out-numbered Confederates were able to fire only a single cannon shot before withdrawing. J.D. Cox, in his book Atlanta, described this crossing as "One of the most picturesque of the campaign." In the hastily abandoned camp of the outpost was found a half-cooked meal and an unfinished letter from a Confederate soldier to his wife. Following this first successful crossing of the Chattahoochee by Federal troops, Confederate forces abandoned the main river defenses at Bolton, 7 miles to the south and retired toward the Atlanta defenses.