The Skirmish at Pace's Ferry was an engagement fought on July 5, 1864, near Pace's Ferry,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

.Long, E. B. ''The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865.'' Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. . p. 533.

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

troops of

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Oliver O. Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men against ...

seized a key

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...

over the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...

, enabling Federal troops to continue their offensive to capture the important rail and supply center of Atlanta. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's army had steadily advanced towards Atlanta in the spring and summer of 1864, fighting a series of battles against the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

of Joseph E. Johnston. Sherman continually flanked the Confederate positions and slipped ever closer to his goal. Howard's IV Corps pursued the retreating Confederates along the Western & Atlantic Railroad, with General

Thomas J. Wood Thomas John Wood (September 25, 1823 – February 26, 1906) was a career United States Army officer. He served in the Mexican–American War and as a Union (American Civil War), Union General officer, general during the American Civil War. Duri ...

's division in the lead. They encountered very little resistance until the head of column reached Vining's Station. From that point, a road led to the east toward Atlanta, crossing the Chattahoochee River at Pace's Ferry, where the Confederates had constructed a pontoon bridge over the deep and swift flowing river. Wood's skirmishers encountered a brigade of dismounted cavalry, which had its front covered by rail barricades along a ridge at right angles to the road, a quarter mile from the railroad station. Wood quickly drove the Confederates from these barricades and pushed on to the river. Despite Confederate efforts to destroy the bridge to prevent it from falling into enemy hands, Wood's men arrived in time to save the greater part of the bridge. Confederate attempts to burn the structure had failed, and mooring ropes had been cut on the Confederate side so that the pontoon bridge drifted in the river.OR, Series I, Vol. XXXVIII, Part 1, p. 200, Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, U. S. Army, commanding Fourth Army Corps, of operations May 1–July 27.OR, Series I, Vol. XXXVIII, Part 1, p. 225, Maj. Gen. David B. Stanley, U. S. Army, commanding First Division, of operations May 3–July 26.OR, Series I, Vol. XXXVIII, Part 1, p. 388, Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood, U. S. Army, commanding Third Division. Not seeing a suitable opportunity to attack the strong Confederate positions across the Chattahoochee, Howard ordered his corps into camp on high ground facing the river and awaited the arrival of Federal pontoons. July 10, Stanley's and Wood's divisions moved to near the mouth of

Sope Creek Sope Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 15, 2011 stream located in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is a significant tributary of the Chattahooc ...

, in support of General John Schofield, who had crossed the river at that point (north of Pace's Ferry) and outflanked the Confederates. On July 11, at 5 p.m. Gen. Howard received "orders to secure the heights opposite Powers' Ferry, on the south side of the Chattahoochee, to protect the laying of a bridge at that point. Stanley's division fulfilled these instructions the next morning at daylight, passing the river at Schofield's bridge."

Notes

References

* Long, E. B. ''The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865.'' Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. . * U.S. War Department, ''The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'', 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. Series 1, Volume 38, Part 1. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pace's Ferry July 1864 events Military operations of the American Civil War in Georgia (U.S. state) 1864 in Georgia (U.S. state)