"Yes, around comes July and soon will come the honored Fourth."

On July 4, 1864, Federal forces under the command of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman were engaged in a slogging match with Joe Johnston's Confederate Army of Tennessee north of Atlanta. For weeks, Sherman had been pressing southward toward Atlanta, one of the South's most strategically important cities. For every move Sherman made, Johnston would retreat deeper and deeper into the heart of Georgia. By mid-June, however, the Federal advance had slowed to a crawl. On June 27, frustrated and hoping to break the stalemate, Sherman launched an aggressive assault against Confederate positions on and around Kennesaw Mountain, leading to the most severe fighting and bloodletting of the Atlanta Campaign. The Federal assaults were thrown back by firm Confederate defensive lines, resulting in more trenches and stalemate. Yet by July 2, Confederate forces began falling back yet again toward Atlanta, as a result of another Federal flanking maneuver. In the midst of all this, Private Albert Champlin of the 105th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was fastidiously recording his impressions of these events in his diary. During the first days of July, 1864, Champlin was looking forward to the Fourth of July, understanding that, because of the bloody struggle encompassing the nation, that historic day was even more significant. July 4, 1776 was the day in which America declared its independence from Great Britain, as Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address, based on "the proposition that all men are created equal." In 1864, in the midst of a struggle "testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure," remembering the nation's birth and its promise for a better future was one of the things which helped Private Albert Champlin to carry on in the midst of the long, bloody, and brutal march toward Atlanta during what would be in many ways the pivotal campaign of the American Civil War.




 

July 1, Friday—“Yes, around comes July and soon will come the honored Fourth. What will be the events thereof? Will they be similar to those of a year ago? [Referring to Federal victories at Gettysburg and Vickburg on July 3 and 4, 1863] At least may God grant that the present great work of our country and nation may continue to advance successfully to the end of putting down treason and rebellion and with them may their enormous parent evils and iniquities be annihilated, and may the time thus come when soldiers can return to civil vocations under Free Government and that even improved.”

July 2, Saturday—artillery firing back and forth

July 3, Sunday—Sherman having again pushed his flanks around those of the enemy, thus compelling them again to evacuate a truly strong hold or do worse by remaining, which Joe Johnson don’t choose to do. Troops are on the move as early as sunrise but our division moves at about 9 AM, bivouacking that night 5 miles south of Marietta, rebels retreated nearly to the river… Thus again Sunday passes, the enemy having again taken it as their day for retreat. They are reported as making another stand this side of the [Chattahoochee] River.

July 4, Monday—Champlin writes of artillery firing on Confederates that morning. Private Champlin and others of the 105th Ohio were sent to Marrieta as a garrison, where they learned of an “extensive and successful charge including part of the 14^th Corps made upon the enemies' works, the works carried, many prisoners taken, also considerable artillery besides the rebels loss being heavy in killed and wounded. Number of our killed and wounded not yet reported but must be considerable, our troops being the attacking party. Thankful should be be to Divine Providence that our ever honored and memorable National Birthday is thus made the more sacred by a victory over the Nation’s and Freedom’s enemies.”

Albert Champlin's Diary can be found in the Alfred Mewett Papers Collection at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio

"But while it is necessary, let us be soldiers"

I think it is fitting to provide an explanation as to why I chose the title I did for this blog. As I have posted above (just below the photograph), the title comes from a quote that I found in the diary of Albert Champlin, a private with the 105th Ohio Volunter Infantry. Champlin's diary is among the Alfred Mewett Papers at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio. I came across it while doing research for my master's thesis, which, after 7 months and countless hours of research and writing, was accepted just last week.

The focus of my master's thesis was the experiences and motivations of Ohio soldiers during Sherman's Atlanta Campaign in 1864. Why this topic with this group in this campaign? Well, I chose this as my topic because first and foremost, it was something I had a desire to learn more about. Despite growing up and living in Northeast Ohio, I had previously known very little about my home state's contribution to the Union cause. When searching for topics on which I could write, I came across several Ohio regiments with companies hailing from Lake County, where I have lived my entire life. I hadn't previously known anything about these men or their stories, so I decided to do a little investigating work. It turns out that a great many regiments from this region of Ohio were a part of Sherman's forces during his Atlanta, Savannah, and Carolinas campaigns. I am quite fascinated with Sherman, making this an excellent subject for me to research and write about. Because Sherman's March to the Sea is the much more popular older brother to the Atlanta Campaign in Civil War lore, I decided to pick the road less travelled and study the four month struggle that took place in Northern Georgia during the summer of 1864. In the course of the research into soldiers' letters and diaries, I discovered many fascinating quotes and anecdotes, and several of them were in the diary of Albert Champlin.

Champlin's diary provided a detailed and daily account of many interesting facets of the Atlanta Campaign. While he did not see much combat, his observations on army morale, current events, and even the daily weather provided a wealth of information that enabled me to understand daily life for Union soldiers during this time. The complete quote, of which the quote above is just one sentence, is quite remarkable. Champlin's Christian faith is on full display, as he looks to God to end the current conflict and allow him to return to the comforts of civilian life. Yet, Champlin's resolve to see the conflict through to its rightful ending is readily apparent as well:

“Oh, that our work may still be blessed of God, that the time of its completion may not be far distant, the time when rebellion shall have been put down to be known no more in our land and when quiet, civil pursuits shall have taken the place of the stern duties of the soldiers in the field, and Sabbath and sanctionary privileges the place of military necessities. But while it is necessary, let us be soldiers. And may an Overruling Providence continue to cause good to come out of evil, justice to be done to all men where injustice to many has long prevailed, and finally, peace quiet and harmony out of this terrible confrontation and our country’s fiery ordeal.”-- Albert Champlin, June 19, 1864

I think Champlin's words speak for themselves in their sincerity. They weren't written with thoughts of future publication in mind; rather, they were Albert's testament to God and to himself concerning his faith and his determination to see his cause succeed. I don't know about you, but I find his words quite remarkable in the depth and conviction they display. They provide fitting context concerning what it is that Champlin and others like him felt about their efforts during the summer of 1864. I couldn't think of a better title for this blog that spoke to its purpose than these words of Albert Champlin. They represent how the fighting man of the Union army saw the struggle in which he was engaged.