LaFayette, Georgia
1864
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Methodist
Church
Advance
Guard
Captain
Bacon’s
Troops
2
Court
House
(Now
Parking)
Cove Street (Now Villanow Street)
1874 Chattanooga St. (Now Highway 27)
Cherry Street (Now Patton Street)
(Now Bank Globe
of LaFayette) Hotel
14th Tennessee
Regiment
1st Tennessee
Regiment
Colonel
Watkins’
Troops
Detachments and Commanding Officers for
both Union and Confederates:
CONFEDERATES
Armistead’s Route
Ne
e
Bri ly’s
gad
e
Culberson Avenue (Then & Now)
Blue Bird Gap Road
Patton Street (Now)
Broomtown Road (Then & Now)
Church Used
as Hospital
General Gideon T. Pillow, Commanding
Female
Academy
(Now 6th Grade
Academy)
1.
Colonel Charles G. Armistead’s Brigade
8th Alabama Cavalry
Lewis Alabama Cavalry Battalion
12th Mississippi Cavalry
2.
Colonel James J. Neely’s Brigade
12th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment
14th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment
15th Tennessee Cavalry
Chattooga Academy
A Walking Tour To Remember
FEDERALS
Presbyterian
Church
(Then & Now)
Mason
1874
Chattanooga St. (Now Highway 27)
Fidler’s
Troops 3
Marsh-Warthen
Goree
5 House
House
(Then & Now)
Chattooga
12th
Mississippi 1 Academy
(Then & Now)
Cavalry
Jail
N
Faulkner’s Troops
Duke Street (Now)
LaFayette
Cemetery
E
Colonel Louis D. Watkins, Commanding
4
*Shaded areas show original buildings that no longer exist.
The streets of a small town in northern Georgia formed the battlefield for this unusual and little-known fight. The attacking
Confederates had the advantage of surprise initially but when the chips were down, Federal alertness and stubbornness paid off.
1.
7th U.S. Kentucky, Commanding Officer
Colonel John T. Faulkner
2.
4th Kentucky, Commanding Officer
Captain John M. Backon
3.
6th Kentucky, Commanding Officer
Major J.M. Fidler
4.
Croxton’s 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry
Commanding Officer
Colonel John T. Croxton
The first printing of this brochure was prepared by the LaFayette Woman’s
Club under the direction of Mrs. Helen Cureton, Mr. Frank Shaw, Jr., Miss Addie
Augusta Wert, Mr. and Mrs. B.L. Cash. Written documentation follows the outline
as presented in Civil War Times Illustrated of June 1966, by permission. Some
illustrations from “Daring & Suffering” by William Pittenger used by permission.
Funding for brochure
provided by a grant from
Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia
www.bwnwga.org
After the Confederate victory at the
Battle of Chickamauga (September
19 & 20, 1863), the Federal Army
retreated to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
There they were surrounded and
besieged until November 24 & 25 when
they defeated Bragg’s Confederates
on Lookout Mountain and Missionary
Ridge.
Many of the animals died during the
winter of 1863-1864. Those animals
which survived were in very poor
condition by the spring of 1864.
Therefore, the high command of the
Union Army issued orders stating that
the emaciated animals be taken to
surrounding areas where there was
better grazing.
In the spring of 1864, General William
T. Sherman embarked on his Atlanta
Campaign leaving among other units,
a cavalry brigade and a regiment of
mounted infantry near Chattanooga
to protect his supply lines. One of
these, the 3rd brigade of Eliott’s
cavalry division, consisting of the
4th, 6th and 7th Cavalry Regiments,
remained stationed on the railroad at
Wauhatchie, seven miles southwest of
Chattanooga.
In order to provide better grazing for
the animals and control Confederate
guerrilla bands operating in the area,
Colonel Louis D. Watkins, commander
of the 6th Federal Cavalry Regiment,
was sent to LaFayette with about 450
men and a herd of horses. These men
were quartered in tents and vacant
houses. The public buildings in the
town, including the courthouse, jail,
hotel and school (Chattooga Academy),
were used to store supplies.
During the siege of Chattanooga, the
men and animals of the Federal Army
experienced severe food shortages.
The detachment arrived in LaFayette,
June 19th, and the following positions
were taken: Captain John M. Bacon
LaFayette Historic Preservation Commission
www.bwnwga.org
occupied buildings around the
courthouse; Major J.M. Fidler was
billetted in the city jail and nearby
brick buildings; Colonel Faulkner and
his men were on the northern outskirts
of the town in log cabins and the
Academy. Colonel Watkins, his staff
and an escort of one company settled
themselves in the Goree Hotel.
The next four days were spent in
occasional guerrilla chase and a scout
toward Rome. On the 24th, a burst of
pickett firing was heard west of the
village and at the same moment a
trooper alerted a group of his officers
with “The Rebels are coming”.
Confederate Activity
In the middle of June 1864, Major
General Gideon T. Pillow at or near
Oxford, Alabama, collected a force
consisting of two small brigades of
cavalry. One of these commanded
by Colonel Armistead was composed
of the 8th Alabama and the 12th
Mississippi Regiments and Lewis’s
Battalion of Alabama Cavalry. The
other was commanded by Colonel
Neely and comprised the 12th, 14th
and 15th Tennessee Regiments.
On Monday, June 20th, General Pillow
moved his force toward North Georgia,
the rear of the enemy’s position,
with the purpose of interrupting the
enemy’s line of communication with
Chattanooga, his base of supply.
Before reaching Georgia, which he
entered at Alpine, he learned of the
presence at LaFayette of a force
of Federal Cavalry.
He at once
determined to move to LaFayette, by a
forced march, make a surprise attack
and capture the Federal Forces before
passing on to the railroad.
approaching, he thought Faulkner
was now coming to join the rest of the
Command. It was Armistead. He also
thought he was approaching friends.
The two leaders rode out ahead of
their detachments to confer. Watkins
was the first to recognize the uniform of
the Confederate. He made Armistead
a prisoner, brought him back to the
column and ordered his men to fire
a volley at the Confederates. During
the firing, Armistead escaped and
disappeared in the fog while his men
scatted to avoid further firing.
Approaching LaFayette by way of
Broomtown Road, General Pillow
divided his force in the vicinity of
Trinity Church, about seven miles to
the south at a road junction. Colonel
Neely’s brigade, accompanied by
General Pillow, moved on LaFayette
by the right hand road, Broomtown
Road. Colonel Armistead’s Brigade
followed the route along the east base
of Pigeon Mountain.
The plan of attack was to allow Colonel
Neely to approach from the south
while Colonel Armistead would swing
eastward on Blue Bird Gap Road to
assault from the west.
At 3:30 A.M., June 24th, Colonel
Armistead arrived at his position.
Eight companies were kept mounted
to exploit the effort as soon as the
dismounted attack had crushed
enemy resistance.
Six additional
squadrons were to be furnished by
Lewis’s battalion, which had not yet
arrived, having been delayed by
broken bridges enroute.
Thirty minutes were consumed in
forming for the attack. At that time,
Walker County Court House 1837-1883
Goree Hotel
picket fire broke out, the picket line
being further from the town than had
been expected. Colonel Armistead
decided to attack at once with
the mounted column, leaving the
dismounted men to follow under the
command of Colonel C.B. Ball of the
8th Alabama Cavalry.
The Attack
At the northwest corner of town,
Colonel Armistead took a street (now
Culberson Avenue) leading eastward
toward Chattanooga Road (now
North Main Street).
This carried
him toward a cluster of log cabins
where a part of Faulkner’s 7th (U.S.)
Kentucky was quartered. Taken by
surprise, many of these men were
captured.
Simultaneously, alerted
Federal troops housed in Chattooga
Academy prepared to advance on the
Confederate Forces.
There was a sharp exchange of fire,
the antagonists seeing each other
intermittently through the early
morning fog. At first, the breech
loading repeaters of the Federal
Forces gave them the edge on
victory, but the few rounds, hastily
snatched up, were soon exhausted.
Faulkner ordered a withdrawal to the
Academy. A few men escaped and
continued northward on Chattanooga
Road. These men are accredited with
bringing up reinforcements for Watkins
from Colonel John T. Croxton’s 4th
Kentucky Mounted Infantry who were
encamped at Rock Spring Church,
seven miles north of LaFayette.
Colonel Neely’s Confederate Brigade
was now nearing LaFayette along
Broomtown Road, arriving somewhat
later than Armistead. Had General
Pillow moved directly to the attack,
the two efforts would have occurred
almost simultaneously as planned.
Due to a thirty minute reconnoiter
ordered by General Pillow, Armistead’s
attack was under way and the Federal
Forces were awake and fighting before
Neely’s assault began.
Meanwhile, Major Fidler’s squadron
had captured some thirty Confederates
and placed them in the city jail. Captain
Bacon drew up a company of the 4th
Kentucky across the street leading
to the Chattanooga Road. Watkins
placed the remainder of his command
in houses on both sides of the street
ready to oppose Armistead’s force of
dismounted men who were advancing
toward the square.
When the Confederate Forces
approached within fifty yards, the
Federals opened fire. The continuous
onslaught took a heavy toll and
Armistead was forced to withdraw.
The Confederates retreated a short
distance bringing a lull during which
Watkins moved all his men into the
courthouse, the jail and other brick
buildings in the area. The day before
he had received a large supply of grain
for his animals. These sacks of grain
were used to barricade the doors and
windows.
Armistead resumed his attack and was
wounded, and command was passed
to Colonel C.B. Ball. On orders from
General Pillow, he moved his tired
Brigade to the rear of and in support
of Neely. Colonel Neely sent orders
for Ball to bring up his brigade. When
Ball’s men attacked, they were unable
to penetrate the barricades and Neely
led his forces back out of the danger
area.
About 7:00 A.M., Watkins saw a party
approaching under a flag of truce. Miss
Orpha Center, whose home was being
used for the wounded, writes, “shortly
afterwards, they (the Confederates)
came back to the house and asked
for something white to make a flag of
truce, so they could call on the enemy
to surrender and I took down one of
our lace curtains and gave it to them
for the purpose.”
A written message demanding
immediate surrender was sent by
General Pillow.
“In reply to his
demand”, says Watkins in his official
report, “I respectfully decline to
surrender.”
The fighting continued for another
hour, but the Confederate Forces
were not able to get close enough to
the buildings to set fire to them.
On the morning of the 24th, Colonel
John T. Croxton at Rock Spring
Church moved his regiment toward
LaFayette. Deploying on the outskirts
of town, they moved forward and
attacked the Confederate Forces
on the north.
Colonel Watkins,
encouraged by the opportune arrival
of reinforcements, came from behind
the barricaded doors and attacked
the Confederates with double force.
Being outnumbered by probably
several hundred, the Confederates
were forced back westward across
town. Judge W.M. Henry described
the final hour of the Battle of LaFayette
as follows: “Here, on the gently rising
ground, about a hundred yards west
of where the Central of Georgia
railway now runs, they rallied and
formed a line of battle to receive the
now onrushing Federals. It was here
the final struggle occurred about ten
o’clock. The broken and defeated
Confederate Forces scattered in full
retreat through the forest and along
the road.”
Civil War TImes -- “The Battle of
LaFayette”, June 1966; Walker County
Messenger, June 29, 1927; “Detailed
and Authentic History of the Battle of
LaFayette”, June 24, 1864 by Judge
W.M. Henry; Eye Witness Account by
Miss Orpha Center; Sartain’s History
of Walker County.
Presbyterian Church
After the battle, the Presbyterian
Church was used as a field hospital
for Confederate and Union troops.
Long tables and planks placed over
the pews were used as beds and
operating tables. The dead were
buried in the city cemetery. However,
most of the Union soldiers were later
buried in national cemeteries. The
Confederate dead still rest in the
LaFayette Cemetery.
Neely’s 14th and 15th Tennessee
Regiments angled off to the northeast.
Reaching the southwest corner of
town, he realized that most of the firing
was coming from around the square
and that he was headed into the fire
of Armistead’s Brigade. Wheeling
west, he came into line along a northsouth street two blocks west of the
town square (now South Chattanooga
Street).
During this maneuver,
Armistead made two or three charges
toward the square from the northeast
and east edge of town, forcing the
Federal forces back into the square.
At the sound of the first firing, Colonel
Watkins had started to form his men
for defense. Leaving Bacon’s and
Fidler’s squadrons around the square
to repel the Confederates who were
advancing through the streets, he
advanced to the north. Seeing in
the half-light a mounted column
Marsh House
Iron Cage inside 1860’s jail at LaFayette
The Marsh House, just north of Chattooga Academy, sustained significant
damage during the fighting. When the Marsh family returned to their home after
the war, they found blood-soaked and hoof-marked floors and bullet holes in the
outer walls of the house, as well as in the glass around an outer door.