Your Peachy Past: Battle of New Hope Church

11 July 2016

Battle of New Hope Church

The Battle of New Hope Church:
Four miles north-east of Dallas lies the famous battle-field of New Hope Church. Here one of the most stubborn fights of the bloody Atlanta campaign occurred in the late spring of 1864. Says Prof. Derry [Story of the Confederate States, 1898]: "It was ascertained that Sherman's forces had crossed the Etowah to the Confederate left. Johnston marched promptly to meet them and took a position extending from Dallas to the railroad. There now occurred a series of engagements between portions of the two armies, which Johnston and Sherman agree in calling the Battle of New Hope Church. The first of these occurred on the 25th of May when the head of Hooker's column came upon Stewart's division near a little meeting house known as New Hope Church. Hooker formed his division in parallel lines and promptly attacked but his vigorous assaults resulted in a succession of bloody repulses. Two days later Sherman sent Howard with two divisions to turn Johnston's right. At Pickett's Mill, thinking he had reached the extreme end of the Confederate line, Howard ordered an assault.

The charges of the Federals were repulsed, as Howard himself says, with much loss. The Confederates gathered up as trophies 1,200 small arms. The acknowledged loss to Howard's corps at Pickett's Mill was 1,500 men. Cleburne's loss was 400. The next day McPherson tried to withdraw from Dallas. But Bates' division of Hardie's corps, quickly assailed him meeting a repulse in which they lost about 700 men." Sherman in his official report called the engagement at New Hope Church a "drawn battle." Nevertheless he was thwarted in his purpose, which was to cut off Johnston's supplies. [Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends by Lucian Lamar Knight. Pub. 1913, pgs 849-850.]