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Battle of Kolb’s Farm

June 22, 1864

In late November 1863, Union forces commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant successfully lifted Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Union victories at Lookout Mountain (November 24) and Missionary Ridge (November 25) forced Johnston to withdraw thirty miles south to near Dalton, Georgia.

In late November 1863, Union forces commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant successfully lifted Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Union victories at Lookout Mountain (November 24) and Missionary Ridge (November 25) forced Johnston to withdraw thirty miles south to near Dalton, Georgia.

After the Federal breakout from Chattanooga, Grant was promoted to the special rank of Lieutenant General and placed in command of all Union armies. Grant moved his headquarters to Washington, DC,; leaving his trusted subordinate, Major General William T. Sherman, in command of Federal operations in the Western Theater. Grant's primary military strategy was a coordinated effort to attack and defeat the two main Confederate armies in the field, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in the east, and Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee in the west. On May 5, 1864, Grant launched his Overland Campaign against Lee in Virginia. Two days later, Sherman led three armies, the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Major General James B. McPherson; the Army of the Ohio, commanded by Major General John M. Schofield; and the Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Major General George H. Thomas, out of Tennessee in pursuit of Johnston's army in northern Georgia.

Throughout the summer of 1864, the Confederate and Union armies engaged in a series of battles between Dalton and Atlanta in northern Georgia. Most of the fighting occurred at places on or near the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which connected Chattanooga and Atlanta. Both sides depended on the railway for supplies throughout the campaign. In a pattern that was often repeated, Sherman employed flanking movements that threatened the railway to Johnston's rear, forcing the Confederate commander to retreat south in order to protect his supply lines.

By June 19, 1864, Johnston had withdrawn the Army of Tennessee to a defensive position astride Kennesaw Mountain near Marietta, Georgia. Initially, Sherman decided that Johnston's new line was too strong to risk a frontal attack. Instead, he ordered the Major General John Schofield, commanding the Army of the Ohio, and Major General Joseph Hooker, commanding one corps of the Army of the Cumberland, to extend the Union line west and attempt to turn Johnston's left flank. Anticipating Sherman's plan, Johnston countered by sending Lieutenant General John B. Hood and one corps of his army to reinforce his left flank. By June 22, Hood's soldiers were in position, and one of his divisions encountered two Federal regiments near Kolb's Farm. Underestimating the number of Yankees in the area, Hood decided to launch an attack. Warned of Hood's presence on the area, Hooker and Schofield had entrenched their soldiers and were prepared for a Confederate assault. Hampered by swampy terrain, Union artillery, and Hood's poor reconnaissance, the Rebels were repulsed, suffering high casualties. Although the Union forces won the battle, they were unsuccessful in achieving their original objective of turning the Confederate flank.

Ohio units that participated in the Battle of Kolb's Farm included:

Infantry units:

5th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

29th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

45th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

50th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

55th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

61st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

66th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

73rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

79th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

82nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

99th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

100th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

103rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

104th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

111th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

118th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

Artillery units:

Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment

Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment

19th Ohio Light Artillery Battery

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