Military
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On July 22, 1864, Light Battery H, 1st Illinois, with four 20-pounders under Capt. Francis DeGress, was posted here on the right of M.L. Smith’s division in Logan’s 15th A.C. Shells from these guns are said to have been the first to fall in Atlanta. Late that afternoon, Manigault’s Confederate brigade broke the Federal line at the railroad, forcing Martin’s brigade south of it and Lightburn’s north of it to withdraw. DeGress’ gunners spiked the pieces, and the horses were shot to prevent the Confederate captors from removing the guns. The line was retaken in a counter-charge by Martin and Lightburn, aided by Mersy’s 16th A.C. brigade, and Capt. DeGress re-possessed his guns.
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Atlanta, Georgia · United States
