In early May 1864, as Union Major General William T. Sherman’s main advance near Dalton moved toward Snake Creek Gap to the southwest, other Federal troops tried to draw attention away by crossing Rocky Face Ridge at passes including Dug Gap. Confederate Colonel J. Warren Grigsby’s cavalry brigade was ordered to support a small force already there, and his men dismounted and hurried to the top of the ridge as Union Brigadier General John W. Geary’s division advanced from the valley to the west. On May 8, at 3:00 pm, two brigades from Geary’s division attacked while artillery fired steadily on the ridge, where Confederates were strongly posted. Union troops rushed through narrow openings and climbed the precipice, and many reached the crest, but they were met by heavy fire and forced back or shot down. Confederate reinforcements from two brigades of Major General Patrick R. Cleburne’s division were sent to the gap after the firing began, and Lieutenant General William J. Hardee was at the crest as brief hand-to-hand fighting broke out, with stones as well as bullets used in the struggle. Two assaults on the crest and another just south of the gap failed, leaving Federal casualties at 357 and Confederate losses at 58. Geary ended the diversionary attack after learning that the main Federal movement toward Snake Creek Gap had succeeded, and during the withdrawal Private Charles W. McKay and Sergeant Stephen Welch rescued a wounded Federal color bearer under heavy fire; although he later died, both men received the Medal of Honor.

Photo: Public domain (LOC)

Photo: Mark Hilton

Photo: Mark Hilton