Crossing the Oostanaula at Lay's Ferry

Lay's Ferry on the Oostanaula River lay about 5 miles southwest of Resaca on the Calhoun Road. On 13 May 1864, General Sherman ordered two pontoon bridges sent there as part of a plan to keep Johnston's forces occupied at Resaca while establishing a bridgehead at Lay's Ferry. He sent Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Sweeny's Division to cross the river, cut off Johnston's line of communication, and force Johnston's retreat. On 14 May, Sweeny found the ferry guarded by cavalry from Major Gen. William T. Martin's Division and a battery of artillery, while Brig. Gen. Elliott W. Rice's Brigade held the crossing. Col. Patrick E. Burke's Brigade moved about 1/2 mile upstream to cross by pontoon bridge. The pontoon boats arrived by wagon, were assembled late that afternoon, and were then carried 3/4 mile across a large open field under Confederate sharpshooter and artillery fire. An Iowan, J. W. Long, recalled feeling as naked as in a bathtub with several thousand men shooting at him. After reaching Snake Creek near the Oostanaula, about 5:00 p.m. the 81st Ohio and 66th Illinois charged across an old cornfield, took position behind a rail fence, and fired on Confederate sharpshooters while two companies entered the boats, paddled down the creek into the river, and crossed. Battery B, 1st Michigan Light Artillery and infantry armed with 16-shot rifles provided covering fire. Union troops quickly formed on the south bank, secured the crossing, and captured positions and prisoners. Sweeny prepared to lay the pontoon bridges but withdrew back across the Oostanaula after receiving a report that Confederates were floating a pontoon bridge between Lay's Ferry and Resaca, then set defensive positions and sent out another brigade to test the report. Johnston responded by sending a reserve division under Major Gen. Walker to Lay's Ferry, but Walker arrived to find Sweeny back on the north bank and then withdrew south to Calhoun to await orders. On the morning of 15 May, part of Sweeny's force crossed again, first by ferry with about 60 men, and the rest followed in pontoon boats before the pontoons were turned over to engineers. By 10:00 a.m. a pontoon bridge had been established. Walker, using only one brigade because the rest had been recalled to Resaca to strengthen General Polk's line, tried to drive Sweeny's men back across the river but was repulsed. With the bridgehead secured, Sweeny's men heard Confederate wagons and troops moving south during the night. Rice later wrote that the rapid crossing and concealed deployment of his brigade surprised the enemy and placed the Union army on the flank of the Confederate force, with its communications at their mercy. Pvt. William Baker Kaericher of Edwards, Illinois, Company I, 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, had joined the Union army on November 25, 1861, at Benton Barracks, Missouri, at age 18. His regiment, known as the Western Sharpshooters, required volunteers to pass a strict shooting test at 200 yards. Kaericher fought at Shiloh, Corinth, and in Sherman's Georgia campaign, survived the war, and filed for a pension on December 5, 1866.

Resaca, Georgia · United States