Kenner Garrard: Federal cavalry leader had a big moment during Atlanta Campaign, but it was his subordinates who shined the most

Brig. Gen. Garrard

At a busy intersection in Loganville, Ga., across from a CVS, Walgreens and Tire Dock, stands an historical marker that recalls a bright spot during Federal cavalry operations in the Atlanta Campaign.

On July 20, 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman ordered Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard’s three brigades to leave left-flank guard duty at Decatur, just east of Atlanta, and ride 30 miles east to Covington. They were to destroy bridges and a section of the Georgia Railroad, which reinforced Confederate forces in Atlanta.

“He marched late on the 21st. Next morning the destruction was begun. At Covington, he burned the depot, a newly built hospital center, 2,000 bales of cotton, and large quantities of quartermaster and commissary supplies. After destroying 2 railroad and 4 wagon bridges, 3 trains and 6 miles of track, he turned north toward Loganville, arriving here about noon on July 23rd.”

After describing further destruction and the capture of horses and mules in Lawrenceville, the sign concludes: “Garrard’s raid cut off all communication between Atlanta and Augusta and destroyed any hope that the Army of Tennessee – the hard-pressed defenders of Atlanta – might receive supplies or reinforcements from the Eastern Confederacy.”

David Evans, author of the acclaimed “Sherman’s Horsemen” – which details six Union raids -- said “at a cost of only three men killed, one wounded, and one missing, his 2nd Cavalry Division damaged the Georgia Railroad so severely that it was not repaired until after the war.”

(Picket photo)

Notwithstanding Garrard's success during this raid, historians and others have pointed out that Sherman did not have much confidence in his top cavalry division commanders. They lacked aggressiveness and competence and, as with Garrard, mostly suffered from self-doubt. And, observers say, Sherman was often ineffective in using his troopers to meet objectives.

Charlie Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association, said Garrard may have been the best division chief – when compared to Edward McCook, Judson Kilpatrick and George Stoneman -- “but that’s not saying much.”

“Sherman favored Kilpatrick's aggressiveness, which led to some noteworthy accomplishments but also some near-disasters," Crawford tells the Picket. "The U.S. cavalry in the Atlanta Campaign was better served by some of the brigade commanders."

Evans said Garrard “was extremely cautious and very careful of the lives of his men and horses. He also commanded the best-equipped and best-officered cavalry division in Sherman's army. 

“Two of his three brigades were armed with Spencer repeating rifles and carbines and all three of his brigade commanders, Colonels Robert H. G. Minty, Eli Long, and Abram O. Miller, were exceptionally gifted officers. Their combat capabilities more than made up for any of Garrard's failings.”  

Garrard, 37, by the time of the Atlanta Campaign, had performed well at Gettysburg with the 146^th New York Infantry and then was sent to the west to lead cavalry. 

The West Point grad had some success early in the Atlanta Campaign as Sherman’s forces moved on Atlanta from northwest Georgia, but it became clear that Garrard’s actions, or lack of concise action, often led to disappointment.

“It seems Garrad was sometimes -- though certainly not always -- affected by self-doubt,” said Crawford. “McCook and Stoneman also wavered in some situations. It seems Kilpatrick never doubted himself, even when he should."

At Resaca, Sherman ordered the division to destroyed railroad track. Worried he would be separated from infantry and after finding no bridges, Garrard returned to the main army.

A disappointed Sherman wrote: “I regret exceedingly you did not avail yourself of the chance I gave you to cut the railroad … I want you to dash in and strike the retreating masses in flank and all around. … Do not spare horseflesh, but strike boldly.”

It took several days for Garrard to cut the railroad.

Weeks later, Garrard’s raiders took part in an episode that brought him lasting enmity from local residents.

On July 5, 1864, Garrard and his Union troopers were battling the home guard for a vital bridge at Roswell, but the Rebels set it afire. Garrard was surprised to see a most unexpected banner above the Ivy Woolen Mill at the river. It was a French national flag.

Theophile Roche, a journeyman weaver from Paris who claimed at least part ownership of the mill, had concocted the idea of flying the French flags to show the mill was not part of the Confederacy, therefore not subject to seizure or destruction.

Garrard walked into Ivy Woolen Mill on July 6 to discover bolts of cloth with the letters CSA woven in. He was shown records indicating the material would be used to make uniforms for Confederate troops.

Garrard ordered the mill burned and moved along the river to the Roswell Manufacturing Co., a larger complex that had nothing to do with the French flag incident but did make goods for the South. Federal forces set it afire, too.

Union troops rounded up 400 of the Ivy Woolen and Roswell mill workers (a contingent that included 87 men -- some soldiers, some deserters), and then added those who worked at the Sweetwater Creek mill, which had also been captured, for a total of nearly 600 people. Five hundred were women and children.

Marker in Loganville (Picket photo)

From the Northern perspective, the workers were American citizens in open rebellion – a policy that outraged Southerners.

Sherman wrote to Garrard: “I repeat my orders that you arrest all people, male and female, connected with those factories, no matter what the clamor, and let them foot it, under guard, to Marietta, whence I will send them by cars to the North...The poor women will make a howl. Let them take along their children and clothing, providing they have the means of hauling, or you can spare them.”

The 600 were shipped out July 10 and 11, with stops in Chattanooga and Nashville. Many were sent to Ohio and Indiana after they arrived in Louisville, Ky., where they were initially imprisoned in a hospital. A few died of typhoid, measles and other diseases. Only a few ever returned home.

Garrard’s men moved in to Atlanta and were deployed to the east in the weeks before his successful Covington raid.

Maj. Gen. Stoneman

Sherman’s use of his cavalry in raids south of Atlanta was largely disappointing. Such was the case about a week after Covington. Maj. Gen. Stoneman rode toward Macon, with the hope of reaching the large Confederate prison at Andersonville to the south.

On July 31, 1864, Stoneman was defeated and captured at the Battle of Sunshine Creek.

“It was Garrard's failure to keep Joe Wheeler's Confederate cavalry from pursuing Stoneman's column that ruined his reputation,” Evans told the Picket.

Later in the war, Garrard was moved to the command of infantry, and he performed well at the November 1964 Battle of Nashville. He was cited for gallantry.

Garrard resigned from the army in 1866 and returned to Cincinnati. He died in 1879 at age 51.