"Fighting Joe" Wheeler slept here in Newnan, Ga., after likely his finest day in uniform -- at Brown's Mill. The cavalry clash anniversary will be marked Saturday

Wheeler, fought at Brown's Mill, lower right) and stayed at Buena Vista (Picket photos and Library of Congress) 

Twenty-four hours of hard riding while chasing a large Union cavalry force paid off for Confederate Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his outnumbered troops on July 30, 1864, when they routed the Yanks at Brown’s Mill, a few miles outside Newnan, Ga.

After the battle, “Fighting Joe” – wearing a blacked plume hat, gray uniform and red sash, according to observers – tiredly rode back to Newnan and Buena Vista. He walked up the stairs at the home of Confederate officer Hugh Buchanan, a future congressman who was in Virginia with Phillips' Legion and recovering from a combat wound to his lung.

Wheeler's men were still in pursuit of the remnants of the Federal command, but the cavalry leader, just 27 years old, needed time to regroup.

Wheeler, according to legend, asked to use the home as his headquarters. Buchanan’s wife, who had hidden their children in the cellar during the day, happily obliged upon realizing there weren't Union troops outside. Mary Buchanan offered Wheeler and staff food and use of the dwelling.

“Shown to the study, Wheeler sat down behind a big plantation desk, spread his maps before him, and fell asleep,” historian David Evans wrote in his seminal “Sherman’s Horsemen: Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign.”

One of about a half dozen interpretive markers at Brown's Mill (Picket photo)

There was no real rest for the weary. Wheeler was back in the saddle the next day, and pressed his officers about the successes and failures of the pursuit as Union survivors tried to get back to safety near Atlanta.

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, said the Battle of Brown’s Mill was probably Wheeler’s best day in Confederate uniform, although the soldier is also recognized for his service at Shiloh and Perryville by protecting the Rebel army's rear guard during its retreat.

If Nathan Bedford Forrest was the “The Wizard of the Saddle,” perhaps Wheeler should be dubbed the “Prince of Pursuit.”

Some 160 years after the clash, the Brown’s Mill Battlefield Association will host a public commemorative gathering at 7 p.m. Saturday at the site. The Coweta County park is just a few miles from picturesque Newnan, which was home to a half dozen Confederate hospitals during the Civil War.

“As for General Wheeler, I think his relentless pursuit of McCook's Raid was nothing short of remarkable,” Evans has written. “Outnumbered, outgunned, and hopelessly outdistanced, he rode down, routed, and scattered what he called ‘the most stupendous cavalry operation of the war.’”

Union Maj. Gen. William Sherman had tasked Brig. Gen .Edward McCook (left) and Maj. Gen. George Stoneman with cutting vital railroads south of Atlanta so that he would not have to engage in a prolonged siege of Atlanta. McCook, after damaging some track at Lovejoy Station, hoped to rendezvous with Stoneman. He had nearly 3,000 men under his command.

But Stoneman had chosen to ride toward Macon, with the hope of reaching the large Confederate prison at Andersonville to the south. 

With no rendezvous, McCook hurried toward the Chattahoochee River and Federal lines to the north. Early the morning of July 30, after skirmishes at Line Creek and Shake Rag, troopers of the 8^th Indiana rode into Newnan. They were surprised to find dismounted Confederate cavalry at the railroad depot. McCook decided to avoid battle and continue his push for the river.

Wheeler chased them from Newnan.

“O, how joyfully we hailed them,” Confederate nurse Kate Cumming wrote in her diary. “They came galloping in by two different roads; the enemy in the meantime hearing of their approach, were retreating.”

Children attempted to follow the Union troopers, but were told to go home.

The park opened about a decade ago after a community campaign (Civil War Picket photo)

The Rebels ambushed the exhausted Federal forces at Brown's Mill. “This is where McCook lost control and was broken up,” said Crawford.

McCook held a brief council of war, suggesting the force surrender. Other officers decided to fight and McCook basically gave up command. It was every man for himself then, with separate columns attempting to break out from the trap.

Men fled toward the river and more than 1,200 men were taken prisoner over the new few days. Some men, including an officer who was naked, except for his hat, managed to swim or take a few ferries to safety. McCook got away.

Wheeler's force of about 1,400 riders also freed about 500 Confederate prisoners and seized supplies. It was a bloody debacle, in which there was saber-to-saber fighting, a trail of bodies and the heroic actions of a Union trooper who received the Medal of Honor. About 100 Federal men were killed or wounded, while Confederate casualties were about half that.

A day later, Stoneman was defeated and captured at the Battle of Sunshine Creek.

Painting at Newnan depot shows moment Union troops arrived (Picket photo)

Evans based his brief account of Wheeler’s stay on a 1952 book, “White Columns in Georgia,” Medora Field Perkerson’s account of antebellum residences.

After the McCook defeat, Sherman wrote to generals in Washington, DC:

“August 1, 1864 … Colonel Brownlow reports from Marietta that he has just reached there, having escaped from a disaster that overtook General McCook’s cavalry expedition at Newnan.” He expressed surprise such a large Federal force would be defeated and so many captured.

Wheeler, Perkerson wrote, brought the disaster referred to by Sherman.

The Newnan-County Historical Society's book "Coweta Chronicles" includes Wheeler's official report on Brown's Mill. He wrote of catching up with many of the dismounted Federals about three and half miles south of Newnan. "I determined to attack immediately, notwithstanding the great disparity of numbers."

Buena Vista was built in about 1830. (Civil War Picket photo)

Hugh Buchanan’s son, Edward, was 12 when the Confederates came to Buena Vista after the fight. The boy, who lived to nearly 84, never forgot the excitement. Called Eddie at the time, he tiptoed downstairs in the evening and found Wheeler asleep at the desk, according to a family letter kept by the historical society.

“All over Georgia they remembered Wheeler … a man small in stature but a fine leader and fighter, fine enough for the United States Army to make him a major general in the Spanish American War,” wrote Perkerson.

The house, built in 1830, gained its Greek Revival style when Buchanan added a second floor, according to the Newnan-Coweta History Center. Buchanan and a son bottled a medicine called "Horn of Salvation" at the residence. The attic was said to hold government records before the courthouse was built. An older building was used as slave quarters, according to a 1986 tour of homes.

The home was full of period furnishings and hand-crafted walls and mantels, according to the tour guide.

The seven-fireplace home, fronted by Doric columns, is owned now by Michael and Leah Sumner, who purchased it in 1990. The home did take a hit in a 2021 tornado that caused widespread damage in the area.

Old post card of Buena Vista (Newnan-Coweta Historical Society)

Loran Smith, a columnist and announcer associated with the Georgia Bulldogs football team, paid a visit a year ago and Leah Sumner told him the residence is on the highest ground in Newnan, giving Wheeler an excellent view of the area. Hence, the name Buena Vista, or beautiful view.

“We cherish the opportunity to live in and raise our family in such a special home,” she told the Picket in a recent email.

The area around the Brown's Mill battlefield used to be largely rural but, like most of the Atlanta region, that has changed.

“The farms over which the battle was fought have been subdivided and farmhouses that were present then no longer exist,” said Sandra Parker of the friends group.

Carolyn Turner, head of the battlefield association, said the desk where Wheeler fell asleep is believed to have been lost.

Brown’s Mill, she said, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places (above). “We are very proud of that.”

Bicyclists, hikers, runners and history enthusiasts use the park. Signs provide details on the Atlanta Campaign, the battle and personal accounts by and about soldiers, Turner said.

Evans told the Picket the Confederate cavalry victory at Brown’s Mill, one of few during the Atlanta Campaign, was the result of sheer force of will.

“Outnumbered more than 3 to 1, over the course of fifty-five miles and twenty-four hours, Wheeler and his men killed, wounded, or captured more than 1,300 Yankee cavalrymen, almost half of McCook's entire force. “

The Union defeat at Brown’s Mill forced Sherman to change tactics and besiege Atlanta and use infantry at Jonesboro, Evans wrote in “Sherman’s Horsemen.”

While Southern newspapers lauded his triumph, Wheeler was not without his critics. Cumming, the nurse in one of the Confederate military hospitals in Newnan, noted she heard "many complaints against General Wheeler."

Evans said among the critics was Capt. George Knox Miller of the 8^th Confederate Cavalry, who wrote to his wife, "Our forces were handled miserably . . . . If we had a commanding officer with any brains not one of them [McCook's raiders] would have escaped."

"Oh! for a few more Forrests and Whartons to command our cavalry," added Chaplain Robert F. Bunting of the 8^th Texas Cavalry.

“Just goes to show, you can't please all the people all the time, no matter what you do,” quipped Evans.

The anniversary “Toast and Taps” will occur 7 p.m. Saturday (July 27) at the Brown’s Mill battlefield, 155 Millard Farmer Road, Newnan, Ga. 30263. The battlefield association, said Carolyn Turner, will read the names of all who died on the property, salute them and play Taps and sing “Dixie.”

Battle of Brown's Mill: Where everything went horribly wrong for Union cavalry

Thomas E. Redwine shows movement of Union troops into Newnan

Not a whole lot went wrong for Union Gen. William T. Sherman during his successful 1864 campaign to take Atlanta, a huge win for the North and President Abraham Lincoln, who needed a victory to assure re-election.
 

While his unsuccessful assault of Kennesaw Mountain was costly, Sherman’s decision to send about 5,200 cavalry troopers to tear up railroad track south of Atlanta turned into an outright disaster.

Author David Evans

His aim was to disrupt vital supply and communication lines and avoid a protracted siege by forcing the South to abandon Atlanta.

“Sherman had no experience to speak of with cavalry. He never truly appreciated their abilities and their limitations,” argues historian David Evans.

In his book, “Sherman’s Horsemen,” Evan details the use of cavalry during the campaign and the ill-fated McCook-Stoneman Raid.

Two previous Union raids -- which came up against few Confederates -- proved successful. Sherman was emboldened.

List of Rebel casualties

“He decided to put all his eggs in one basket and decided to conduct one of the largest raids in the Civil War.”

As another large Federal column engaged elsewhere, Brig. Gen Edward M. McCook, with about 3,000 troopers and Maj. Gen. George Stoneman’s 2,200 men set out in separate columns. They agreed to rendezvous at Lovejoy Station to destroy track.

“They are riding into a hornet’s nest,” Evans tells the Picket.

The hornet stings ended up paralyzing McCook while his men tried to escape a horde of Rebel pursuers a few miles outside of Newnan, a hospital town.

The Confederates sprung their trap at Brown’s Mill in a well-timed ambush. After a council of war, McCook ceded effective command. He lost artillery pieces, horses and about 1,200 men forced to surrender during their pell-mell rush to cross the Chattahoochee River and reach the safety of Union lines.

Campaign map at Newnan depot

It was a bloody debacle, in which there was saber-to-saber fighting, a trail of bodies and the heroic actions of a Union trooper who received the Medal of Honor.

A portion of the battlefield will be formally dedicated Saturday as Brown’s Mill Battlefield Historic Civil War Site. The 105 acres includes two short trails, a meadow and a half dozen interpretive signs detailing the battle.

McCook had initial success after setting off July 27, 1864, tearing up Atlanta & West Point Railroad track at Palmetto and capturing Confederate supplies at Fayetteville. “There is some pretty good evidence that McCook got into some captured liquor and overimbibed,” says Evans.

Stoneman, who had moved south on the east side of the Ocmulgee River, was unable to ford and abandoned plans to meet McCook. He decided to move up plans to free Union prisoners at Andersonville. Stoneman and much of his command, however, were captured at Macon.

McCook and his men reached Lovejoy Station on July 29. They did little damage to the Macon & Western Railroad.

“There is no sign of Stoneman. This puts McCook in a quandary,” says Evans.

Brig. Gen. McCook

McCook makes what he calls a “strategic withdrawal” and is hounded by Confederate cavalry after he made the decision to head back to Union lines via Newnan.

Early the morning of July 30, after skirmishes at Line Creek and Shake Rag, troopers of the 8^th Indiana ride into town, surprised to find dismounted Confederate cavalry at the railroad depot. McCook decides to avoid battle and continue his push for the river.

Confederate Lt. Gen. Joe Wheeler, urging his exhausted men, was soon on McCook’s heels.

“O, how joyfully we hailed them,” Confederate nurse Kate Cumming wrote in her diary. “They came galloping in by two different roads; the enemy in the meantime hearing of their approach, were retreating.”

Newnan children attempted to follow the Union troopers, but were told to go home.

Nurse Kate Cumming

An ambush at what is now the intersection of Old Corinth and Millard Farmer roads demoralizes the advance Indiana, Iowa and Kentucky regiments in the column, setting up the short, but ferocious battle.

“Wheeler see his lines wavering and he rides to the front, draw his sword, orders his bugler to sound charge and orders the men to ‘follow me,’” says Evans.

Sandra Parker, comprehensive planner for Coweta County, which owns the new historic site, said Wheeler and other commanders made an assault on the larger Union force, which was now straddling what came to be known as Ricketyback Road.

Fighting see-sawed across the road.

Wheeler “used (his men) very strategically in a huge horseshoe and moved in on them,” says Parker. 

McCook held a brief council of war, suggesting the force surrender. Other officers decided to fight and McCook basically gave up command. It was every man for himself then, with separate columns attempting to break out from the trap.

“They were outgeneraled and fled south,” says Parker.

There were moments of heroism among the jolted Union troopers.

Cpl. George W. Healey (Healy) of Company E, 5^th Iowa Cavalry is to win a Medal of Honor for his actions at Brown’s Mill.

George Healey

According to the citation, “When nearly surrounded by the enemy, (he) captured a Confederate soldier, and with the aid of a comrade who joined him later, captured four other Confederate soldiers, disarmed the five prisoners and brought them all into the Union lines.”

Larry Conzett of Nashville says his great-great-uncle, David, also of the 5^th Iowa, rode with Healey. David Conzett died shortly before Healey took the prisoners.

“This family folklore was George fought back with David’s empty pistol, capturing Confederates, feigning the gun was full,” says Conzett, who will attend Saturday’s dedication of the site.

David Conzett fell near a tree within 75 yards of the home of George W. Cook. The home was on high ground where McCook placed artillery and the council of war during a “last stand.”

One of three nieces staying at Cook’s home was killed during the fighting. Later, Cook wrote a letter demanding the return of horses taken by Union troopers during the battle.

David Conzett and two comrades were buried at the Cook property before being moved to a national cemetery in Marietta, north of Atlanta.

Planners and preservationists hope a small visitor center will someday be built on the high ground.

The 5^th Iowa was among the 500 troopers that were captured on the battlefield while trying to cover the Union retreat.

An interpretive sign for battlefield (Coweta County)

The fighting at Brown's Mill cost McCook about 100 killed and wounded, while Wheeler's casualties probably numbered less than 50, according to Evans. Wheeler freed about 500 prisoners and captured supplies.

“By 5 p.m. it was completely over, with the nurses out there already,” says Carolyn Turner, president of the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield Association.

Confederate nurse Fannie Beers wrote about the carnage she encountered.

"The dead lay around us on every side, singly and in groups and piles; men and horses, in some cases, apparently inextricably mingled. Some lay as if peacefully sleeping; others, with open eyes, seemed to glare at any who  bent above them. Two men lay as they had died, the 'Blue' and the 'Gray,'  clasped in fierce embrace...one shot in the head, the throat of the other was partly torn away.”

The retreat of the remaining Union forces was chaotic, with another 700 captured before they could ford the Chattahoochee. Some men, including an officer naked except for his hat, managed to swim or take a few ferries to safety.

Route of the Union retreat at Brown's Mill

According to Evans, the McCook-Stoneman escapade and the loss at Brown’s Mill changed the way the Atlanta Campaign was fought.

Sherman could no longer depend on his now-crippled cavalry. A siege of the city ensued and infantry was used to move on two crucial railroads.

“It forced Sherman to change his strategy and while it did not change the ultimate outcome… these Confederate victories prolonged the campaign at a crucial moment of American history.”

Momentum grows for park, re-enactment at site of Confederate cavalry win in Georgia

A rejuvenated group of citizens is helping a county southwest of Atlanta move ahead with plans for a historic site that will recognize a smashing Confederate cavalry victory during the Atlanta Campaign.

The Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield recently elected new officers and will aid work on the 105-acre site owned by Coweta County. It plans to continue mapping this northwest corner of the cavalry clash and begin clearing some areas for future trails and a meadow.

The county and the organization expect that phase 1 -- a trailhead, trails, interpretive signs, a small parking lot and a field -- will be ready for a re-enactment battle to mark July 30, 2014, the battle’s 150th anniversary.

“We need to take care of that battlefield,” said Carolyn Turner, president of the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield, which is moving forward after relative inactivity in recent years.

Three camps of the Sons of Confederate Veterans are excited about the plans at Brown’s Mill Battlefield Historic Site and will assist, said Turner, a retired teacher.

The county eventually would like to build a visitors center and museum, when funding for those is available.

For now, it is working with a $300,000 federal grant administered by the Georgia Department of Transportation, said Coweta County comprehensive planner Sandra Parker. The county's match was $75,000.

The county wants to take advantage of the grant before it expires and recently authorized an 18-acre land swap with the Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority, which may build a reservoir near the historic site.

In exchange for land for a reservoir spillway, the water authority will give the site land where a wartime cabin and federal artillery pieces likely stood, Parker said.

The Battle of Brown’s Mill on July 30, 1864, took place between Union cavalry under the command of Brig. Gen. Edward Moody McCook, and pursuing Confederate cavalry units under the command of Gen. Joseph Wheeler (top photo).

Union Gen. William Sherman had tasked McCook and Maj. Gen. George Stoneman with cutting vital railroads south of Atlanta so that he would not have to engage in a prolonged siege.

McCook failed to meet up with Stoneman and his 2,400 troopers left Lovejoy and headed north back toward the Chattahoochee River. Wheeler’s smaller force pursued him and ambushed the exhausted Union forces.

They clashed near Brown’s Mill, a few miles southwest of Newnan (photo below).

The county’s parcel is along Millard Farmer Road at the intersection of Old Corinth Road. It was the scene of much of the heaviest fighting.

The Confederates attacked south toward Union forces along Rickety Back Road (now Millard Farmer).

“Wheeler had his best day as a soldier,” says Charlie Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association. “This is where McCook lost control and was broken up.”

McCook’s forces fled and, eventually, more than 1,000 were taken prisoner. Wheeler freed about 500 Confederate prisoners and also seized supplies.

The fighting at Brown's Mill cost McCook about 100 killed and wounded, while Wheeler's casualties probably numbered less than 50, according to David Evans, author of “Sherman’s Horsemen.”

The Union cavalry failed to attain its goal, forcing Sherman to besiege Atlanta and use infantry at Jonesboro.

A passer-by would not know the battle occurred unless he or she spies a United Daughters of Confederacy marker placed on the northwest corner of the 105 acres more han a century ago. An auto salvage yard lies across Millard Farmer Road at the intersection with Old Corinth Road.

A 2004 master plan prepared for Coweta County said, “The Brown’s Mill Battlefield Historic Site will be the only Civil War park south of Atlanta as well as one of only two Civil War parks in the nation featuring a cavalry battle.”

A challenge, it said, would be attracting Civil War visitors south of Atlanta.

But the county believes it is on to something with its plans.

A master landscape plan includes trails, a memorial garden, a meadow for re-enactments and other activities, a pavilion, displays and extensive interpretive signs.

The friends group plans to do more extensive mapping of the county site, which has been heavily picked over by relic collectors.

Turner said individuals so far have raised about $3,000 to assist the effort. Another 60-acre site is available just northwest of the county’s park property, but it is too early to know whether the group can buy it.

The friends plan to launch a web page and expand its membership, Turner said.

“We want to do it right,” Turner said.

The battle covered a much larger area than the tract owned by the county.

The fighting comprised at least 1,000 acres, said Crawford, most of it east and south of the county site. There’s even more if you count the federal advance and retreat. The area is currently rural, with homes, a few businesses and timber forest.

Crawford is not thrilled with the water authority’s tentative plans to build a reservoir near the historic site.

Ellis Cadenhead, general manager of the Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority, said he is not certain how much of the battlefield may lie under water if the reservoir, which will cover more than 300 acres, is built.

Plans call for it perhaps being built in 20-25 years, “if then,” he said.

There’s been no final decision and there are many required state and federal permits.

“To say the threat is imminent is not true,” said Crawford.

The authority bought the property in 2007 and 2010 and may build the reservoir for drought relief and flood runoff.

“We have excess water [now],” Cadenhead said. “You have to look after the next generation.”

The Atlanta Regional Commission recently released a new population estimate saying Coweta County’s population will double to 250,000 by 2040.

Crawford said at least part of the battlefield will lie under water.

But that may be better than residential development, he says.

“Once it is covered by houses you never get it back.”

Parker said the land swap, which requires state approval, will allow site visitors to see an area where George Cook’s home likely stood. Cook wrote a letter to a surgeon with the Federal army, asking for the return of his horses taken from his farm during the battle.

Soldier accounts indicate Union artillery was fired from that property, she said.

“The county and the [water authority] are willing to put together a win-win situation for the community by saving important (core) areas of the battlefield as well as prepare future water supply that the community will need,” she said.

In 2004, before the economy went south, the Georgia Battlefields Association nominated Brown’s Mill as an endangered site with the Civil War Trust because of development, which of course may return one day.

“You don’t want to be in the preservation business if you get depressed easily,” says Crawford (left).

The county purchased the 105 acres in 2001 for $450,000 under a state greenspace initiative, said Parker, a member of the friends group and a liaison between it and the county.

Most of the site will be south of a trail along Millard Farmer Road, she said.

The Georgia Battlefields Association is supporting the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield and may provide donations for specific project.

“This is a positive step,” said Crawford. “Our goal is to help them exercise their potential.”

For more information on the Friends of Brown’s Mill Battlefield please call Carolyn Turner at 678-571-7718. Photo of the UDC monument courtesy of Charlie Crawford.

• See Battle of Brown's Mill on this page for study, landscape plan