In Atlanta, John A. 'Black Jack' Logan picked up the pieces and helped save the day for the Union. He inspired his men in several battles

In the nick of time, Logan rallies the troops on July 22, 1864 (Picket photo)

On Friday, I marked the 158^th anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta in a rather unusual way. Rather than walking paved-over battleground, I drove to the Atlanta History Center and bought one of two puzzles it stocks depicting the Cyclorama painting. It's been a while since I put one together.

The AHC, of course, houses the colossal Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama, which focuses on a brief Confederate breakthrough on the afternoon of July 22, 1864, at the Troup Hurt house.

Galloping furiously to the rescue, hat in hand, is Union Maj. Gen. John A. “Black Jack” Logan, temporary head of the Army of the Tennessee. That’s the scene shown in the 48-piece puzzle (I know, not super challenging to put together).

Known for his flowing hair and marvelous mustache, Logan was perhaps the best “political” or non-West Point general fighting for the Union. His clutch performance in Atlanta and a few days before, at Dallas in nearby Paulding County, were perhaps his shining moment.

Capt. DeGress trails Logan as they ride forward (AHC)

Entering the battle, Logan, commanded the 15^th Corps, which with the 16^th  Corps and 17^th Corps, made up the Army of the Tennessee. During the pitched fighting on the 22^nd, Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, commander of that group, was killed. Logan took command of the three corps and rallied troops after the breakthrough and pushed the Rebels back, securing a decisive victory.

“He was a damn good leader -- indispensable in restoring 15^th Corps morale that afternoon,” says Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator at the AHC.

Jones cited remarks made by J.W. Long of the 2^nd Iowa Infantry in a National Tribune article in September 1888:

"No one can describe how Logan looked in battle any more than he could describe the raging sea. I am satisfied that the biggest coward in the world would stand on his head on top of the breastworks if Logan was present and told him to do so."

Logan excelled despite no military training before war (Library of Congress)

Logan, from Illinois, served in the U.S. House before the war. He opposed abolition of slavery, but his thoughts on that changed during the war and he later espoused equal rights for African-Americans. He served with distinction at Fort Donelson, where he was wounded, and Vicksburg.

In his review of Gary Ecelbarger’s biography of Logan, Charles R. Bowery writes of the general: “Logan was a quick study in tactics and the operational art. He took care of his men, shared hardships with them, and led by example at all times, placing himself in danger to inspire his men on numerous battlefields. The units he commanded responded in kind, often stopping to cheer him when he appeared on the field of battle to reverse a deteriorating situation.”

Such a potential situation presented itself at Atlanta, when Logan, as ranking officer, found himself in the hot seat after McPherson (right) was shot down. The news of the popular McPherson’s death tore through the Union lines that afternoon. He was a favorite of Gen. William T. Sherman.

Ten years after the war, Logan made these remarks at the unveiling of the McPherson monument in Washington, D.C.

“The news of his death spread with lightning-speed along the lines, sending a pang of deepest sorrow to every heart as it reached the ear; but, especially terrible was the effect on the Army of the Tennessee. It seemed as though a burning, fiery dart had pierced each breast, tearing asunder the flood-gates of grief, but, at the same time, heaving to their very depths the fountains of revenge. The clenched hands seemed to sink into the weapons they held, and from the eyes gleamed forth flashes terrible as lightning.

“The cry ‘McPherson, McPherson! and “McPherson and revenge!’ rose above the din of battle, and, as it rang along the lines, swelled in power, until the roll of musketry and booming of cannon seemed drowned by its echoes.”

The Cyclorama, which was painted in Milwaukee to show a Union victory, was later modified and misinterpreted in Atlanta as showing a Southern triumph – however short.

At 4 p.m. on July 22, the battery of Federal Capt. Francis DeGress was firing canister as fast as it could near the Troup Hurt house (left). Determined Confederates continued to push forward and were about to be upon them.

DeGress knew the horses could not pull back the guns in time, Jones said, and he had two guns spiked. The captain and Sgt. Peter Wyman stayed with the other two weapons, firing double canister. They eventually had to flee; Wyman was killed while DeGress fled back to the collapsed Federal line.

Fast-forward to the scene depicted in the Cyclorama: Logan – riding a black horse named Slasher -- rallying his troops and rushing toward the breach, with DeGress riding behind.

DeGress, already a respected veteran, is about to become a folk hero to the Northern cause. He retakes the four 20-pounder Parrott guns and turns them on the retreating Confederates.

(It’s important to note the battlefield on July 22 was much larger than what is shown in the painting. For example, troops clashed for a much longer time on Bald (Leggett’s) Hill south near current Interstate 20.)

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, told the Picket that Logan was “inspirational” at Dallas and Atlanta.

“Didn’t function much as an army commander, but was great at restoring the line of his own 15^th Corps. McPherson and Dodge (16^th Corps) deserve credit for repulsing the initial attack on the far left flank, and Blair (17^th Corps), Leggett, and G.A. Smith did most of the command work in the Battle for Bald Hill.

“By the time (approx. 2:30) that Logan knew he was an army commander, 17^th Corps was facing repeated attacks by Cleburne and Maney, but Blair, Leggett, and G.A. Smith were effective in their respective command roles without a lot of direction from Logan. Once breakthrough occurred in 15^th Corps sector (approx. 4:30), Logan justifiably focused on that emergency.”

Logan, DeGress and others head for the Troup Hurt house breakthrough (AHC)

Despite his heroic service that day, Logan served as commander of the Army of the Tennessee for only four days. Sherman gave that job to Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, a West Point grad. Sherman reportedly was skeptical of politicians in uniform, but there may have been personal differences, too. Logan was crushed by the news.

He “viewed this as a personal slight which gave him a very dim view of West Pointers in the future,” says the American Battlefield Trust. He performed well in the coming days at Ezra Church and Jonesboro.

“Logan put on his politician hat in the fall of 1864, returning to his home state to campaign for Abraham Lincoln -- a marked contrast for the erstwhile Democrat,” the trust says. “In December, the major general returned to the field at the head of the Fifteenth Corps until the cessation of hostilities. He was given command of the Army of the Tennessee on May 23, 1865 -- just in time to lead it in the Grand Review in Washington, DC.”

Logan got back into politics, serving several terms in the U.S. House and Senate. He was an unsuccessful Republican vice presidential candidate in 1884 and was considered a front-runner in the upcoming presidential election. He died in 1886 at age 60 from the effects of rheumatism.

The artists made this sketch of Logan, other figures for the painting (AHC)

He also is remembered today as the father of Memorial Day, which began as Decoration Day in 1868. As head of the Grand Army of the Republic, Logan lobbied for a special day to commemorate America’s war dead.

Logan obviously is the star of the Cyclorama, given there are no recognizable Confederate officers during the fight at the Troup Hurt house.

The circular painting debuted in Minneapolis in June 1886, a few months before the general died, but there is no evidence that he saw it (Logan later in life, right. Library of Congress photo) .

Harper's Weekly illustrator Theodore R. Davis is responsible for Logan and DeGress being prominently depicted in the painting. Davis, who traveled with the Federal army, submitted an illustration and article for the publication about DeGress soon after the battle and served as an advisor to the artists in Milwaukee.

Jones, the AHC military historian, told the Picket that stories claiming Logan commissioned the painting to promote a political campaign amount to an untrue urban legend.

“The Battle of Atlanta was paid for by about 40 Chicago-area investors in the American Panorama Company. Logan had nothing to do with it,” said Jones.

“Theodore Davis ... was a personal friend of Logan and all the top brass of the Army of the Tennessee. He was the one who placed Logan so prominently in the foreground of the painting. Besides, having him there would give the painting celebrity star power and help sell tickets in the upper Midwest.”

Advertisement for painting when it was show in Minneapolis in 1886 (Picket photo)

On this day in 1864, a Federal counterattack saved the day in Atlanta. Who was artillery Capt. DeGress, a hero depicted in the Cyclorama?

Gen. Logan and Capt. DeGress rush toward captured cannons (Atlanta History Center)

If you are familiar with the Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama, the first image likely to come to mind is the brick Troup Hurt house, scene of a brief Confederate breakthrough during the fighting of July 22, 1864 -- 157 years ago today.

While the 370-foot circumference painting has dozens of small scenes and thousands of figures, the house is clearly the focal point of the battle – misinterpreted for years by its Southern promoters as showing a Rebel victory. Instead, something big is about to happen that will ensure this day will, in fact, see a Federal triumph.

Galloping furiously to the rescue, hat in hand, is Maj. Gen. John A. “Black Jack” Logan, head of the Army of the Tennessee. Behind him is Capt. Francis DeGress, whose artillery battery had been overrun shortly before.

Rebel breakthrough at Troup Hurt house (Picket photo)

“It is the point at which the 15^th Corps is pushed back. Like a rubber band, it springs back,” says Gordon Jones, senior military historian at the Atlanta History Center (AHC), which houses the mammoth work of art.

DeGress, already a respected veteran, is about to become a folk hero to the Northern cause. He retakes the four 20-pounder Parrott guns and turns them on the retreating Confederates.

“He is an example of the sort of mid-level officer who was a natural leader, on whom the troops really came to depend. On whom the battle depended,” said Jones, adding it is the privates, sergeants, lieutenants and captains who are controlling the battle.

Exhibits at the AHC include several DeGress artifacts, including a saber he likely carried that day, a Pond revolver he purchased a few months before the battle, a 15^th Corps badge and a bit that was used by one of the battery’s horses during the fighting. They were donated by family members. The AHC has papers related to DeGress at its Kenan Research Center.

The German-born artilleryman, commander of Company H, 1^st Illinois Light Artillery, was a veteran of several campaigns by the time he arrived in Atlanta. The 23-year-old’s battery was deployed in a vulnerable part of the Union line, east of the city and near a railroad line. (Sketch of DeGress, left, appeared in Harper's Weekly)

At 4 p.m. on July 22, the battery was firing canister as fast as it could. The determined Confederates continued to push forward and were about to be upon them.

DeGress knew the horses could not pull back the guns in time, Jones said, and he had two guns spiked. The captain and Sgt. Peter Wyman stayed with the other two weapons, firing double canister. They eventually had to flee; Wyman was killed while DeGress fled back to the collapsed Federal line.

Fast-forward to the scene depicted in the cyclorama: Logan rallying his troops and rushing toward the breach. DeGress soon regains possession of the battery and gets back into the action.

Bit that belonged to one of the battery horses (Picket photo)

The painting also depicts the death of horses that pulled guns, caissons and limbers for Company H.

“You are seeing in the painting the Confederates are killing the horses because they are about to be overrun,” says Jones. But there’s a chance that DeGress ordered some of them be shot before his retreat. It was not unusual occurrence, because armies did not want their own guns used against them.

“Perhaps the mostly skillfully rendered figures in the painting are the horses,” says Jones. “The closest the artists got to real horror, they are showing them writhing in agony.”

Among the German and Austrian artists who created the cyclorama in 1886 was Albert Richter. He painted the horses based on sketches made at a Milwaukee slaughterhouse, where he apparently paid to use dying horses as models.

Depiction of the killing of battery horses (Picket photo)

Harper’s Weekly illustrator Theodore R. Davis is largely responsible for DeGress being depicted in the painting. Davis, who traveled with the Federal army, submitted an illustration and article for the publication about the officer soon after the battle and served as an advisor to the artists in Milwaukee.

DeGress’ battery took part in the March to the Sea after Atlanta and the campaigns in South Carolina and North Carolina, and was present at the surrender of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston near Durham in April 1865.

After the war, the soldier went into business in Mexico, with a firearms company among his ventures. He died in 1883 – three years before the cyclorama was painted -- in Mexico City and is buried there.

DeGress' revolver (Picket photo)

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, said it is clear DeGress was highly regarded by superiors, subordinates and fellow artillery commanders.

“One measure of this regard is how quickly he was able to reconstitute his battery (H, 1st Illinois) after his guns were reclaimed on 22 July 1864,” says Crawford. “This is a testament to his own leadership and to how readily the other artillery batteries provided horses, harnesses, limbers, caissons and other equipment.”

The cyclorama shows the moment Alabama and South Carolina troops in Brig. Gen. Arthur Manigault’s brigade punctured the Union line. The AHC has the saber Manigault carried that day.

The Troup Hurt house is long gone. A church was built on the site, and now that structure is a private residence.

Troup Hurt house was where this home was erected (Picket photo)

It’s important to note the battlefield on July 22 was much larger than what is shown in the painting. For example, troops clashed for a much longer time on Bald (Leggett’s) Hill south near current Interstate 20.

By evening, Confederate troops under Gen. John Bell Hood were repulsed with heavy losses. Fighting continued in and around Atlanta for several weeks, until the Rebels evacuated and the city fell.

Among the clashes was the little-known battle at Utoy Creek. From late July to late August, Federal troops made several thrusts toward the vital Rebel rail line in nearby East Point. Ultimately, victory had to come elsewhere.

"The War in Our Backyards": See the AJC's 2014 comprehensive interactive on the Atlanta Campaign

DeGress swords, saber at top believed used in battle (Picket photo)

'Black Jack' Logan championed Memorial Day

John Logan was one of the few untrained civilians who became superb Civil War commanders. "Many communities claim to be the site of the first Memorial Day," said Mike Jones, director of the Gen. John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro, Ill. "But it was Logan who took separate observances and put them on a unified, national basis. Logan was the founder of Memorial Day as a national holiday." • Article