November 28, 1864---The Battle of Buckhead Creek

NOVEMBER 28, 1864:     

 The Battle of Buckhead Creek:        

After receiving orders from Jefferson Davis to block the roads and stop the advance of Sherman’s advancing columns, General Joseph Wheeler C.S.A. attacks a Union force encamped near Buckhead Creek, Georgia. The Confederates have been struggling to engage Sherman. Unlike traditional Civil War columns Sherman’s men do not advance four abreast in serried ranks along the roads. Instead, Sherman’s front is 70 miles wide, with groups of men scattered throughout the area. Thus, there is no place to “block the roads” and no one place to “stop the advance.” There is, especially no place for a set-piece battle, but on this day, Wheeler manages to surprise a small body of troops. These “surprises” have been going on all along the line of march, but the Confederates have been able to do little more than nibble at Sherman’s force ineffectually; today, there is a real battle. The Union force is at first outnumbered but the sound of firing draws more Union units. Soon Wheeler’s men are taking canister fire. The Union men cross the creek, followed by the Confederates who, in fleeing the canister, run headlong into a hidden Union battery. After receiving heavy cannonfire, Wheeler retreats. The Union suffers 46 casualties in total, the Confederacy 300.