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McCook & Stoneman's Cavalry Raid, July 27-30, 1864
McCOOK AND STONEMAN'S CAVALRY RAID - JULY 29, 1864
Having secured a position around the northern and
eastern sides of the city of Atlanta, Union General William T.
Sherman determined that it was necessary to cut off Confederate
General John B. Hood from his supplies by attacking the Macon and
Western Railroad below Jonesboro at Lovejoy's Station. A two-pronged
cavalry raid led by Generals McCook and Stoneman failed when
Stoneman changed plans without telling anyone and left for Macon to
try to liberate prisoners there and at Andersonville before meeting
McCook at Lovejoy, rather than afterward as Sherman originally
approved.
McCook reached Lovejoy on the morning of July 29, 1864 from the west
and proceeded to destroy the railroad and telegraph there. When he
discovered that Wheeler's Confederate cavalry was between him and
McDonough, and there was no sign of Stoneman, he determined he
should return to Union lines by the way in which he had come.
Wheeler passed near the Nash Farm in his pursuit of the retreating
federal cavalry and engaged the Union rear guard west of the
railroad. McCook was nearly surrounded at Brown's Mill, near Newnan,
but was able to avoid capture with a chaotic charge through
Confederate lines and a mad dash for the safety of the north bank of
the Chattahoochee River.
Damage Report From McCook's Cavalry
Brig. Gen. E. M. McCook, commanding U.S. Second
Cavalry Division, reports as follows the result of his expedition to
cut the enemy's railroad communications to Macon and West Point. His
instructions are specified in (Special Field Orders, OR. Vol. 38,
No. 42), of July 26, headquarters Military Division of the
Mississippi:
"Two and one-half miles of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad and
telegraph wire destroyed near Palmetto. General McCook moved his
cavalry forces to Fayetteville, where he found a large number of
wagons belonging to the rebel army in Atlanta. While there, eleven
hundred wagons were burned, 2,000 mules killed or disabled, 1,000
bales of cotton, 1,000 sacks of corn, and 300 sacks of flour
destroyed, besides large quantities of bacon and tobacco, and taking
250 prisoners, mostly quartermasters and men belonging to the
trains. He then pushed for the railroad, reaching it at Lovejoy's
Station at the time appointed. He burned the depot, tore up a
section of the railroad, five miles of telegraph wire destroyed and
McCook continued to work until forced to leave off to defend himself
against an accumulating force of the enemy.
McCook had heard nothing of General Stoneman, and finding his
progress east too strongly opposed he moved south and west and
reached Newnan." So it's safe to say without further evidence,
Lovejoy's train depot was destroyed by McCook's cavalry command
while he was engaged with Wheeler's Confederate forces. So
basically, there no was train depot at Lovejoy when Kilpatrick's
Raiders came through the area on August 20, 1864. The same can be
said when the infantry battles were fought there ten days after
Kilpatrick passed through the area. Lovejoy's Station was mentioned
in the Official Records, but it was serving only as a water pumping
station during the infantry battles and the Confederate occupation
between September 6th and the 17th, 1864.
Lovejoy's Station was mentioned by name in the OR's, but the name
also served as a general "Landmark" for other hard fought battles in
the general vicinity. This is because the RR Station on the Western
& Macon Railroad at Lovejoy was identified as the major landmark
when battlefield reports were later written. Any battles/skirmishes
or military action that took place between Jonesboro to the north,
Hampton to the south, Fayetteville to the west and McDonough to the
east could have be easily reported as taken at Lovejoy. Lovejoy was
centrally located and was also well know by the combatants who
fought there because of the main roads that intersected Lovejoy from
all points, north, south, east and west.
