The Battle of Ezra Church and Women Soldiers

Part of the Atlanta campaign, the Battle of Ezra Church was a nasty affair fought on July 28th, 1864.  And I was excited to learn recently that a previously undocumented woman soldier fought in it.

By late July, the Federals were closing in on Atlanta.  They had cut off all railroads leading into the city except for the Macon & Western, and now Sherman turned his attention to that line by ordering  General O.O. Howard west of Atlanta to destroy it.  To counter the Yankees, General John Bell Hood sent General S.D. Lee along the Lick Skillet Road to the crossroads near Ezra Church.  However, the Federals reached the more favorable high ground first and began fortifying their position, which included utilizing pews from the church.

Sketch of Ezra Church from Harper's Weekly

 The impending clash was Hood's third assault in eight days, all of which ended with a resounding Confederate defeat.  At Ezra Church, Lee's attack consisted of multiple uncoordinated charges through thick woods on the Federal front.  Yet, on they came.  One Federal noted that the

Confederates advanced "as coolly and as deliberately as if they were going out on battalion or grand review."  But an orderly appearance was not enough to gain the day amidst fire that "no mortal could stand," according to one Federal officer.  The mortals in General Edward C. Walthall's Confederate division of A.P. Stewart's corps learned that deadly truth first hand as they were the final troops sent in to attempt to break the Federal line.  And this assault failed like the previous ones.   At the end of the day, uncoordinated attacks against entrenched veterans would not lead to success.  This was a lesson the veterans in the Army of Tennessee knew well but one that General Hood had not yet learned.  Walthall would later write, "[D]ouble the force could not have accomplished what my division was ordered to undertake."  And he was forced to withdraw after suffering heavy casualties.  According to one Iowan, they left behind a woman in their wake, killed during the battle.  Unfortunately, he gave no further information.

She was not the only woman to lose her life during the Atlanta campaign.  As a matter of fact, more female fighters by far participated in this campaign than any other.  Specifically, during the Battle of Peach Tree Creek, which was seven days prior to Ezra Church, approximately ten women fell killed or wounded, rendering it the bloodiest battle for women soldiers of the Civil War.  You can read a blog post I wrote about this engagement by clicking [HERE].

As for Ezra Church, there was one more connection to women soldiers.  Elizabeth Quinn's first husband, Jerry Kane, was killed here while fighting with the 90th Illinois Infantry.   The regiment was positioned in the middle of the fray and, according to their brigade commander, Colonel Reuben Williams, each man fired approximately 100 rounds, which was a considerable amount.

Kane is buried in Marietta National Cemetery.

*Thanks to Michael for sharing the account of this woman soldier killed at Ezra Church.

 Until next formation....rest.