The battle of Resaca gave neither side much occasion to brag. Sherman could claim possession of the field, but little else. Hooker's assualt was a bloody failure that cost him 600 men against the capture of 4 cannon. The fight was a disaster for Stewart who lost 1,000 of his men (to the 400 of Williams) in an attack that should never have taken place.
Johnston's decision to withdraw was sound militarily, but demoralizing to those back home who did not view retreat as a means of winning a war.
Marching his company over the ground vacated by Johnston's men, Capt. Francis Crowninshield concluded that the retreat of the enemy must have been in haste because "they left all their dead unburied." The road to Resaca, too, was strewn with "parts of muskets, cartidge boxes, etc., and a good many dead horses."
Williams's division marched to within a mile of Resaca then bypassed the town itself and crossed the Conasuaga, progressing as far as the Coosawattee where it camped for the night. Passing by an abandoned make-shift rebel hospital, Crowninshield was greeted by the sight of a dead soldier who had been left on a table partly operated on. Underneath the table was a pile of arms and legs.
The next day the regiment was ordered to march at once, forcing them to abandon the rations which were being issued to them. After moving only 100 yards, they were turned into a field to wait for several hours while a bridge was repaired. The fact that was raining only added to their misery. Wet and hungry they were more than fed up with the way affairs had been managed.
By the 17th of May, all three of Hooker's divisions were across the Coosawatee River and on their way to another meeting with the rebels at Cassville.
Get your own Free Home Page