Diary of Orrin Brown, on the road between Lithonia and Covington, Georgia.
Thursday–Nov. 17th
We were on the road again this morning at 7 Oclock, marched 2 or 3 miles, stacked our arms and sit down to rest about 15 minutes. Here I got some Persimmons the first I ever saw & they were exelent. We fell in and marched abour 2 miles and set down to rest again. The Artilery passed through the town of Athelia while it was burning. Here one of our men was shot by a Citizen and badly wounded in the face. We stoped twice this afternoon to tear up Railroad track, got into camp about 7.30 PM tired and hungry and nothing for supper for our rations have run out, spread our Blankets down without pitching our tent and layed down to rest.
Sherman divided his army in two for his March to the Sea. Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard commanded the Army of Tennessee on the right wing, with Maj. Gen. Peter J. Osterhaus’ XV Corps, and Maj. Gen. Frank Blair’s XVII Corps. The left wing was Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum’s Army of Georgia, with Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams’ XX Corps and Brig. Gen. Jeff C. Davis and our own XIV Corps. Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry division operated in support.
It would have been Howard’s wing (XV Corps and XVII Corps) that marched south through Gone With the Wind’s “Tara”, near Jonesboro. Sherman rode with Slocum’s wing. The XX Corps took the northern (far left), feinting toward Augusta along the railroad to Madison, Georgia. Pvt. Brown’s XIV Corps left the railroad at Covington and struck out southeast toward the State Capital of Milledgeville.
I have no idea where (or what) Athelia might be. [edit: I’m guessing] it’s Lithonia, in DeKalb County, on the Georgia Railroad 18 miles from Decatur and the same distance to Covington.
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