Johnston was General Joe Johnston, whom President Jefferson Davis had personally
selected to defend Atlanta from the expected Union spring offensive in 1864. Johnston was
known and respected by his men as a determined fighter. Sherman was just as resolute.
"I am to know Joe Johnston, and to do as much damage to the resources of the enemy
as possible."Johnston dug in near Dalton, Georgia, with his 45,000
battle-tested men. His units embraced a ridge line known locally as Rocky Face Ridge. At
its height, it extended 800 feet above the valley below. Johnston's men, ordered to defend
the region and Atlanta at all costs, made the most of the natural surroundings. Dr. Albert
Wilson later wrote to his brother, Henry, in Sidney: "The position held by the
enemy was called Rocky Faced Ridge (a part of which is called Buzzard's Roost). It
is exceedingly well calculated by nature for defensive operations...and could have been
held by a very small force against a very large one."
Sherman sent the Army of the Tennessee, under the command of General McPherson, through
Snake Creek Gap, an opening in the ridge, with orders to attack Johnston's flank and seize
the railroad at Resaca. Speed was essential. Sherman's orders were specific: "Do not
fail...to make the most of the opportunity by the most vigorous attack possible."
McPherson moved quickly indeed, arriving at Resaca on May 9, which prompted Sherman to
exclaim: "I've got Joe Johnston dead!"
Decisiveness turned to caution. McPherson decided not to attack at Resaca, even though
his orders directed him to do otherwise. McPherson feared that Johnston would turn on him,
cutting him off from the rest of Sherman's army. Sherman would later comment to his young
general: "Well, Mac, you have missed the opportunity of your life."
(Sherman's comment would soon be prophetic, as McPherson would later die in action at the Battle of Atlanta in July of that year.)
McPherson's missed chance meant an opportunity for Johnston to reposition his men at
Resaca- with defensive positions nearly as formidable as those at Dalton. Sherman gathered
the rest of his forces, including the Army of the Ohio, at Resaca for what would be the
first of a series of battles for the real prize: Atlanta.
As the light faded on May 13, the men of General Henry Judah's division of Ohio's 23rd
Corps were in a state of near exhaustion. Judah's men, including the 118th, had just
completed a punishing march of 100 miles in 5 days. Rumors spread among the men that five
of their mates had died along the way, and that Judah had won a one hundred dollar bet by
pushing his men to finish the march. There was also talk that Judah's drinking problem was
becoming increasingly severe. As night fell, there was an uneasy quiet among the troops.
Company C of the 118th was composed mostly of young men recruited from the Shelby
County town of Berlin, now known as Ft. Loramie. Company I contained many soldiers from
Sidney, including Cassius Wilson, a brother of Dr. Albert Wilson. Luck would play a
strange role in the fate of the men the next day. The regimental officers decided to leave
Company I to guard supply trains in the rear, away from the hostilities. Company C was not
destined to be as lucky.