Battle of Pickett's Mill
Paulding County, Paulding County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Battle of Pickett's Mill. After the successful defense at New Hope Church by Hood's Corps [Confed.], May 25, 1864, Johnston [Confed.] extended his right N.E. to keep pace with the Federal leftward shift to outflank him. Elements of the 4th, 14th and 23rd Corps under Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard [Union] with over 18,000 men passed this point seeking the extreme right of the Confederate army. The Federal forces attacked a point where the Army of Tennessee's line bent back to the south. The brigades of Hazen, Gibson and Scribner blundered into a deep ravine one-half mile east of here to attack the Confederates under Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne. The brigades were defeated one after another in the heavily-wooded ravine where fired upon from three directions. The Confederates were the clear victors of the five-hour battle. The result of the victory was a few days delay in Sherman's [Union] Atlanta Campaign. 110-27 GEORGIA HISTORIC MARKER 1983
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
After the defense at New Hope Church in late May 1864, Confederate Gen. Johnston extended his right to counter Sherman's flanking moves. At Pickett's Mill, more than 18,000 Union troops under Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard sought the Confederate flank, but their brigades were funneled into a deep ravine and defeated in detail by Patrick Cleburne's men, who held the field after a fierce five-hour fight.
Why it matters
The Confederate victory here delayed Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and stands as a vivid example of how rugged ground and stout defense could turn back superior numbers.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In May 1864 the Confederacy was fighting to hold its heartland. Union armies were pressing on two great fronts, and in the West the objective was Atlanta — a vital rail junction whose factories, warehouses, and connecting lines made it one of the few things keeping Southern armies supplied. William T. Sherman's task was to take it.
The country northwest of Atlanta made that far harder than a glance at a map suggests. This was a region of steep, wooded ridges and deep hollows, thin roads, and thick timber that swallowed marching columns and hid whole brigades. It was ground made for defense, where a smaller force that knew the terrain could punish a larger one that did not.
Rather than a single climactic battle, the campaign here unfolded as a running contest of flanking marches and blocking moves. Joseph E. Johnston repeatedly shifted his lines to stay between Sherman and Atlanta, and the Federals repeatedly tried to slip around his flank. The clash at Pickett's Mill in late May was one bitter chapter of that larger back-and-forth.
People & events
Following the sharp defensive success at New Hope Church on May 25, 1864, Johnston stretched his line to the northeast to counter Sherman's steady effort to reach around the Confederate right. The Union response was a strong flanking column: more than 18,000 men under Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, drawn from three corps, sent to find the far end of the Confederate line and turn it.
But the woods and ravines undid the plan. Searching for the flank, Howard's troops pressed toward a spot where the Confederate line bent back to the south — precisely where Patrick Cleburne's command was waiting. The attacking Federal brigades pushed down into a deep, heavily wooded ravine, and there the assault came apart.
Caught in a natural trap and fired on from three directions, the brigades were funneled into the low ground and defeated one after another rather than in a single coordinated blow. The fighting lasted about five hours and was as fierce as any in the campaign. When it ended, the Confederates were the clear victors, holding the field against a force far larger than their own.
Its place in the American story
Pickett's Mill is a small but telling piece of the Atlanta Campaign, the long Union drive that would ultimately decide much about the war's final year. It shows in miniature why that campaign was so grueling for both sides: ground and preparation could, for a day, cancel out a heavy advantage in numbers.
The Confederate victory here delayed Sherman's advance by a matter of days. That is the hard truth the marker records — a battlefield win that did not change the campaign's direction. Johnston's army could inflict real punishment and still be maneuvered steadily backward, because Sherman had the men and the will to keep probing for the next opening.
Seen from a distance, engagements like this one are the individual steps in the long march toward Atlanta's fall later that summer — an event whose consequences reached well beyond Georgia and into the nation's broader struggle. The rugged stand at Pickett's Mill is a vivid example of how much blood each of those steps could cost.
If you visit
From this marker, let your eye follow the terrain toward the low ground where the assault was broken. The story here is inseparable from the shape of the land — the ridges, the timber, and the deep ravine that channeled the attackers into a place where they could be fired on from several sides at once.
The setting is wooded and often still, and that quiet is part of what makes it powerful. It takes only a little imagination to picture how disorienting the same trees and hollows would have been to soldiers advancing blind, unable to see the danger until it was on top of them.
If you are exploring the Atlanta Campaign as a road trip, this is one of several markers threaded through the Paulding County countryside. Take it slowly, read the ground as much as the words, and let this stop stand on its own as a reminder of how terrain and determination shaped a single hard afternoon in 1864.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Sweet Eloise14.5 mi away
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Related people
- · O.O. Howard
- · Patrick Cleburne
- · Joseph E. Johnston
Related events
- · Battle of Pickett's Mill
- · Atlanta Campaign
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Battle of Pickett's Mill
Paulding County, GA
On May 27, 1864, following the fighting at New Hope Church, Union Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard pushed over 18,000 men toward the Confederate right, hoping to find and turn its flank. Instead, three Federal brigades blundered into a deep, wooded ravine and were cut down one after another by Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's Confederates firing from three directions, handing the South a clear victory in a five-hour battle.
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