Resaca - May 14, 1864 - Afternoon

American Battlefield Trust's map of the Battle of Resaca on May 14, 1864 (Afternoon)

By May 14, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate army stretched four miles, with its left on the Oostanaula and the right on the Conasauga. Camp Creek cut across most of Johnston’s front, creating an obstacle for the Federals. As Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces marching from Snake Creek Gap paralleled Rebel lines, Sherman ordered attacks to keep the Rebels occupied while Sweeny’s division of the XVI Corps crossed the Oostanaula four miles downstream from Resaca, beyond the Confederates’ left.

Starting around 11:30 a.m. Yankees from the Maj. Gen John Schofield’s XXIII and Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard’s IV Corps attacked. Schofield’s two divisions charged and failed. The XIV Corps divisions of Brig. Gen. Absalom Baird’s and Brig. Gen. Richard Johnson also charged, managing to cross the creek before withdrawing. Brig. Gen. Jacob Cox’s division of Schofield’s corps entered the battle after Judah’s and was also thrown back. The Federal assaults on the Confederate center-right ended around 3:00 p.m.