Following the Battle of Peachtree Creek, Hood
determined to attack Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's Army of the
Tennessee. He withdrew his main army at night from Atlanta' s outer line
to the inner line, enticing Sherman to follow. In the meantime, he sent
William J. Hardee with his corps on a fifteen-mile march to hit the
unprotected Union left and rear, east of the city. Wheeler's cavalry was
to operate farther out on Sherman's supply line, and Gen. Frank
Cheatham's corps were to attack the Union front. Hood, however,
miscalculated the time necessary to make the march, and Hardee was
unable to attack until afternoon. Although Hood had outmaneuvered
Sherman for the time being, McPherson was concerned about his left flank
and sent his reserves-Grenville Dodge's XVI Army Corps-to that
location. Two of Hood's divisions ran into this reserve force and were
repulsed. The Rebel attack stalled on the Union rear but began to roll
up the left flank. Around the same time, a Confederate soldier shot and
killed McPherson when he rode out to observe the fighting. Determined
attacks continued, but the Union forces held. About 4:00 pm, Cheatham's
corps broke through the Union front at the Hurt House, but Sherman
massed twenty artillery pieces on a knoll near his headquarters to shell
these Confederates and halt their drive. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan' s XV
Army Corps then led a counterattack that restored the Union line. The
Union troops held, and Hood suffered high casualties.