Civil War Relic From 'Snake Creek Gap' Resaca GA Sherman's March Fired 54 Bullet

Description

We are working as partners in conjunction with Gettysburg Relics to offer some very nice American Civil War relics for sale. The owner of Gettysburg Relics was the proprietor of Artifact at 777 on Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg for a number of years, and we are now selling exclusively on eBay.
THE BATTLE OF RESACA, GEORGIA / SNAKE CREEK GAP / ALONG SHERMAN'S MARCH TO RESACA - FROM THE WILLIAM A. REGER COLLECTION - A very nice example of a fired high impact (high velocity) .54 Caliber 3-Ring Rifle Bullet with rifling marks and very heavy mangling and scrapes from the impact.
Please see the maps for more visual information - the circled areas on the historic maps show Snake Creek Gap
'May 8, 1864. McPherson’s 15th & 16th Corps [US] seized Snake Creek Gap. On the 9th, attempting to destroy the R. R. at Resaca, (defended by Cantey’s Div. of Polk’s Corps), [CS] McPherson was forced to withdraw to the mouth of the gap where he intrenched.
This was the beginning of Sherman’s [US] move to outflank Johnston’s forces [CS] at Dalton.
May 13-14, Sherman moved the 14th, 20th, and 23d Corps [US] through the gap & together with McPherson’s troops, advanced toward Resaca — the 4th Corps [US] marching due S. from Dalton. On the 14th began the two-day battle of Resaca.
May 11th, 1864, General Johnston receives word in the early morning that the Union Army is massing for an attack on Resaca via Snake Creek Gap.  He telegraphs General Polk, who is Rome on his way form Louisiana to Dalton, and directs him to Resaca to assume command and reenforce the troops already there.  He then sends General Hood from Dalton to Resaca and has General Cleburne prepare to move from Dug Gap to Resaca.  He then directs General Cheatham to prepare to withdraw from Rocky Face Ridge and replace Clerburne at Dug Gap.  Upon arrival at Resaca, General Hood finds that there is no attack imminent and there are no Federal troops within four miles of Resaca.  He Telegraphs General Johnston and informs him of such.  All the previous troop movements toward Resaca are put on hold.
Union observers, on the Northern part of Rocky Face Ridge, have seen part of Cheatham’s Corp start to move away from the lines at Buzzards Roost.  Sherman is notified and he immediately orders the line at Buzzards Roost probed.  There are enough Southern Soldiers still in the lines to repulse the attempted Reconnaissance by Force.  The Union troops go to ground and must wait until nightfall to pull back.  Sherman informs McPherson that he will be at Snake Creek Gap in the morning and that he is planning to have the majority of the Army follow his route to and through Snake Creek Gap.  Sherman orders McPherson to strengthen his defenses in the gap.  Sherman also orders Schofield’s troops to begin pulling back from Crow Creek Valley.
General Polk arrives in Resaca and with General Hood, they observe the deployment of troops and assess the situation.  In the evening they go to Dalton by train to meet with General Johnston and make plans for the retreat from Dalton and the defense of Resaca.  General Polk overnights with General Hood at Hood’s headquarters.  General Polk, who is also the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, baptizes General Hood.
May 12th, 1864:  General Johnston begins to realize that General Sherman’s Objective is either Resaca or Calhoun.  Johnston begins the retrograde movement from Dalton, by ordering the wagon trains to start heading to Resaca.  He orders the infantry to move out after dark and has his Cavalry dismount and take their place.  The will then cover the retreat and protect the rear of the Confederate Army.
During the morning of the 12th, a large portion of the Union Army begin their flanking movement of Dalton and follow McPherson’s route to Snake Creek Gap.  Due to a thunderstorm and heavy rain the night before, the Union Army progresses slowly.  The roads are choked with wagons bogged down in the mud and infantry slogging through the quagmire.  This slows the Federals and allows the Confederate Army more time to reach Resaca and being digging in.  During the afternoon of the 12th, General Sherman arrives at Snake Creek Gap.  Upon meeting General McPherson, for the first time since his failure to take Resaca or destroy the railroad around Resaca and cut off the Confederate life line, he says “Well, Mac, you have missed the opportunity of a lifetime”.  An officer standing near by said these were spoken “not ungraciously”, but General McPherson realizes it is a deserved comment for his failure.
May 13th, 1864:  All the troops are in motion.  Union Troops are moving toward Resaca via Snake Creek Gap.  Confederate Soldiers have abandoned Dalton and started moving south.  Union Soldiers move into Dalton and find it empty and that the railroad is intact.  They begin to turn Dalton into a supply base and other Union troops begin to move south in pursuit of the Southerners.  Wheeler’s Cavalry fights a rear guard action against Union troops that are in pursuit of the Confederates near Tilton.  By the afternoon of the 13th, most of the Confederate Army is massed around Resaca and has dug in.  Sherman realizes the he will not be able to get between the Confederate Army and Resaca and orders the Union Army to dig in with a line of works paralleling the Southerners works.  Skirmishing takes place at various points along the line.  All the pieces are almost in place for the first large scale engagement of the Campaign.'
This fired high impact (high velocity) .54 Caliber 3-Ring Rifle Bullet with rifling marks and very heavy mangling and scrapes from impact
, was recovered from the site of Snake Creek Gap, along Sherman's March to the Battle of Resaca, Georgia - probably in the 1960s. This bullet was a part of the collection of William A. Reger from Berks County, Pennsylvania, who carefully documented his relics by recovery location and often with the recovery date. Reger passed away in Reading, Pennsylvania in 2011.
A provenance letter will be included.
We include as much documentation with the relics as we possess. This includes copies of tags if there are original identification tags or maps, as well as a signed letter of provenance with the specific recovery information.
All of the collections that we are offering for sale are guaranteed to be authentic and are either older recoveries, found before the 1960s when it was still legal to metal detect battlefields, or were recovered on private property with permission. Some land on Battlefields that are now Federally owned, or owned by the Trust, were acquired after the items were recovered. We will not sell any items that were recovered illegally, nor will we sell any items that we suspect were recovered illegally.
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