headlong John B. Hood to take command and "fight."

Five days later Hood fought the battle of Atlanta. Just as
Sherman was closing in to entrench for a siege Hood attacked his
extreme left flank with the utmost resolution, driving it in and
completely enveloping it. But Sherman was not to be caught.
Knowing that only a part of Hood's army could be sent to this
attack while the rest held the lines of Atlanta, Sherman left
McPherson's veteran Army of the Tennessee to do the actual
fighting, supported, of course, by the movement of troops on
their engaged right. McPherson was killed. Logan ably replaced
him and won a hard-fought day. Hood's loss was well over eight
thousand; Sherman's considerably less than half.

On the twenty-eighth Hood attacked the extreme right, now
commanded by General O.O. Howard in succession to McPherson,
whose Army of the Tennessee again did most distinguished service,
especially Logan's Fifteenth Corps near Ezra Church. The
Confederates were again defeated with the heavier loss. After
this the siege continued all through the month of August.

While Hood was trying to keep Sherman off Atlanta Grant was
trying to make a breach at Petersburg. Grant gave Meade "minute
orders on the 24th [of July] how I wanted the assault conducted,"
and Meade elaborated the actual plan with admirable skill except
in one particular that of the generals concerned. Burnside was
ordered to use his corps for the assault, and he chose Ledlie's
division to lead. The mine was on an enormous scale, designed to
hold eight tons of powder, though it was only charged with four,
and was approached by a gallery five hundred feet long. On the