[Excerpted from Leonidas Polk: Bishop & General by William M. Polk, M.D., L.L.D., NewYork, 1915, Vol. II, Pages 372-374)
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| Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk (Leonidas Polk: Bishop & General) |
General Johnston arrived soon after 8 a.m. General Polk
mounted and rode with him toward the headquarters of General Hardee, who was to
join them in the examination. Each general was attended by several members of
his staff. General Polk was accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Jack, A. A.-G.,
Colonel W. D. Gale, A.-D.-C, Major Frank McNairy, volunteer A.-D.-C., and
Lieutenant Hopkins of the Orleans light-horse. The party reached the quarters
of General Hardee about 10 A.M. [June 14, 1864] and dismounted; after a short consultation all mounted
again and rode forward. In a few minutes they were on the main line of the
intrenchments, through they passed and continued
their course for nearly a mile, when they dismounted behind a sharp hill, known
as Pine Mountain, and moved cautiously over the top, and then down a few yards
to a small earthwork, occupied by a battery and its supports.
On reaching the crest of the hill the
spectators had a full view of the surrounding country, over which sunshine and
shadow moved, keeping pace with the slowly drifting clouds. Both lines of
battle were plainly visible. Bodies of men could be seen, busy with axe and spade.
Guns were being placed in position. Groups of officers could be distinguished
moving about behind the lines. The adjacent fields were white with the covers
of a thousand wagons. In the distance, to the front, lay the hills of Etowah;
to the right, the peaks of Kennesaw.
The constant firing of the heavy lines of
skirmishers, reinforced here and there by the guns of some battery, whose
position was marked by the white smoke which in the still air settled about it
— all combined to make the scene one of unusual beauty and grandeur. In the enthusiasm
of the moment some of the officers stood on the parapet and exposed themselves
to the sharp gaze of hostile eyes. The men of the battery vainly warned them of
the danger. While they were speaking there was a flash, a puff of smoke, a
sharp report, and in an instant fragments of splintered rock and flying earth scattered
around them, as a shot was buried in the parapet. The officers separated, each
seeking some place of greater safety. General Johnston and General Polk moved
together to the left, and stood for a few moments in earnest conversation behind
a parapet. Several shots now passed together just above the parapet and touched
the crest of the hill. Generals Johnston and Polk, having apparently completed
their observations, began to retrace their steps. General Johnston fell a few
paces behind, and diverged to the right; General Polk walked to the crest of
the hill, and, entirely exposed, turned himself around, as if to take a farewell
view. Folding his arms across his breast, he stood intently gazing on the scene
below. While he thus stood, a cannon-shot crashed through his breast, and opening
a wide door, let free that indomitable spirit. Amid the shot and shell now
poured upon the hill, his faithful escort gathered up the body and bore it to
the foot of the hill. There, in a sheltered ravine, his sorrow-stricken comrades,
silent and in tears, gathered around his mangled corpse.
Hardee, bending over
the lifeless form, said to Johnston, "General, this has been a dear visit.
We have lost a brave man, whose death leaves a vacancy not easily filled";
then, kneeling by the side of the dead body, he exclaimed: ''My dear, dear friend,
little did I think this morning that I should be called upon to witness
this." Johnston, with tears in his eyes, knelt and laid his hand upon the
cold brow of the fallen hero, saying, "We have lost much! I would rather
anything but this."
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