Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk, a former Episcopal bishop who founded the Episcopal Church in the Confederate States and a second cousin of President James K. Polk, was killed on June 14, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign. His death occurred during a reconnaissance mission with other senior commanders, including army commander General Joe Johnston, near Pine Mountain outside Marietta, Georgia. A Union artillery shell fired after Major General William T.
Sherman spotted Confederate forces on the mountain struck and killed him. The account of Polk’s final hours was later recorded by his son, Dr. William Mecklenburg Polk, who served as his father’s aide at the time of the death. The younger Polk, the ninth of ten children born to the general and his wife Frances Ann, published the story in the 1893 book “Leonidas Polk, Bishop and General.
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On the morning of Monday, June 13, 1864, the front was quiet, and the day began foggy and rainy. General Polk remained indoors writing when, around 11:00 a. m. , he received a note from army headquarters.
General Johnston requested his opinion on how best to man the trenches, asking how many men per 100 yards would be necessary to hold the current line and how many guns should be placed on the front. He also suggested that Polk’s artillery officer and Brigadier General Shoup examine the line from Polk’s right to General Hood’s position. General Polk replied at 1:30 p. m.
that after consulting with his division commanders, he concluded he could hold the line with only one-third of his force, about 5,000 men, if attacked. That plan assumed the other two-thirds would remain behind the line, ready to move either to support the flanks or reinforce the front line if it came under attack. Polk noted that Hood had submitted a similar estimate and said he would come to see Johnston that evening. General Polk went to army headquarters and met with the commanding general, who expressed a desire to conduct a personal inspection the next morning of an advanced position occupied by Brigadier General Bates’s division at Pine Mountain.
Johnston asked Polk to accompany him and assist in the examination. After arranging the appointment, Polk returned to his headquarters. Tuesday, June 14, dawned clear, and the rainy season appeared to have ended. General Polk ate an early breakfast, and his horse was ready when General Johnston arrived shortly after 8:00 a.
m. Before leaving, Polk sent what would be his final order, directing Major General French to extend his line immediately to the left to cover the line recently occupied by General Cantey. He also gave verbal instructions for French to extend his skirmish line until it connected with General Hardee’s line. Polk called the writer of the account to him, leaned on his shoulder, and drew the battle line on the ground with the toe of his boot.
He explained what was required and directed the aide to carry out the order, then return to headquarters and wait for him. General Johnston arrived, and Polk mounted his horse and rode with him toward General Hardee’s headquarters, where Hardee would join the inspection. Each general was accompanied by members of his staff. Polk was joined by Lieutenant Colonel Jack, Chief of Staff; Colonel W.
D. Gale, aide-de-camp; Major Frank McNairy, volunteer aide-de-camp; and Lieutenant Hopkins of the Orleans Light Horse. The group reached Hardee’s headquarters around 10:00 a. m.
and dismounted. After a brief consultation, everyone mounted again and moved forward. They reached the main fortification line within minutes, passed through it, and continued for nearly a mile before dismounting behind a steep hill known as Pine Mountain. They moved cautiously over its crest and descended a few yards to a small earthwork occupied by an artillery battery and support battalion.
From the top of the hill, the observers had a full view of the surrounding terrain, with light and shadow moving across it as clouds drifted slowly. Both battle lines were clearly visible. Groups of men worked with axes and shovels, cannons were being positioned, and officers could be seen moving around the lines. Nearby fields appeared white with the covers of a thousand wagons.
In the distance lay the Etowah hills, and to the right, the peaks of Kennesaw. Continuous firing from the heavy skirmish lines, reinforced here and there by guns whose positions were marked by white smoke settling in the still air, made the scene one of unusual beauty and grandeur. Caught up in the excitement, some officers stood on the defensive parapet, exposing themselves to the enemy’s sharp eyes. The battery men warned them of the danger in vain.
As they spoke, a flash, a puff of smoke, and the sharp sound of an explosion occurred, and shell fragments and flying dirt scattered around them as a shell embedded itself in the parapet. The officers scattered, each seeking a safer place. Generals Johnston and Polk moved together to the left and stood for a few moments in serious conversation behind the parapet. Several shots passed just over the top of the hill.
The two generals, apparently having completed their observations, began to turn back. Johnston lagged a few steps and veered to the right. Polk walked to the top of the hill and, fully exposed, turned around as if taking a farewell look. With his arms folded across his chest, he stood staring intently at the scene below.
While he stood in this position, a cannonball pierced his chest, opening a wide wound and releasing what the account described as his unyielding spirit. He fell on his back, his feet pointing toward the enemy. Amid the hail of shots and shells falling on the hill, his loyal attendants carried his body to the foot of the mountain. In a fortified valley, his grieving comrades gathered around his mangled body in silence, tears in their eyes.
Hardee leaned over the lifeless body and said to Johnston, “General, this has been an expensive visit. We have lost a brave man, and his death leaves a void not easily filled. ” He then knelt beside the body and cried, “My dear friend, I could not have imagined this morning that I would have to witness this. ” Johnston knelt with tears in his eyes and placed his hand on the cold forehead of the fallen hero, saying, “We have lost much.
I would have given anything other than this. ”
That afternoon, Hood wrote to Johnston, “I am too grieved to come this evening. It is cruel that one so noble, generous, and brave as our friend should be taken from us. ”
The news of Polk’s fall spread along the line from left to right.
It reached the guard posts and passed from them to the enemy in front and to their comrades in the rear before his limbs stiffened in death. His fall was known in Washington as well as in Richmond. His body was finally placed in an ambulance, and the mournful procession returned slowly and silently, following his remains to headquarters. Jerry, the noble gray horse he had ridden in nearly all his marches and battles, was led riderless in front.
That evening, the following general order marked the end of Leonidas Polk’s career. Headquartered with the Army of Tennessee in the field on June 14, 1864, Field Orders No. 2 called on the soldiers to mourn their first commander and oldest comrade, Lieutenant General Polk, who fell that day at an advanced position of the army. The order noted that Polk had organized the army and led it, shared in all its hardships, and contributed to all its victories.
It described him as a most refined man and a brave soldier, adding, “The Christian soldier has not lived and died in vain. His example is before you. His legacy is in your hands. ” The order was signed by General J.
E. Johnston.