As dawn broke on Independence Day in 1864, Brigadier General John Fuller’s brigade of the 4th Division, 16th Army Corps of the Union Army advanced eastward from the Nickajack Creek Bridge along Concord Road.
Their mission was to probe the strength of Confederate General John Bell Hood’s corps, entrenched nearby. After moving about a mile, Fuller’s men encountered formidable resistance. Realizing the strength of the Confederate position, they withdrew to Ruff’s Mill to regroup.
Later that afternoon, Fuller’s brigade launched a renewed assault, this time with the support of General Sweeney’s 2nd Division. The fighting was fierce, but Union forces managed to break through the first line of Confederate defenses on Hood’s right flank, near what is now Gann Cemetery.
This engagement was part of a broader Union effort to pressure both flanks of General Joseph E. Johnston’s army as it retreated from Kennesaw Mountain toward the Chattahoochee River. While the battle near Ruff’s Mill was one of several skirmishes during this phase of the Atlanta Campaign, it was marked by intense combat and personal sacrifice.
Among the wounded was Colonel Edward Noyes of the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, who lost a leg in the fighting. Despite his injury, Noyes would go on to serve as Governor of Ohio from 1872 to 1874, a testament to his resilience and dedication.
