Battle of Honey Hill


The Battle of Honey Hill was the third battle of Sherman's March to the Sea, fought November 30, 1864, during the American Civil War. It did not involve Major General William T. Sherman's main force, marching from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, but was a failed Union Army expedition under Brig. Gen. John P. Hatch that attempted to cut off the Charleston and Savannah Railroad in support of Sherman's projected arrival in Savannah.

Engagement

Hatch's expeditionary force left Hilton Head, South Carolina, for Boyd’s Neck on November 28. It consisted of 5,000 men—two brigades of the Coast Division of the Department of the South, one naval brigade, and portions of three batteries of light artillery. They steamed up the Broad River in transports to cut the Charleston and Savannah Railroad near Pocotaligo. Due to a heavy fog the troops were not disembarked from the transports until late the following afternoon, and Hatch immediately started forward to cut the railroad near Grahamville.
However, the expedition maps and guides proved worthless and Hatch was unable to proceed on the right road until the morning of November 30. At Honey Hill, a few miles from Grahamville, he encountered a Confederate force of regulars and militia, under Col. , with a battery of seven guns across the road. Determined attacks were launched by U.S. Colored Troops including a brigade led by Alfred S. Hartwell that included the 54th Massachusetts and 55th Massachusetts. The position of the Federal force was such that only one section of artillery could be used at a time, and the Confederates were too well entrenched to be dislodged. Fighting kept up until dark when Hatch, realizing the impossibility of successfully attacking or turning the flank of the enemy, withdrew to his transports at Boyd’s Neck, having lost 89 men killed, 629 wounded, and 28 missing. The Confederate casualties amounted to eight killed and 39 wounded.
Captains George E. Gouraud and Thomas F. Ellsworth as well as First Lt. Orson W. Bennett were awarded the Medal of Honor. In 2001 another medal was awarded posthumously to then Corporal Andrew J. Smith.

Union order of battle

BG John P. Hatch
BrigadeRegiment and Batteries
1st Brigade
BG Edward E. Potter
  • 25th Ohio Infantry: Ltc Nathaniel Haughton
  • 32nd US Colored Troops: Col George W. Baird
  • 34th US Colored Troops: Ltc William W. Marple
  • 35th US Colored Troops: Col James C. Beecher
  • 56th New York Infantry: Ltc Rockwell Tyler
  • 127th New York Infantry: Col William Gurney
  • 144th New York Infantry: Col James Lewis
  • 157th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment: Ltc James C. Carmichael
2nd BrigadeCol Alfred S. Hartwell
  • 54th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry: Ltc Henry N. Hooper
  • 55th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry: Lt Col Charles B. Fox
  • 102nd US Colored Troops: Col Henry L. Chipman
Naval BrigadeCommander George H. Preble
  • Sailor Battalion of Infantry: Lt James O'Kane
  • USMC Battalion of Infantry: Lt George G. Stoddard
Artillery BrigadeLtc William Ames
CavalryCpt George Hurlbut

Confederate order of battle

MG Gustavus W. Smith

Col
Chief of Artillery: Col Ambrosio José Gonzales
BrigadeRegiment and Batteries
Provisional Army of the Confederate States
  • 47th Georgia Infantry: Ltc Aaron Edwards
  • 3rd South Carolina Cavalry : Maj John Jenkins
  • Beaufort Artillery : Cpt Henry M. Stuart
  • DePass's Battery
  • LaFayette Artillery
Reinforcement during battle:
BG Beverly H. Robertson
1st Brigade, Georgia Militia
Col James Willis
  • 1st Militia
  • 2nd Militia
  • 3rd Militia
Brigade, Georgia State Line
Ltc James Wilson
Georgia Reserves
  • Athens Reserves Battalion: Maj Ferdinand W.C. Cook
  • Augusta Reserves Battalion: Maj George T. Jackson

    • Casualties

    In a report of Hatch December 1864 summarized the Union losses:
    The Confederate losses were reported by Lt Col C.C. Jones in his Siege of Savannah as 4 killed and 40 wounded. The Savannah Republican newspaper on Dec 1, 1864 reported "between eighty and one hundred killed and wounded"