page_title: Battle of Kolb's Farm
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Kolb's Farm / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of battlefield core and study areas. The ABPP expanded the 1993 Study Area and the Core Area on the south to include the Federal artillery positions and the skirmishing near Olley Creek. The Study Area was also expanded to the north to take in the XXIII Corps’ line of battle. The Core Area now includes all the artillery positions along the Federal line of battle and several batteries located behind the XXIII Corps’ position.
context_page_description: The Battle of Kolb's Farm was fought on June 22, 1864, between Union forces under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker and Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John B. Hood. Hood attempted an attack on the Union force, but poor terrain conditions led to its failure.
context_section_description: During the early afternoon of June 22, Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson, commanding one of Hood's divisions, advanced his division from its campsite near Mt. Zion Church towards Kolb's Farm, which lay on the south side of the Powder Springs Road. Stevenson reported heavy skirmish fire from what turned out to be two Federal regiments, the 14th Kentucky Infantry and 123rd New York Infantry. Shortly afterward, Hood ordered his entire corps—the divisions of Stevenson, Maj. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart, and Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman—to advance west along the Powder Springs Road, driving the Federals before them. Apparently Hood believed one of two things: 1) he had passed beyond the Federals' far right flank and was in an excellent position to "roll them up" by attacking west and then north or 2) that the Federal troops in the area were deployed in marching columns and were thus vulnerable to attack. Confederate cavalry forces in the area reported the presence of considerable Federal infantry in the area, not just the two outpost regiments encountered by Stevenson, but this information did not reach Hood in time; nor, given Hood's penchant for aggressive action, is it likely that this information would have changed his mind even if he had received it in a more timely fashion.
  Hood's corps was deployed with Stevenson's division astride the Powder Springs Road (two brigades north of it and two brigades south of it) and Hindman's north of it; Stewart's division remained behind Stevenson's to provide support if needed.  Hood's entire corps, including artillery, numbered around 14,000 men.
  On the Federal side, Hooker had received prior warning of Hood's advance, and had begun to entrench his corps in order to receive it.  Like Hood, Hooker's XX Corps consisted of three divisions, under Maj. Gens. John W. Geary, Alpheus S. Williams, and Daniel Butterfield. Williams's division was placed astride of the Powder Springs Road, and thus would receive the brunt of the coming attack. Geary's division was positioned on Williams's left, and Butterfield's division was on Geary's left, in reserve. Hooker's total force numbered around 15,000 men.
  Hood launched his attack sometime after 5:00 p.m. The 14th Kentucky Infantry and 123rd New York Infantry, still on picket duty, received the weight of this initial attack and fell back, although in the process they managed to inflict considerable damage on Stevenson's division, particularly its two leftmost brigades under the commands of Brigadier Generals Alfred Cumming and Edmund Pettus. Consequently, these two brigades were forced to pause after driving back the Federal skirmishers, and thus took no part in the coming attack. As the other half of Stevenson's division emerged from the woods north of the road where it had begun its advance into the more open area around Kolb's Farm, Federal artillery cut into it. Stevenson was forced to withdraw; his division had suffered too many casualties and too much disorganization during its advance. Falling back to a position near a ravine, which was unfortunately caught in an enfilade fire from Federal artillery, resulting in even greater losses, Stevenson held on until nightfall then withdrew east.
  Meanwhile, Hindman's attack fared even worse; a patch of marshy ground in the area complicated his advance, and he was forced to withdraw after sustaining heavy casualties from Federal artillery. According to Williams' account, Hindman's division was repulsed by artillery alone, Williams's infantry having taken no part in the fighting in that area.
  Total Confederate casualties in the battle, which one historian referred to as "more a one-sided slaughter than a battle" were approximately 1,500 men. Of this amount, two-thirds were suffered by Stevenson's division alone. The Federals suffered less than a third of that number, around 350 casualties, with many of them coming in the 123rd New York (48 casualties) and the 14th Kentucky (70 casualties).
caption: Map of Kolb's Farm Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.
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