commanders objected to the position. He therefore withdrew to Allatoona Pass. Rather than attack this strong position Sherman moved past it toward New Hope Church. Confederate Army of Tennessee at Cassville. Johnston’s forces, reaching Cassville May 18, 1864 from Resaca, north, took positions on ridge west of the town and prepared to withstand the advancing Federals. On May 19: Pursuant to this intention, Hood's corps moved north of the town to oppose the Federal XX and XXIII Corps marching south from Adairsville. But Hood's corps, diverted by an attack on its right by McCook's cavalry [US], changed front and was ordered with the rest of the Army [CS] to withdraw to ridge east and south of the town. The Confederates held a council of war at the William Neal McKelvey residence May 19. They discussed the advisability of holding the position east and south of Cassville. Present were: Johnston; Polk; Hood; Maj. General S. C. French; and Captain W.J. Morris, Chief Engineer, Polk's aide-de-camp. After hearing the statements of the council, Johnston ordered the withdrawal of the army at midnight. May 19, 1864: Butterfield's (3rd) Division, XXth Corps [US], moving southeast from McDow's, left the road here and marched to the Hawkins Price house, en route to Kingston The 1st and 2nd Divisions [US], on roads west, had the same objective - an erratic move by Sherman who assumed that Johnston's Army [CS] had retreated on Kingston. Butterfield's march disclosed that Johnston's Army was at Cassville, not Kingston. The XXIII Corps (Schofield) [US] marched on this road from McDow's, reaching Cassville at dark. Here the night of May 19, 1864, the Confederate Generals Johnston, Polk and Hood, conferred and decided to abandon Cassville and to move south of the Etowah, although Johnston originally had intended to fight here. Cassvile Female College was founded in 1853. On May 19, 1864, skirmishers of Polk's Army Corps [CS] withdrew from this ridge east to Cassville when pressed back by Butterfield's (3d) Div., XXth Corps [US], from the Hawkins Price house. Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, supported by 73rd Ohio Infantry, 19th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment and 20th Connecticut Infantry regiment [US] occupied the ridge and shelled the town as Johnson's Army [CS] withdrew to a ridge east of it. At night Cassville was seized by the 19th Mich. & 20th Conn. the Female College and town were burned by the union. Noble