Diary of Orrin Brown—Nov 7, 1864

 Diary of Orrin Brown, Atlanta, Georgia

Monday–Nov. 7th

It rained pretty near all night last night verry hard. We did not draw our rations till aternoon then we drew 2 1/2 hardtack & 3 spoonsfull of hulled Peas, we made soup of them and they were good, we drew full rations of Coffee & Sugar but no meat. I went down to the Foundary this after noon and saw any quantity of Shell and Canon balls of all sizes, they were some that were rejected. I also went into a dooryard and picked some nice flowers and I also found some Peach blossoms. I went this evening over to our Hospital it is a beautifull place. The building was formerly the residence of the agent of this railroad he is now in the rebbel army, his wife was living in it when our forces came here and she went South. We went to an old camp this evening and got some soldiers beadsteads to sleep on. Read 5 Chapters in the Testament today.

Atlanta was the 12th largest city in the Confederacy, and deep in the heart of the South considered relatively safe from Union forces.  The city became a logistics hub with warehouses of war material and manufacturing vital to the Southern war effort.  There were few places in the South capable of cannon works.  The first foundry and machine shop was erected in Atlanta in 1848, later owned by William Rushton and located on the Georgia Railroad under the name Atlanta Machine Works.  Rushton’s name was also connected to the Georgia Railroad Machine Shop.  By the end of the war there were several foundries in the city producing small arms and munitions, however, Rushton is credited with design and forge of breech-loading cannons and shell, which were tested on nearby Stone Mountain.

Buildings were occupied across Atlanta for use by Federal troops as shelters, hospitals, and staging areas.  Father Thomas O’Reilly served Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Atlanta during the Civil War.  He ministered to the wounded who were brought to the city after battles in Tennessee and Virginia, and used the church as a hospital. He is credited with convincing Sherman to spare the town’s churches from destruction.

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