The fine cavalry officer, General Stoneman, was sent on a raid to the Macon Railroad, in which he was taken prisoner. This had so elated the rebels they began to think of “turning the tables” on General Sherman. Suddenly Major-General Wheeler appeared before Dalton, which you recollect was the first important position taken after leaving Chattanooga, with a force of infantry and cavalry variously reported at from seventeen hundred to five thousand men. It was defended by a garrison of four hundred men under Colonel Seibold. Approaching the town in line of battle, General Wheeler demanded the surrender of the place in the following terms: “To prevent the effusion of blood, I have the honor to demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of the forces under your command at this garrison.” To which Colonel Seibold replied: “I have been placed here to defend the post, but not to surrender it. B. Seibold, commanding U. S. forces.” On the receipt of this reply, an attack was made on the garrison, who retired into their defences, where they succeeded in holding their position until the arrival of General Steedman with reënforcements from Chattanooga, when the rebels were forced to retreat after inflicting some slight damage to the railroad track near Dalton. A few days later General Sherman issued orders for a general advance of the army by the right flank. All the sick, with surplus wagons and encumbrances of every kind, were sent back to the intrenched position near the river bridge, reducing the number of wagons to three thousand and of ambulances to one thousand; and on the night of August 25th the canvas city gave place to the marshalled host, moving forward in the darkness to gather more closely the fatal cordon around Atlanta. The following night flung its shadows upon the still marching thousands, getting nearer and nearer the throat of the foe. The Army of the Tennessee moved to the West Point Railroad, when General Sherman ordered “a day’s work to be expended in destroying the road, and it was done with a will,” to use his own words. Having surveyed in person the ruins, and satisfied with the thoroughness of the devastation, he led the whole army forward. General Howard moved on the right toward Jonesboro’, General Thomas had the centre, whose goal was Conch’s, on the Decatur and Fayetteville road, and General Schofield the extreme left. To get a clear impression of the army operations here, you will need the help of a large map, on which the railroads and towns about Atlanta can be seen in their relation to it. Meanwhile General Hood was growing merry over a fancied retreat by the manœuvring and confident Sherman. The long trains moving to the rear, and the course of the battalions backward toward Sandtown on the Chattahochie, _looked_ like it. But the commander knew his enemy and the way to trap him.