Here’s a summary of the fighting during the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864 from Franklin Garrett’s famous and definitive tome, “Atlanta and Environs”…

Upon arrival in Decatur [Confederate General Joseph] Wheeler found Federal troops of Schofield’s 23rd corps in the entrenchments along the south and east of the town, in greater than expected strength.  Wheeler immediately ordered his men to dismount, and attacking all along the line, his soldiers drove the Federals from the entrenchments in hand to hand fighting.  Checked momentarily in and around the Court House Square by troops of Colonel John W. Sprague of Fuller’s division of the 16th corps, guarding the wagon trains, they finally swept the enemy before them through the town and beyond the then city limits to the north.  The Confederates took 225 prisoners, 1 12-pound gun and a number of loaded supply wagons parked in the cemetery.

As on so many previous occasions, however, the relative size of the opposing side came into play.  Late in the afternoon, Hardee found himself in need of help.  Calling upon Wheeler for aid, the latter was unable to retain the advantage gained in Decatur and retired from the town.  The normally quiet old DeKalb county seat had played its brief part in the drama of war.

And a bit more specific, after the jump you will find the synopsis of the battle from Carole McKinney Clarke’s “The Story of Decatur 1823-1899″ and the reason I deemed Decatur’s role as “important” in the post title…

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Dave got to this one before me, but at Monday’s Decatur City Commission meeting, Chris Billingsley spoke out in favor of the city doing something in 4 years on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Decatur to honor the Union Soldier, John W. Sprague, who won the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 22, 1864.

During his comments to the commission, Billingsley stated that roughly 500 men died in battle along what is now North McDonough Street that day.

Here’s Sprague’s write up from the Army’s Medal of Honor website…

Rank and organization: Colonel, 63d Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Decatur, Ga., 22 July 1862. Entered service at: Sandusky, Ohio Born: 4 April 1817, White Creek, N.Y. Date of issue: 18 January 1894. Citation: With a small command defeated an overwhelming force of the enemy and saved the trains of the corps.

Obviously, the Battle of Atlanta took place in 1864, not 1862, so I dare say the Army’s website has its dates wrong.  For clarity, Sprague’s Wikipedia entry reads thusly…

During the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, Sprague was in command of the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division of the Sixteenth Army Corps. During the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864, at a subaction near Decatur, Georgia, he masterfully conducted a delaying action under heavy enemy fire and received praise from his superiors. With only a small command, he defeated an overwhelming Confederate force and saved the entire ordnance and supply trains of the XV, XVI, XVII, and XX corps.[2][5]

According to Wikipedia, not 8 days later Sprague was promoted to to the rank of brigadier general.