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On the Chatthoochie River, July 6, 1864 My dear friends: Since my note of the 4th this army has advanced 5 or 6 miles, the left (our Corps) resting on the river named above, the army swinging round thus [Here a curved line is drawn in the shape of a flattened letter "U" or a bowl with a curved bottom.] to the river again some 8 or 9 miles below. Inside this segment of a circle lies so much of the Rebel Army as is not yet across the River. Last night, before it grew dark, I climbed a hill close by, on which we have a battery, and from which Atlanta, distant in a direct line only about 9 miles, can be very plainly seen with the naked eye, while the Rebel works in the centre of their line (this side of the river) stand out in all their formidable proportions. On the hill also I saw something which made me sick at heart: the dead body of a Confederate soldier, suspended by the neck, having apparently hung there two or three weeks. What awful mystery of terror hangs about it, of course I know not: but for the sake of our common humanity I caused the body to be cut down and covered under the pitying ground. I think the most desperate fighting in the Campaign (perhaps of the war) will commence when we attempt the passage of the river, continuing until Atlanta shall have