Again, during the rest before crossing the Etowah, an incident occurred which General Howard relates. It was Sunday morning, and E. P. Smith, a member of the Christian Commission, mounted to the belfry floor, and tried to ring the bell of the church at Kingston for service. He slipped against a nail, and had his clothes badly torn. The noise of the bell disturbed Sherman, and, not knowing who the ringer was, he sent a guard to the church, and had Smith arrested. In spite of his protests, Smith was marched to headquarters and kept in confinement for an hour. Then, with his rent clothing, he was led into Sherman's presence. The General, scarcely looking up from his writing, to see who it was, and supposing it to be one of the army "bummers," demanded abruptly, "What did you ring that bell for?" "For service, General; it is Sunday," replied Smith. "Oh, is it Sunday?" said Sherman. "I didn't know 'twas Sunday. Let him go."
Johnston was now intrenched at Allatoona Pass, and Sherman knew that the position was too strong to be carried by direct assault. He therefore determined to make a circuit to the right, and marched toward Dallas. Johnston detected this movement, and prepared to meet it. On May 25th, the armies met again at New Hope Church, just north of Dallas. Hooker led Sherman's advance, and ran against one of Hood's brigades in a forest. A sharp conflict followed, while a terrific thunder storm was raging. Hooker's men made repeated attacks upon the enemy's position, but were hurled back from the log breastworks with much loss. Heavy rain continued all that night, but Sherman's men worked steadily constructing fortifications of earthwork and logs. The next morning the engagement was continued, and for several days thereafter there was almost continual skirmishing. On the 28th the Rebels made a strong attack far to the right of Hooker, upon McPherson, at Dallas, but were repulsed. Then the army began pushing to the left, and by June 1st Allatoona Pass was completely within the national lines.
"The picture of the field of New Hope Church," says General Howard, "crowds memory like the painting of a young artist who has put too much upon his canvas. There was Hooker just at evening in an open wood--there were glimpses of log breastworks beyond him, from which came fierce firing against his lines stretched out--there were numberless maimed and many dead among the trees--and a little back was a church with many wounded, and many surgeons doing bloody work. It was dreadfully dark that night. Schofield's horse stumbled and disabled him, and General Cox took his place. We had numerous torches, weird in effect among the trees, as our men bravely worked into place and intrenched the batteries, and covered their front. But the torches seemed to make the darkness darker, and our hopes that night beat low. Johnston had stopped us rudely at New Hope Church. But afterwards Dallas and McPherson, off to our right, gave us the reverse side, and so hopes which had drooped revived, when Confederates, and not Yankees, were there several times driven back.