A review of Ferguson's CSR includes several flattering comments, including the Secretary of War's endorsement of his nomination to Brigadier General. It's also significant that Ferguson and men were assigned to hold the Confederate right in the lines around Atlanta. His brigade took the place of three others riding east in pursuit of Stoneman. The Official Records include several communications showing that Ferguson reported directly to Army of Tennessee headquarters.

If I may digress, many of us tend to focus on one event or another without considering the military situation as a whole. The fine study by David Evans, Sherman's Horseman: Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign helps us understand Hood's dilemna at the end of July 1864. Attempting much more than a simple extension of his lines towards the rail junction at East Point, Sherman directed three formidable bodies of cavalry against Hood's communications. Simultaneous strikes by three large expeditions were intended to confuse and overwhelm Confederate defenders.

The Federal commander had great expectations of breaking each of the rail lines leading into Atlanta. The failure of each one utterly astonished him. The utter defeat of raids led by McCook and Stoneman and the capture of most of their commands has received relatively little attention.

The CSR documents a dispute between Ferguson and Jackson over captured property dated May 21, 1864. Ferguson's appeal concerning Jackson's appropriation of Federal property taken by Ferguson's troopers was upheld by Army headquarers. Ferguson later (Sept. 16, 1864) requested a court of inquiry to review conflicts between Jackson and himself. Ordered to be held on Sept. 27, 1864 (S.O. 220/3), marching orders may have forced suspension of the hearing until a later date.

Almost a year earlier (Nov. 21, 1863) S. D. Lee had relieved Ferguson from command, doubtless due to another dispute.

Ferguson seems to have been particular about observance of formal military protocol. For instance, one document records an incident that took place just after the Battle of Shiloh. Ferguson happened across the Colonel of the 10th Mississippi, said to be on his way home with a captured banner, and reported him to army authorities for appropriating the flag for personsal use.