It was dreadfully hot that day (at least 100 degrees) and the artillery fire of the preliminary Union bombardment and the returned Confederate artillery fire certainly had an easy time of it setting the brush and leaves on fire. It did not take anything like a Masonic sign to let Martin and his men know what was going to happen with the Union wounded in their front if they did not stop shooting and help the Federals clear them away - the flames were all the evidence they needed.

You might try also these fine books loaded with first person accounts:

Echoes Of Battle: The Atlanta Campaign by Larry M. Strayer and Richard A. Baumgartner

Kennesaw Mountain: June 1864 by the same editors. Both are published by Blue Acorn Press.

By the way, a similar incident took place on February 13, 1862 at Fort Donelson while Union troops were attacking Confederate positions. In the Wilderness of Virginia in 1864 a lot of fallen men burned up from similar fires.

Greg Biggs