RICHARD M. McMURRY Foreword by Bell I. Wiley Office of Publications National Park Service U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Washington, D. C. 1972 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402—Price $1.70 Stock No. 024-005-00288-O/Catalog No. I 29.2:K39 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402—Price $1.70 Stock No. 024-005-00288-O/Catalog No. I 29.2:K39 The author: Richard M. McMurry, a

Publication of this volume was made possible by a grant from the Kennesaw Mountain Historical Association. This publication is one of a series of booklets describing the significance of historical and archeological areas in the National Park System administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. It is printed by the Government Printing Office and can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC 20402. Price $1.70. Stock Number 024-005-00288-O Cata

The turning point of the Civil War is a perennial matter of dispute among historians. Some specify the Henry-Donelson-Shiloh operation of early 1862 as the pivotal campaign; others insist that Antietam was the key event; still others are equally sure that Gettysburg and Vicksburg marked the watershed of military activities. Regardless of when the tide turned, there can be little doubt that the Federal drive on Atlanta, launched in May 1864, was the beginning of the end for the Southern Confedera

One of the most important military campaigns of the American Civil War was fought in northwestern Georgia during the spring and summer of 1864 between Northern forces under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and Confederates commanded first by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and then by Gen. John B. Hood. This campaign resulted in the capture of Atlanta by the Unionists, prepared the way for Sherman’s “March to the Sea,” and, in the opinion of many historians, made inevitable the reelection of Abraham Lincoln

Three major rivers—the Oostanaula, the Etowah, and the Chattahoochee—flow from northeast to southwest across northern Georgia, dividing the area into four distinct geographical regions. Between Chattanooga and the Oostanaula, several parallel mountain ridges slice across the State in such a manner as to hamper military movements. The most important of these was Rocky Face Ridge which ran from near the Oostanaula to a point several miles north of Dalton. This ridge rose high above the surrounding

South of the Oostanaula, steep ridges and heavy woods give way to gently rolling hills with only a light cover of vegetation. The area was almost without defensible terrain and thus afforded a great advantage to Sherman, whose larger forces would have more opportunities for maneuver than they had found in the mountainous region to the north. Once across the Oostanaula, Johnston sought to make a stand and draw the Federals into a costly assault. He expected to find favorable terrain near Calhoun,

The region south of the Etowah was one of the wildest parts of north Georgia. The area was sparsely settled, hilly, heavily wooded, and, in 1864, little known and poorly mapped. Sherman expected to push through this region with little delay. On May 23 he wrote, “The Etowah is the Rubicon of Georgia. We are now all in motion like a vast hive of bees, and expect to swarm along the Chattahoochee in a few days.” His optimism was ill-founded, for the rough terrain and heavy rains favored Johnston’s s

By June 10, Sherman was ready to resume the advance. The Southerners had taken up a line north of Marietta that ran from Brush Mountain on the east to Pine Mountain in the center to Lost Mountain on the west. McPherson moved against the right flank of this line, Thomas against the center, and Schofield against the left. Rain fell almost every day and hampered the Northern advance. For several days there was heavy skirmishing in which the Federals captured Pine Mountain and made gains at other po

The success won by Schofield at Olley’s Creek indicated the direction for the next Federal movement. Sherman quickly decided to shift troops to his right, knowing that such a move would force Johnston to choose between giving up the Kennesaw line or being cut off from Atlanta. Accordingly, he began to reinforce Schofield by moving McPherson from the left to the right. By the afternoon of July 2, Federal troops were pushing southward on Sandtown Road against only light opposition from small Confe

The Confederate government had been displeased by Johnston’s conduct of the campaign. President Jefferson Davis and other civilian officials had hoped that the Confederates would be able to regain Tennessee or at least to draw Sherman into a situation in which a severe defeat would be inflicted upon him. Instead, after 10 weeks of campaigning, Johnston was backed up against Atlanta and there was no assurance that he would even try to hold that important center. These circumstances led Davis to r

Historians have long been in the habit of dealing with the past as if it were nothing more than the story of a small number of great men who moved about shaping the world as they saw fit. In reality, leaders are not long successful without followers—the great mass of the common people who do the work, bear the burdens, and suffer the consequences of their leaders’ policies. The Civil War offers a unique opportunity to study the common people of America because during that conflict large numbers

John Bell Hood, the new commander of the Confederate forces, found himself in a difficult position on the morning of July 18, 1864. Hood was young—only 33—and relatively inexperienced in handling large bodies of troops. After graduation from West Point (in the same class with the Federal generals McPherson and Schofield) he had served with the U.S. Army until the spring of 1861, when he resigned and cast his lot with the Confederacy. In the early years of the war Hood had risen rapidly in rank—a

After the Battle of Peachtree Creek, attention shifted to the eastern side of the city. Hood determined to strike McPherson who, on July 20 and 21, had moved past Decatur and entrenched a line running north and south a few miles east of Atlanta. The Confederate commander realized that he might march troops around the left of McPherson’s position and attack him from the flank and rear. He chose Hardee’s Corps to be the flanking column and planned to have Cheatham’s men attack the front of McPhers

For several days after the Battle of Atlanta, there was a lull in military activities around the city. Both sides were reorganizing. Sherman selected Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard to command the army that McPherson had led. On the Confederate side, Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee replaced Cheatham as commander of the corps that had originally been Hood’s. By July 26, Sherman had decided upon his next maneuver. His goal was the railroads south and west of Atlanta—the last links between that city and the res

Although he had inflicted heavy losses on the Southerners, Sherman seems to have become convinced that he would not be able to capture Atlanta by his customary tactics. Hood had constructed a line of trenches that ran from Atlanta southward to East Point, protecting the railroads. The Confederate fortifications were too strong to be attacked and too long to be encircled. Sherman brought up a battery of siege guns and shelled the city. The Southern artillery in Atlanta replied and for several wee

Some Southerners suspected in 1864 what we now know—Sherman had not retreated. Rather, he had concluded that only his infantry could effectively break Hood’s lines of supply and had resolved to move almost all of his force to the southwest of the city. The movement began on August 25. One corps was sent back to the Chattahoochee bridgehead to guard the railroad that connected Sherman with the North. The remaining Federal troops pulled out of their trenches and marched away to the west and south.

Sherman soon turned Atlanta into an armed camp. Houses were torn down and the lumber used for fortifications or soldiers’ huts. Civilians could not be fed by the army and were ordered out of the city with the choice of going north or south. In mid-September a truce was declared and the citizens who chose to remain in the Confederacy were transported by the Northerners to Rough-and-Ready, where they were handed over to Hood’s men who conveyed them farther south. After completion of this unpleasan

On September 3, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln telegraphed the commanding officer of the Federal Military Division of the Mississippi: “The national thanks are rendered ... to Major-General W. T. Sherman and the officers and soldiers of his command before Atlanta, for the distinguished ability and perserverence displayed in the campaign in Georgia which, under Divine favor, has resulted in the capture of Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges and other military operations that have signalized th

The only published book-length study of the Atlanta Campaign is Jacob D. Cox’s Atlanta (New York, 1882; new edition, 1963). More detailed accounts may be found in two doctoral dissertations: Richard M. McMurry, “The Atlanta Campaign, December 23, 1863, to July 18, 1864,” and Errol MacGregor Clauss, “The Atlanta Campaign, 18 July-2 September 1864.” Both were written at Emory University, the former in 1967 and the latter in 1965, and both are available on microfilm from University Microfilms, Ann

Listed below are several of the major Civil War sites in Georgia. A good source on other areas is the booklet Georgia Civil War Historical Markers , published by the Georgia Historical Commission. ANDERSONVILLE: This is now a national historic site. It was the site of the notorious Civil War prison where, in the summer of 1864, more than 30,000 captured Federals were held. On U.S. 49 at Andersonville, near Americus. ATLANTA: Goal of the 1864 campaign. Most of the area in which the fighting occur