The Atlanta campaign was a series of battles fought in the western theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Major General William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May 1864, opposed by the Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston.
Johnston's Army of Tennessee withdrew toward Atlanta in the face of successive flanking maneuvers by Sherman's group of armies. In July, the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, replaced Johnston with the more aggressive General John B. Hood, who began challenging the Union Army in a series of costly frontal assaults. Hood's army was eventually besieged in Atlanta and the city fell on September 2, setting the stage for Sherman's March to the Sea and hastening the end of the war.
Background
Military situation
The Atlanta campaign followed the Union victory in the Battles for Chattanooga in November 1863; Chattanooga was known as the "Gateway to the South", and its capture opened that gateway. After Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to general-in-chief of all Union armies, he left his favorite subordinate from his time in command of the Western Theater, William T. Sherman, in charge of the Western armies. Grant's strategy was to apply pressure against the Confederacy in several coordinated offensives. While he, George G. Meade, Benjamin Butler, Franz Sigel, George Crook, and William W. Averell advanced in Virginia against Robert E. Lee, and Nathaniel Banks attempted to capture Mobile, Alabama, Sherman was assigned the mission of defeating Johnston's army, capturing Atlanta, and striking through Georgia and the Confederate heartland.
Opposing forces
Union
Principal Union commanders
At the start of the campaign, Sherman's Military Division of the Mississippi consisted of three armies:Eicher, p. 696 Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee (Sherman's army under Grant in 1863), including the corps of Maj. Gen. John A. Logan (XV Corps), Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge (XVI Corps), and Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair Jr. (XVII Corps). When McPherson was killed at the Battle of Atlanta, Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard replaced him. Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's Army of the Ohio, consisting of Schofield's XXIII Corps and a cavalry division commanded by Maj. Gen. George Stoneman. Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas's Army of the Cumberland, including the corps of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard (IV Corps), Maj. Gen. John M. Palmer (XIV Corps), Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker (XX Corps), and Brig. Gen. Washington L. Elliott (Cavalry Corps). After Howard took army command, David S. Stanley took over IV Corps.
On paper at the beginning of the campaign, Sherman outnumbered Johnston 98,500 to 50,000, but his ranks were initially depleted by many furloughed soldiers, and Johnston received 15,000 reinforcements from Alabama. However, by June, a steady stream of reinforcements brought Sherman's strength to 112,000.McKay, p. 129.
Confederate
Principal Confederate commanders
Opposing Sherman, the Army of Tennessee was commanded first by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who was relieved of his command in mid-campaign and replaced by Lt. Gen. John B. Hood. The four corps in the 50,000-man army were commanded by: Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee (divisions of Maj. Gens. Benjamin F. Cheatham, Patrick R. Cleburne, William H. T. Walker, and William B. Bate). Lt. Gen. John B. Hood (divisions of Maj. Gens. Thomas C. Hindman, Carter L. Stevenson, and Alexander P. Stewart). Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk (also called the Army of Mississippi, with the infantry divisions of Maj. Gen. William W. Loring, Samuel G. French, and Edward C. Walthall, and a cavalry division under Brig. Gen. William Hicks Jackson). When Polk was killed on June 14, Loring briefly took over as commander of the corps but was then replaced by Alexander P. Stewart on June 23. Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler (Cavalry corps, with the divisions of Maj. Gen. William T. Martin and Brig. Gens. John H. Kelly and William Y. C. Humes).
Johnston was a conservative general with a reputation for withdrawing his army before serious contact would result; this was certainly his pattern against George B. McClellan in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. But in Georgia, he faced the much more aggressive Sherman. Johnston's army repeatedly took up strongly entrenched defensive positions in the campaign. Sherman prudently avoided suicidal frontal assaults against most of these positions, instead maneuvering in flanking marches around the defenses as he advanced from Chattanooga towards Atlanta. Whenever Sherman flanked the defensive lines (almost exclusively around Johnston's left flank), Johnston would retreat to another prepared position. Both armies took advantage of the railroads as supply lines, with Johnston shortening his supply lines as he drew closer to Atlanta, and Sherman lengthening his own.
Summary + May 1 – September 8, 1864.OR Series 1, Volume 38 (Part I), pp. 52–54 Date EventSkirmish at Stone Church. Skirmish at Lee's Cross-Roads, near Tunnel Hill.Skirmish near Ringgold Gap. Skirmish at Catoosa Springs.Skirmish at Red Clay.Skirmish at Chickamauga Creek. Maj. Gen. Frank P. Blair Jr., assumes command of the Seventeenth Army Corps.Skirmish on the Varnell's Station Road.Skirmish near Tunnel Hill.Skirmishes at Tunnel Hill. Skirmish at Varnell's Station.Skirmish near Nickajack Gap.Demonstration against Rocky Face Ridge, with combats at Buzzard Roost or Mill Creek Gap, and Dug Gap.Demonstration against Resaca, with combats at Snake Creek Gap, Sugar Valley, and near Resaca.Demonstration against Dalton, with combats near Varnell's Station (9th and 12th) and at Dalton (13th).Skirmish at Tilton.Battle of Resaca. Skirmish at Armuchee Creek.Skirmish near Rome. Skirmish near Calhoun.Action at Rome (or Parker's) Cross-Roads.Skirmish at Floyd's Spring. Engagement at Adairsville.Action at Rome.Affair at Madison Station, Ala.Skirmish at Pine Log Creek. Combats near Kingston.Combats near Cassville.Skirmish at Etowah River, near Cartersville.Action at Stilesborough. Skirmishes at Cass Station and Cassville. Skirmish at Burnt Hickory (or Huntsville).Skirmish near Dallas.Operations on the line of Pumpkin Vine Creek, with combats at New Hope Church, Pickett's Mills, and other points.Combats at and about Dallas.Skirmish at Pond Springs, Ala.Action at Moulton, Ala.Skirmishes near Big Shanty and near Stilesborough.Skirmish at Calhoun.Operations about Marietta, with combats at Pine Hill, Lost Mountain, Brush Mountain, Gilgal Church, Noonday Creek, McAfee's Cross-Roads, Kennesaw Mountain, Powder Springs, Cheney's Farm, Kolb's Farm, Olley's Creek, Nicka-jack Creek, Noyes' Creek, and other points. Popular general Leonidas Polk killed.Action at La Fayette.Battle of Kennesaw MountainSkirmishes at Ruff's Mill, Neal Dow Station, and Rottenwood Creek.Operations on the line of the Chattahoochee River, with skirmishes at Howell's, Turner's, and Pace's Ferries, Isham's Ford, and other points. Rousseau's Opelika Raid raid from Decatur, Ala., to the West Point and Montgomery Railroad, with skirmishes near Coosa River (13th), near Greenpoint and at Ten Island Ford (14th), near Auburn, Ala and near Chehaw, Ala (18th). Skirmish at Buck Head.General John B. Hood, C. S. Army, supersedes General Joseph E. Johnston in command of the Army of Tennessee. Confederate Army Command ChangedSkirmishes on Peachtree Creek. Battle of Peachtree Creek.Engagement at Bald (or Leggett's) Hill. Battle of Atlanta.Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, U.S. Army, succeeds Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson in command of the Army of the Tennessee.Garrard's raid to Covington.Brig. Gen.Morgan L. Smith, U.S. Army, in temporary command of the Fifteenth Army Corps.Operations about Atlanta, including Battle of Ezra Church (July 28), assault at Utoy Creek (August 6), and other combats.Skirmish near Cartersville. Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, U.S. Army, assumes command of the Army of the Tennessee.Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, U.S. Army, resumes command of the Fifteenth Army Corps.Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley, U.S. Army, succeeds Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard in command of the Fourth Army Corps.Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams, U.S. Army, succeeds Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker in temporary command of the Twentieth Army Corps. McCook's raid on the Atlanta and West Point and Macon and Western Railroads, with skirmishes near Campbellton (28th), near Lovejoy's Station (29th), at Clear Creek (30th), and action at Brown's Mill near Newnan (30th).Garrard's raid to South River, with skirmishes at Snapfinger Creek (27th), Flat Rock Bridge and Lithonia (28th).Stoneman's raid to Macon, with combats at Macon and Clinton (July 30), Hillsborough (July 30–31), Mulberry Creek and Jug Tavern (August 8).Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, U.S. Army, assigned to the command of the Twentieth Army Corps.Brig. Gen. Richard W. Johnson, U.S. Army, succeeds Maj. Gen. John M. Palmer in temporary command of the Fourteenth Army Corps.Bvt. Maj. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, U.S. Army, assigned to the command of the Fourteenth Army Corps. Wheeler's raid to North Georgia and East Tennessee, with combats at Dalton (August 14–15) and other points.Skirmishes at Sandtown and Fairburn. Kilpatrick's raid from Sandtown to Lovejoy's Station, with combats at Camp Creek (18th), Red Oak (19th), Flint River (19th), Jonesborough (19th), and Lovejoy's Station (20th).Bvt. Maj. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, U.S. Army, assumes command of the Fourteenth Army Corps.Operations at the Chattahoochee railroad bridge and at Pace's and Turner's Ferries, with skirmishes.Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, U.S. Army, assumes command of the Twentieth Army Corps.Skirmish near Red Oak. Skirmish near East Point.Action at Flint River Bridge.Skirmish near Rough and Ready Station.Battle of Jonesborough.Union occupation of Atlanta.Actions at Lovejoy's Station.
Battles Sherman vs. Johnston
Rocky Face Ridge (May 7–13, 1864)
Johnston had entrenched his army on the long, high mountain of Rocky Face Ridge and eastward across Crow Valley. Sherman had earlier decided to demonstrate against the strong Confederate position with the bulk of his force while he sent a smaller portion through Snake Creek Gap, to the right, to hit the Western & Atlantic Railroad at Resaca, Georgia. With sufficient men, the Union Army could cut off the Confederate lines of communication to the south and force Johnston to attack them or disperse his army traveling through the rough terrain to the east. The larger Union force engaged the enemy at Buzzard Roost (Mill Creek Gap) and at Dug Gap drawing away their attention. In the meantime, the third column, under McPherson, passed unnoticed through Snake Creek Gap and on May 9 advanced to the outskirts of Resaca, where it found a small Confederate force entrenched. Fearing defeat, McPherson pulled his column back to Snake Creek Gap, which Sherman's orders gave him authority to do. On May 10, Sherman decided to take most of his men and join McPherson to take Resaca. The next morning, as he discovered Sherman's army withdrawing from their positions in front of Rocky Face Ridge, Johnston retired south towards Resaca.NPS, Rocky Face Ridge So began the first of a long series of flanking maneuvers by Sherman against Johnston; Sherman became so good at the tactic that his men boasted that Sherman "could flank the devil out of hell, if necessary." Johnston would be flanked out of every position he held until eventually relieved of command. The opportunity to destroy or disorganize the Confederates in the campaign's first battle, however, was missed.
Resaca (May 13–15)