Given Atlanta’s position south of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, capturing the city would severely threaten the stability of the Confederacy. Despite McPherson’s untimely death, Union troops continued to hold their positions, particularly atop Bald Hill along the north-south line. The Battle of Atlanta, on July 22, resulted in the Confederates' greatest success of the campaign, with approximately 3,600 casualties (including McPherson), 12 captured cannons, and a division-length of trenches rolled up. While McPherson advanced westward toward the Georgia capital, Sherman took in a commanding view of Atlanta’s defenses from the hilltop. The battle was part of the Atlanta Campaign directed by Union Army general William Tecumseh Sherman. The main Union force in this battle was the Army of the Tennessee, under Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson. The battle of Atlanta was officially fought on July 22nd, 1864, just southeast of the glorious city of Atlanta. Battle of Atlanta is a Truth Entertainment production. His considerate and kind treatment of them stood in bright contrast to the course pursued by many Federal officers. Myles Hudson was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopædia Britannica. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The words of Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant, who corresponded with McPherson’s grandmother, serves as both a eulogy and reminder of the true price of war. McPherson, having left Sherman’s headquarters just before the firing started, is watching Sweeny contend with the Rebels. 1. While the Union victory at the Battle of Atlanta dealt a crippling blow to the Confederacy’s defensive forces, it was not itself decisive. Battle of Atlanta, (July 22, 1864), American Civil War engagement that was part of the Union’s summer Atlanta Campaign. Your tax-deductible gift will help us to preserve this irreplaceable twice-hallowed ground at Gaines' Mill and Cold Harbor — forever. For Lincoln’s part, the repeated victories at Atlanta and the eventual capture of the city bolstered his reelection campaign. McPherson arranged his nearly 35,000 troops in a lengthy L-shape, with the vertical arm running north-south and the horizontal arm running east-west. Of the 34,863 Union troops engaged at the Battle of Atlanta, 3,722 were killed, wounded, captured, or reported missing. He reinforced his flank by placing cannon on Bald Hill (later renamed Leggett’s Hill for the Union general who captured it) and fortifying his line with trenches. Hardee’s corps will march through and out of the city, southeast then northeast, guided by Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry, and jump into McPherson’s left-rear, while Wheeler attacks McPherson’s wagon trains at Decatur. Battle of Atlanta. He replaced Johnston with Gen. John Bell Hood just before the Battle of Atlanta. He rides off to see how Maj. Gen. Frank Blair’s Seventeenth Corps are faring; by now it has been struck by Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s hard-hitting division. His ability to serve a second term thus largely hinged on the Atlanta Campaign’s success or failure. July 22. A late start, exhausted troops, a hot night, and dusty roads combine to bring the four assault divisions not nearly far enough into McPherson’s rear when Hardee, well behind schedule, decides to deploy. Gen. Thomas W. Sweeny happens to be in just the right position to meet Hardee’s opening assault. Help Save 110 Acres at Three Civil War Battlefields, Kentuckians: Support Battlefield Preservation Legislation, Virginians: Support Battlefield Preservation Legislation, The Grand Strategy of the Last Year of the War. Whitfield County, GA | May 7 - 13, 1864, Gordon County and Whitfield County, GA | May 13 - 15, 1864, Paulding County, GA | May 25 - 26, 1864, Clayton County, GA | Aug 31 - Sep 1, 1864. War dissatisfaction already threatened Lincoln’s chances at reelection. Gen. Mortimer Leggett’s division and are stopped cold. There was a sizable chink in his position at the intersection of the vertical and horizontal arms. In the Atlanta Campaign, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman commanded the Union forces of the Western Theater. What convinced Confederate president Jefferson Davis to replace Gen. Joseph E. Johnston with Lt. Gen. John B. It is a selfish grief, because the nation had more to expect from him than of almost any one living. Then rough terrain adds further delay, and Confederate Maj. Gen. W. H. T. Walker is killed while getting his division into place. But Johnston was equally displeased with the Confederate president. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. In May of 1864, Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign. Furthermore, the Atlanta Campaign held a special significance for Union Pres. The city of Atlanta was a major supply center, railroad hub and symbol of the Confederate States of America. Show your pride in battlefield preservation by shopping in our store. Upon hearing of Sherman’s departure from Chattanooga earlier in the summer, Atlanta’s Confederate defenders had forced their slaves to construct two rings of fortifications around the city. He would not force a surrender, however, until the first week of September. Confederate General John Bell Hood continues to try to drive General William T. Sherman from the outskirts of Atlanta when he attacks The Battle Began Here tour focuses on what happened in the Battle of Atlanta in Kirkwood area. Since we had graduated in 1853, and had each been ordered off on duty in different directions, it has not been our fortune to meet. The photographer's darkroom can be seen at right centre. Attacked On All Sides: The Civil War Battle of Decatur, Georgia, the Untold Story of the Battle of Atlanta by David Allison , Lisa Rickey , et al. The fighting was mostly concentrated around this strategic high ground, which was the highest elevated point between Atlanta and Decatur. In the late afternoon, Confederate soldiers assaulted another weak point at an exposed railroad cut to the north. But here too the Confederates were ultimately repulsed and lost an estimated 5,500 men. Johnston and Davis remained at odds after the war, but the general maintained friendships with some of his former rivals and even served as a pallbearer at William T. Sherman’s funeral in February 1891. He had an early victory at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in July 1861, and while his performance earned him a promotion to full general, it also set off a feud with Davis, who criticized him for not pursuing the retreating Union Army. In the early morning the infantry would swing north and strike the Union army in a weakened rear. The offensive succeeded in blocking the Union advance, but Johnston was severely wounded in the fight. Cheatham’s fierce but uncoordinated assaults against the Federal line held by Logan’s Fifteenth Corps meet with initial success, overrunning the Union line at the Troup Hurt House and capturing artillery, until a counterattack forces it back. The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 53,000 acres in 24 states! During the Peninsula Campaign in the spring of 1862, in which Union general George B. McClellan attempted to move on Richmond, Johnston elected to withdraw from the Virginia Peninsula in the campaign’s early stages, angering Davis. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In the North, 1864 was a presidential election year, and, with the war dragging on longer than either side expected, both Republicans and Democrats wanted hostilities to cease. The Union victory in the largest battle of the Atlanta Campaign led to the capture of that critical Confederate city and opened the door for Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s most famous operation—the March to the Sea and the capture of Savannah. Abraham Lincoln. Johnston entered the Civil War as one of the South’s senior officers. Richard Beard of the Fifth Confederate Infantry later remembered: I threw up my sword as a signal for him to surrender. Atlanta was at the junction of four railroads that connected all remaining Confederate-held territory east of the Mississippi River. Like the other battles fought around Atlanta, the July 22, 1864, battlefield has been lost to development. McPherson could hear the gunshots from his post and made sure that the Union leaders on that flank were holding the line before inspecting the rest of his army. History tells us of but few who so blended the grace and gentleness of the friend with the dignity, courage, faith, and manliness of the soldier. To understand how the 1864 battles around Atlanta changed history, it helps to know about the city on the eve of war. Gen. John Bell Hood on the eastern outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. Worn out after that, both armies settle in for a siege of the city that lasts throughout August. With Grant and Sherman having turned the tide in the war, an end to the death and destruction was now in sight. Frustrated by Johnston’s lack of aggressiveness, President Jefferson Davis replaced him with Lt. Gen. John B. Francis DeGress’s artillery battery in the process. After learning that his promotion to full general still placed him below other officers, including Robert E. Lee, Johnston felt personally insulted. The inner ring was heavily defended, and the outer ring had a series of earthen palisades and trenches to slow Union troops. However, Union intelligence noted the continued presence of some Confederate defenders, which contradicted his initial survey of the situation. Battle of Atlanta Battle Map: On the 20th the National armies had all closed in, converging towards Atlanta, and at 4 P.m. the Confederates, under John Bell Hood, made a sortie, and struck Hooker's corps with great strength. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Sherman intended to advance on Atlanta, Georgia, from his station in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education. Attendees will hear the human stories of the battle as well as get a sense of the troop movements from trained tour guides. McPherson, a youthful and promising protégé of Grant, was one of the highest-ranking Union generals to be killed in combat. The battles of Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, and Ezra Church destroyed the offensive capability of the Confederate army. Union Major Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and James B. McPherson successfully defended against a Confederate offensive from Lieut. The Confederates were repulsed and driven back to their intrenchments. Sign up to receive email updates about our Warrior Legacy programming for veterans, active duty military and their families. Union troops southwest of Atlanta during the American Civil War, photograph by George N. Barnard, 1864. Johnston was charged with defending Atlanta, the largest industrial, logistical, and administrative center outside of Richmond. Hood plans for the corps of Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee to drop back from its lines north of the city into the main fortified perimeter on the night of July 21–22; the remaining corps of Maj. Gen. 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