On March 17, 1864, General Grant had met with General Sherman at Nashville and told him his role in the grand strategy. Sherman, like Grant, held two commands. As Division of the Mississippi commander, he was responsible for the operation and defense of a vast logistical system that reached from a communications zone at St. Louis, Louisville, and Cincinnati to center on a large base depot at Nashville. Strategically, Nashville on the Cumberland River rivaled Washington, D.C., in importance. A 90-mile military railroad, built and operated by Union troops, gave Nashville access to steamboats plying the Tennessee River. Connected with Louisville by rail, Nashville became one vast storehouse and corral. If the city was destroyed, the Federal forces would have to fall back to the Ohio River line. Wearing his other hat, Sherman was a field commander, with three armies under his direction. With the promise of the return of his two crack divisions from the Red River expedition by May 1864 and with a splendid administrative system working behind him, Sherman was ready to leave Chattanooga March to the Sea through Atlanta. His mission was to destroy CSA General Joseph Johnston's armies and capture Atlanta, which after Richmond was the most important industrial center in the Confederacy. With 254 guns, Sherman matched his three small armies, and a separate cavalry command a total force of more than 100,000 men against General Johnston's Army of Tennessee and the Army of Mississippi including General Wheeler's cavalry, consisting of 65,000 men. Sherman moved out on May 4, 1864, the same day the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan. Johnston, realizing how seriously he was outnumbered, decided to go on the defensive, preserve his forces intact, Johnston had done his part well. He had accomplished his missions and had so slowed Sherman that Sherman covered only 100 miles in 74 days. Johnston, his forces intact, was holding strong positions in front of Atlanta, his main base; but by this time Jefferson Davis had grown impatient with Johnston and his tactics of cautious delay. In July he replaced him with General John B. Hood, a much more impetuous commander. On July 20, while Sherman was executing a wide turning movement around the northeast side of Atlanta, Hood left his fortifications and attacked at Peach Tree Creek. When Sherman beat him off, Hood pulled back into the city. The fall of Atlanta gave President Lincoln's campaign for reselection in 1864 a tremendous boost. In addition, the psychological lift given the Union by Admiral Farragut's personal heroism in the battle of Mobile Bay greatly added to Lincoln's prestige. Atlanta was only a halfway point in Sherman's vast wheel from the western theater toward the rear of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Abandoning the idea of catching up with Hood, Sherman by telegraph outlined his next strategic move to Lincoln and Grant in early September 1864. Sherman's two proposals proved him an able strategist as well as a consummately bold and aggressive commander. To defend Nashville, he suggested that he send two corps, 30,000 men, back to Thomas, where that commander would raise and train more men and be in position to hold Tennessee if Hood came north. To carry the offensive against the economic heart of the Confederacy, Sherman recommended that he himself take four corps�62,000 men�cut his own communications, live off the country, and march to the seacoast through Georgia, devastating and laying waste all farms, railways, and storehouses in his path. Whether he arrived at Pensacola, Charleston, or Savannah, Sherman reasoned he could hold a port, make contact with the U.S. Navy, and be refitted by Stanton and Meigs. Meigs promised to do the logistical job, and Lincoln and Grant, though their reaction to the plan was less than enthusiastic, accepted it in a show of confidence in Sherman. Before marching out of Atlanta, Sherman's engineers put selected buildings to the torch and destroyed all railroads in the vicinity. On November 12, moving away from the Nashville depots toward Savannah, the Division of the Mississippi troops broke telegraphic contact with Grant. They had twenty days' emergency rations in their wagons, but planned to replenish them by living off the country. Operating on a 60-mile-wide front, unimpeded by any Confederate force, Sherman's army systematically burned and destroyed what it did not need. The march became something of a rowdy excursion. Sherman's campaign, like Sheridan's in the Shenandoah, anticipated the economic warfare and strategic aerial bombardments of the twentieth century. Yet the victims of his methods could hardly be blamed if they regarded Sherman's strategy as an excuse for simple thievery. On December 10 Sherman, having broken the classic pattern by moving away from his logistical base, arrived in front of Savannah. Confederate forces evacuated the seaport on December 21 and Sherman offered it to the nation as a Christmas present. Awaiting him offshore was Meigs' floating seatrain, which enabled him to execute the last phase of Grant's strategy, a thrust north toward the line of the James River.
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 Guide to the Atlanta Campaign: Rocky Face Ridge to Kennesaw Mountain Following the capture of Chattanooga, the Union initiated battles and operations that took it from the Tennessee border to the outskirts of Atlanta. Bloody confrontations at places such as Resaca and New Hope Church. Grant had ordered Sherman to penetrate the enemy's interior and inflict "all the damage you can against their War resources,"  Cracker Cavaliers: The 2nd Georgia Cavalry Under Wheeler and Forrest The Second Georgia fought in such famous campaigns as Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Knoxville, Resaca, Atlanta, and Bentonville, they also participated in deadly encounters at Farmington, Mossy Creek, Noonday Creek, Sunshine Church, and Waynesboro  Shermans Horsemen A comprehensive study of the role of the cavalry in Sherman's coordinated assault on Atlanta in 1864, involving three federal armies that swept in from the west through Alabama and Georgia |
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Civil War Map Illustrating the Siege of Atlanta, Georgia, c.1864 48 in. x 29. in. $169.99 Buy at AllPosters.com Framed |
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Comments by CSA General John B. Hood on the Confederate Defense of Atlanta |
Battles of the
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 Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea The destruction spanned more than sixty miles in width and virtually cut the South in two, disabling the flow of supplies to the Confederate army. He led more than 60,000 Union troops to blaze a path from Atlanta to Savannah, ordering his men to burn crops, kill livestock, and decimate everything that fed the Rebel war machine |
Campaigns of the Civil War Civil War Exhibits Timeline of the War State Battle Maps Civil War Navy Ships Civil War Summary Civil War Picture Album Women of the Civil War Civil War Submarines Civil War Store |
 Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography A biography of the public and private life of General Joseph E. Johnston, one of the most important Southern field commanders during the American Civil War |
 The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville John Bell Hood rallied his demoralized troops and marched them off the Tennessee, desperately hoping to draw Sherman after him and forestall the Confederacy's defeat |
 The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era 1988 Pulitzer Prize for History and a New York Times Bestseller. Rare contemporary photographs, period cartoons, etchings, woodcuts, and paintings, carefully choosing those that best illuminate the narrative |
 Joseph E. Johnston and the Defense of Richmond The high-level conferences in Richmond to set strategy and the relationship of the Peninsula campaign to operations in the Shenandoah Valley and the western Confederacy. What emerges is a portrait of a general who was much more complex in thought and action than even his advocates have argued |
 Worthy Opponents: William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston: Antagonists in War-Friends in Peace If Confederate President Jefferson Davis had left Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, one of its most effective generals, in command of Atlanta's defenses, the city might have been preserved. Edward Longacre offers a new perspective on Sherman's and Johnston's military histories, including their clashes at Vicksburg, Kennesaw Mountain, and Bentonville |
 Lee The Last Years After his surrender at Appomattox, Robert E. Lee lived only another five years - the forgotten chapter of an extraordinary life. These were his finest hours, when he did more than any other American to heal the wounds between North and South |
 Robert E. Lee This book not only offers concise detail but also gives terrific insight into the state of the Union and Confederacy during Lee's life. Lee was truly a one of kind gentleman and American, and had Virginia not been in the south or neutral, he ultimately would have led the Union forces. |
 Advance And Retreat: Personal Experiences In The United States And Confederate States Armies John Bell Hood entered the Confederate Army at 29, loyal to Confederate Independence. He led his men into the battles of Second Manassas, Gaines's Mill, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Chickamauga |
 Grant's Lieutenants: From Chattanooga to Appomattox This new volume assesses Union generalship during the final two years of the Civil War. Steven Woodworth, one of the war's premier historians, is joined by a team of scholars-- Grimsley, Marszalek, and Hess, among others--who critique Ulysses S. Grant's commanders |
 History Channel Civil War Secret Missions There are about a half-dozen different small arms types, but the Henry is the best for rapid repeating fire and least reloading. The shotgun they give you is useless: you must aim spot-on to affect an enemy, so why not just use the rifle? Grenades are useful at times. |
 Civil War Battles Campaign Atlanta You decide the outcome of a duel between two determined generals in the American Civil War. It's 1864 and the Union forces are ready to make a final drive into the Deep South. General William T. Sherman advances to destroy the Confederate Army of Tennessee & capture the city of Atlanta. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston planned on using Georgia's difficult terrain to inflict heavy losses |
 Campaign Chickamauga Civil War Battles A defining moment in the Civil War -- one that could have spelled victory for the South if things had been slightly different. At Chickamauga Creek near Chattanooga, TN there was a battle that earned it a new nickname: "River Of Blood." Chattanooga was a vital rail station at the time and had fallen to Union General Rosecrans |
 History Channel Civil War Secret Missions There are about a half-dozen different small arms types, but the Henry is the best for rapid repeating fire and least reloading. The shotgun they give you is useless: you must aim spot-on to affect an enemy, so why not just use the rifle? Grenades are useful at times.. |
 Wargame Construction Age of Rifles 1846 - 1905 Game lets you design and play turn-based strategic battles. You can create scenarios betwen years 1846 and 1905. You have complete control over all the units, and can customize their firepower, movement points, strength, aggressiveness, etc. Supports 1 or 2 players |
 Civil War Battles Campaign Corinth The Mississippi front of the vast Confederate offensive in the Fall of 1862 that culminated in the Battle of Corinth. Defending Federal gains in Mississippi and West Tennessee are Federal Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William S. Rosecrans. Their opponents, Confederate Generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price, have dreams of planting their banners on the banks of the Ohio River |
 Battleground 7: Bull Run July 21, 1861 The earliest large-scale engagement of the Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run found J.E. Johnston's outnumbered Rebels fighting a desperate delaying action versus the powerful Union army of Irvin McDowell. It was in this battle that General Thomas J. Jackson earned his famous nickname "Stonewall" |
 Civil War Battles Campaign Ozark Campaign Ozark depicts the Ozark decisive conflicts in three campaigns: (1) 1861 Missouri Campaign: Lyon's offensive across the length of Missouri from Boonville to Carthage and Wilson's Creek, (2) 1862 Pea Ridge Campaign: Curtis's drive from Missouri into Arkansas culminating in the battle of Pea Ridge, (3) 1862 Fall Campaign: Newtonia and Cane Hill to Hindman's counterstroke at Prairie Grove |
 The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams Great historically correct movie of a noble confederate and his undying love of a Yankee girl. |
 The Blue and the Gray The Complete Miniseries The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination |
 Civil War Journal Collector's Edition 4-DVD Set Made exclusively for Books Are Fun. Discs include: · Stonewall Jackson · Sherman and the March to the Sea · West Point Classmates-Civil War Enemies · Robert E. Lee · Battle of 1st Bull Run · The 54th Massachusetts · John Brown s War · Destiny at Fort Sumter |
 Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor |
Bonnie Blue Flag Bonnie Blue The Confederate government did not adopt this flag but the people did and the lone star flags were adopted in some form in five of the southern States that adopted new flags in 1861. |
 Civil War chess set Painted civil war chess set. Dimensions: Chess set pieces: 3-1/4" King's; 1-1/8" bases |
 Civil War Historic 1000-piece Puzzle The famous faces and fearsome facts of the Civil War are captured in this 1,000-piece cardboard puzzle for Civil War buffs and serious puzzle fans. |
 Civil War Soldier 102 Piece Playset
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 American Civil War Poker Playing Cards Playing Cards commenmorating the AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, featuring great portraits of statesmen, generals and fighting men, as well as graphics scenes of battle in color. Evocative images from the Library of Congress are featured on all 54 cards |
 20 piece Civil War Artillery Playset Civil War Artillery Set: 20 piece set includes 12 Artillery Crew Figures in Blue and Gray that stand up to 58mm tall, 4 Parrott Rifle Gun Cannon about 4 inches long, and 4 Cannonball stacks |
 72 Piece Civil War Army Men Play Set 52mm Union and Confederate Figures, Bridge, Horses, Canon
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 House Divided Board Game
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Sources:
U.S Army
Library of Congress
National Park Service
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Books Civil War Womens Subjects Young Readers Military History DVDs Confederate Store Civil War Games Music CDs |
hold Atlanta, and delay Sherman as long as possible. There was always the hope that the North would grow weary of the costly struggle and that some advocate of peaceful settlement might defeat Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1864. From May 4 through mid-July, the two forces maneuvered against each other. There were daily fights but few large-scale actions. As Sherman pushed south, Johnston would take up a strong position and force Sherman to halt, deploy, and reconnoiter. Sherman would then outflank Johnston, who in turn would retire to a new line and start the process all over again. On June 27 Sherman, unable to maneuver because the roads were muddy and seriously concerned by the unrest in his armies brought about by constant and apparently fruitless marching, decided to assault Johnston at Kennesaw Mountain. This attack against prepared positions, like the costly failure at Cold Harbor, was beaten back. Sherman returned to maneuver and forced Johnston back to positions in front of Atlanta.
While Sherman made ready to invest, Hood attacked again and failed again. Sherman then tried cavalry raids to cut the railroads, just as Johnston had during the advance from Chattanooga, but Sherman's raids had as little success as Johnston's. Sherman then began extending fortifications on August 31. Hood, who had dissipated his striking power in his assaults, gave up and retired to northwest Alabama, and Sherman marched into Atlanta on the first two days of September. Sherman hoped that Mobile had fallen, and a shorter line for his supplies by way of Montgomery, Alabama, or still better by the lower Chattahoochee to Columbus, Georgia, was open. Admiral Farragut had entered Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, but had no troops to take Mobile itself.
