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Battle of Atlanta

The Battle of Atlanta was a battle fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864. During this time, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman had command of the Union Armies in the West. The main Union force in this battle was the Army of the Tennessee, under Major General James B. McPherson. He was one of Sherman and Grant's favorite commanders, as he was very quick and aggressive (a quality found in few Union generals). The XV Corps was commanded by Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, the XVI Corps was commanded by Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge , and the XVII Corps was commanded by Maj. Gen. Frank P. Blair Jr. .

Opposing these troops was the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Gen. John Bell Hood. The sub-unit was commanded by Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee.

Gen. Hood, with his vastly outnumbered army, was faced with two problems. One, he needed to defend the city of Atlanta, which was a very important city, being a major railhub. Also, the other problem was that his army was small, compared to the enormous armies that Gen. Sherman commanded. He decided to withdraw inwards, enticing the Union troops to come forward. McPherson's army closed in from Decatur, Georgia to the east side of Atlanta. Meanwhile, Hood took Gen. Hardee's troops on a march around the Union left flank, had Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry march near Sherman's supply line, and have Maj. Gen. Joseph Cheatham 's corps attack the Union front. This was a Jackson-esque movement, which may have actually worked. However, it took longer than expected for Hardee to get in position. During the time it took to get in position, Gen. McPherson had correctly deduced a possible threat to his left flank, and sent XVI Corps, his reserve, to help strengthen it. Gen. Hardee's force met this other force, and they fought for awhile. Although the Confederate attack was repulsed, it was still on the Union left flank, which he began to roll up. The main lines of battle formed an "L" shape, with Hardee's attack forming the lower part of the "L" and Chatham's attack on the Union front as the vertical member of the "L." The Confederate forces tried to keep attacking, but there were not enough of them. Meanwhile, Gen. Cheatham's troops had broken through, but Gen. Sherman massed 20 artillery pieces near his headquarters, and had them shell the Confederate forces, while XV Corps regrouped and repulsed the Confederate troops. Gen McPherson was shot by Confederate infantry during the counterattack. The Union suffered 3,641 casualties, while the Confederacy suffered 8,499 casualties. This was a devastating loss for the already reduced Confederate Army.

The battlefield is now urban residential and commericial land, with only a few markers memorializing the history of the battle. To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the battle in 2004, two new markers were erected in the Inman Park neighborhood. The "L"-shaped line of battle roughly corresponds to what is now Moreland Avenue between Little Five Points and I-20 as the north-south line and Interstate 20 as the east-west line where Hardee made his attack. The Atlanta Cyclorama contains a painting and museum of the battle.


Last updated: 11-06-2004 16:52:48