Siege of Atlanta

William T. Sherman (leaning on breach of cannon) and staff at Federal Fort No. 7 outside Atlanta

By the second week of July, Sherman's forces had reached the outskirts of Atlanta, then a city of about 20,000 that served as a rail hub and manufacturing center.  On July 20, 1864 Union cannons reached a position where shells could hit Downtown Atlanta. For the next 36 days; defensive fortifications, factories, homes, stores and streets were bombarded. Fortunately, a reduced civilian population meant the number of non-combatants killed (around 25) was much smaller than it might have been.

Unsustainable Losses

Coincidentally, the first shells started falling on the same day the battles for Atlanta would begin in earnest. Over the next six weeks, a series of battles would change history. General Hood, now that he was in command, decided not to rely exclusively on the extensive defensive fortifications ringing Atlanta and instead went on the attack. 

John Bell Hood

Hood's first offensive took place on July 20 at the Battle of Peachtree Creek mentioned in the previous post. Despite Hood's determined assault, the Union forces held and were victorious. With an almost 3 to 1 deficit in casualties, the losses were of a magnitude the Confederates could not continue to sustain if they wanted to retain Atlanta. [According to the CWSAC Battle Summary, total casualties were 6,506 (US 1,710; CS 4,796)]

Hood's second offensive followed close on the heels of the first in the Battle of Bald Hill (Also called the Battle of Atlanta) on July 22, 1864.  Hood intended to attack the Union troops from both east and west. The fighting centered on a hill east of the city known as Bald Hill. The Federals had arrived two days earlier, and began to shell Atlanta proper. A savage struggle, sometimes hand-to-hand, developed around the hill, lasting until just after dark. The victorious Federals retained the hill and this important entrance to Atlanta, while the Confederates retired away from the hill.  A major Union loss in this battle was the death of General James McPherson killed by Confederate skirmishers. [CWSAC Battle Summary, total casualties were 12,140 (US 3,641; CS 8,499)]

The Battle of Ezra Church occurred on July 28, 1864. Up until the end of July, Sherman had approached Atlanta from the east and north. He now decided to attack from the west and cut one of Hood's last railroad supply lines. Hood, in what he thought would be a surprise, sent forces to block the move at Ezra Church.

Union General Oliver Howard predicted such a maneuver based on his knowledge of Hood from their time together at West Point before the war. Howard's troops were already waiting in their trenches when Hood reached them. Instead of striking the Union flank, the Confederates hit the Union center, where the Yankee troops were positioned behind barricades made from logs and pews taken from the church. Several attacks were made on the Union lines. Each was turned back, and the Confederates were not able to get around the Union flank. Nevertheless, despite the Union victory, the Federals failed to cut the railroad line. [CWSAC Battle Summary, total casualties were 3,562 (US 562; CS 3000)]

Federal soldiers relaxing by guns of captured fort during Siege of Atlanta

The Battle of Jonesboro, August 31 to September 1, 1864, would be the final blow against the Confederate defense of Atlanta. With it now clear that Hood could no longer effectively confront Union forces in the field, Sherman stepped up the artillery bombardment of Atlanta and maneuvered to permanently cut the Confederate railroad supply lines.

In previous raids by small detachments, temporary success had been achieved through destruction of parts of the railroad. However, the Confederates had always quickly repaired the damage. Sherman now believed that if he could completely sever Hood's last railroad, the Confederates would be forced to evacuate Atlanta. 

On August 25 Sherman began moving six out of his seven infantry corps against the railroad between the towns of Rough and Ready and Jonesboro. In response, two Confederate corps were sent to halt and possibly rout the Union troops. However, Hood failed to realize that the majority of Sherman's army was approaching in force. The Confederate defending forces were highly outnumbered. Once the last rail line fell to the federal onslaught, Hood realized saving Atlanta was a hopeless cause. He evacuated the city on September 1, 1864. A long munitions train was blown up  as he left the city so that it wouldn’t fall into Union hands. [CWSAC Battle Summary, total casualties were 3149 (US 1149; CS 2000)] 

Casualty figures are a vivid indicator of the circumstances that led to the ultimate Confederate defeat in Atlanta. Since battle figures may vary considerably depending on sources, I have decided to refer to one probably reliable source; the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Battle Summaries. These indicate the total cumulative casualties for each side from the four battles experienced during the Siege of Atlanta as follows: Union 7,062; Confederate 18,295. Given that the Confederate Army forces at Atlanta were outnumbered from the beginning, losses of more that 2.5 to 1 were unsustainable.

Commentary

With his mention of General Howard and William's experience the previous day, in the first two paragraphs he is describing the Battle of Ezra Church. 

In the third paragraph he reflects back to July 20th and the Battle of Peachtree Creek. 

He seems to think that Sherman does not want to destroy the city given the ability to throw shells over the city combined with not so much Union shelling. 

William's mention of the breastworks gives a more positive view early on than the words highlighted below written two weeks later by his commanding officer Col. Crane.

Failure to pay the soldiers seems to be a continuing problem with the Union Army. Seven months in arrears is quite a bit. William would certainly put the money to good use.

General Hooker's July 22nd request of Sherman to be relieved of command duty is mentioned in the previous post. 

Given the constrained distance between the two army's lines, it is not surprising that Union skirmishers get so close to the Confederate lines that the Rebs can not use all their artillery.

Col. Nirom M Crane

The excerpts in the following letter written on August 12, 1864 by Nirom M. Crane, Commander of the 107th NY Volunteers, William Graham's Regiment, give his commanding officer's view of the the six week siege:  

   "Just now, we are within three hundred yards of the enemy's main line, and are compelled to burrow like rabits to escape the bullets and shells which are aimed at us from every available point and at all hours of day and night. We have laid in the trenches nearly three weeks, and I can assure you, this sort off work is wearing us out very fast—however, we can and do stand it with a good heart. 

   Our army line is now about twelve miles long and I think we are good for the work before us. Hood's army has been very recently strongly reinforced; and how soon we shall take Atlanta I cannot tell, but hope quite strongly."

Commentary

[This letter was written 5 days after Atlanta fell to Sherman's Army but provides details regarding its final days as it slipped out of Confederate control. I consider this the gem of William's letters. He clearly states his views and his reasoning on a broad range of topics. I agree with virtually all he says. Wonder how far he would have gone in his life with a better education and different circumstances.]

Note at top of William's letter - Don’t show this letter to anybody, it is so badly written. On side - I have had sweet potatoes today & different good things. Excuse the writing for the ink won’t flow

The Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. The name Copperheads was given to them by their opponents, the Republicans, because the venomous, although not usually deadly, copperhead snake can strike without warning (unlike a rattlesnake). The Copperheads nominally favored the Union and strongly opposed the war, for which they blamed abolitionists, and they demanded immediate peace and resisted draft laws. They wanted Lincoln and the Republicans ousted from power, seeing the president as a tyrant who was destroying American republican values with his despotic and arbitrary actions.

Abraham Africanus I is a rare Copperhead political pamphlet from 1864 that satirically depicts Abraham Lincoln making a pact with the Devil to become the monarchical ruler of the United States

This letter was written during the campaign leading up to the 1864 election where Abraham Lincoln won a second term. Sherman's capture of Atlanta contributed to Lincoln's victory at the polls. Lincoln had been a Republican but he ran under the National Union Party banner against his former top Civil War general, the Democratic candidate, George B. McClellan, and the Radical Republican Party candidate, John C. Frémont. 

Jefferson Fenis Davis

Jefferson Davis was President of the Confederate States. At the adoption of an ordinance of secession by Mississippi on January 9, 1861, Davis resigned from the United States Senate (where he was a senator from Mississippi) and returned to Mississippi. On February 9, 1861, a Constitutional convention at Montgomery, Alabama named him provisional President of the Confederate States of America and he was inaugurated on February 18, 1861. In meetings of his own Mississippi legislature, Davis had argued against secession; but when a majority of the delegates opposed him, he gave in.

William Graham's description of the ruling forces in the South as a stinkin aristocracy of slaveholders is probably the most vivid depiction in these letters of his strong feelings regarding the Confederacy. Remaining a loyal soldier of the Union army for almost three years through numerous battles, despite a debilitating illness, backs his words with strong action.

Public education, whether for whites or blacks, was nonexistent in the South before slavery ended. Wealthy whites sent first their sons and later their daughters off to private schools and colleges in the North and England. They objected to paying taxes to support education for those with lesser means regardless of race.

As soon as slavery ended, freed people began setting up schools all over the South. Many southern whites were shocked, appalled, infuriated by this phenomenon. Some responded by burning down schools, threatening teachers, whipping and killing black teachers and writing editorials dripping with disgust. 

Eventually though, some white elites began to notice that former slaves were outpacing poor whites on the educational front. Powerful whites began to discuss the need to provide schooling for poor whites. Then, during Congressional Reconstruction when black men and white Northern Republicans were elected to legislatures in the South, states passed laws that provided for public schooling for whites and blacks and imposed taxes to fund the schools.

Woodcut of early schoolroom, 1826-27

William Graham's words, "... that others, the oppressed of all nations, might here have a home in a free country." signify that this poor Irish immigrant (1) possesses a strong bond with poor immigrants from throughout the world and (2) has powerful feelings of appreciation for the value placed on the individual in his adopted country. 

There was no general military draft in America until the Civil War. The Confederacy passed its first of 3 conscription acts 16 April 1862, and scarcely a year later the Union began conscripting men. Government officials plagued with manpower shortages regarded drafting as the only means of sustaining an effective army and hoped it would spur voluntary enlistments.

Compulsory service embittered much of the public, who considered it an infringement on individual free will and personal liberty and feared it would concentrate arbitrary power in the military. Believing with some justification that unwilling soldiers made poor fighting men, volunteer soldiers despised conscripts. Conscription nurtured substitutes, bounty-jumping, and desertion. Charges of class discrimination were leveled against both Confederate and Union draft laws since exemptions and commutation clauses allowed propertied men to avoid service, thus laying the burden on immigrants and men with few resources. Occupational, only-son, and medical exemptions created many loopholes in the laws. Unpopular, unwieldy, and unfair, conscription sometimes seemed to raise more discontent than soldiers.

Union pickets relaxing after successful siege of Atlanta

Hood evacuated Atlanta on September 1, 1864 and the 20th Corps took possession the next morning, ending the Atlanta Campaign.

Sherman pursued Hood to Lovejoy but found him concentrated with his entire command in a position that was too strong to be assaulted. Union forces returned to Atlanta September 4-8, 1864. This was probably the reconnaissance beyond the Chattahoochee River described by William in his letter.

Thomas's command (Army of the Cumberland - where William Graham and the 107th Regiment fought) occupied Atlanta. Howard's (Army of the Tennessee) was located nearby at East Point 20 miles southwest of the city, and Schofield's (Army of the Ohio) was at Decatur 10 miles to the east. Unable to advance farther, but determined to hold his gains, Sherman evacuated the Southern civilians from the city and converted it into an armed camp that could be held with the smallest possible force. Sherman was busy hatching plans to lead the bulk of his army elsewhere.

General Henry Slocum

General Henry Warner Slocum (September 24, 1827 – April 14, 1894), was a Union general during the American Civil War and later served in the United States House of Representatives from New York. During the war, he was one of the youngest major generals in the Army and fought numerous major battles in the Eastern Theater and in Georgia and the Carolinas. 

Controversy arose from his conduct at the Battle of Gettysburg, where he was accused of indecision and a dilatory advance to the battlefield, earning him the derogatory nickname "Slow Come".

Slocum was born in Delphi, a hamlet in Onondaga County, New York. He attended Cazenovia Seminary and worked as a teacher. He obtained an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he did well academically—considerably better than his roommate, Philip Sheridan.

As indicated in William Graham's letter, General Slocum was in command of the 20th Corps. General Joseph Hooker asked to be relieved of duty and Sherman replaced him with Slocum.

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign

Map illustrating the Atlanta Campaign

The days of guard duty along the Tennessee railroad were no more. On April 4, 1864, the 11th and William's 12th corps were combined into a new Twentieth Army Corps. Together with other army corps, they would form an army of 100,000 under General William T. Sherman, which would become of one of the most famous armies in the history of warfare. 

The map to the left (Click to enlarge) graphically represents the movements of Sherman's new army from May to September 1864. Hopefully it will help the reader follow the Campaign's progress as discussed in the letters and commentary that follow.

Sherman's army was part of the plan to devastate the underbelly of the Confederacy. Starting on May 4, 1864, the Twentieth Corps joined the Atlanta campaign, participating during the next four months in all the important battles. 

During the first month, the hardest fighting occurring at Resaca on May 15, 1864 and at New Hope Church on May 25, 1864. 

William's 107th Regiment fought hard in the many skirmishes and battles on its way to Atlanta, losing a great many men in the battle of New Hope Church. The 107th would be among the first troops to enter Atlanta, ultimately becoming its police force and guard against any future Confederate attacks. 

 

Commentary

Cassville is sometimes referred to as the "Battle that never was", as Johnston had hoped to isolate and destroy part of Sherman’s army here. However, the trap was not sprung after John Bell Hood hesitated in the face of what he believed was a much larger Union force. Cassville was destroyed by Sherman (11/5/64) in retaliation for Southern guerrilla activity in the area. It was not rebuilt until the 20th century.

Rocky Face Ridge (May 7-12)

At Rocky Face Ridge, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had entrenched his army on the long, high mountain of Rocky Face Ridge and eastward across Crow Valley. 

General Joseph Johnston

When Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman approached the trenches he decided to make contact against the position with two columns while he sent a third one to the right through Snake Creek Gap to hit the Western & Atlantic Railroad at Resaca. 

The two remaining Union columns under Sherman's direct command engaged the enemy at Buzzard Roost (Mill Creek Gap) and at Dug Gap. In the meantime, the third column, under Maj. Gen. James Birdseye McPherson, passed through Snake Creek Gap and on May 9th advanced to the outskirts of Resaca where it found Confederates entrenched. 

Fearing defeat, McPherson pulled his column back to Snake Creek Gap. On the 10th, Sherman decided to take most of his men and join McPherson to take Resaca. The next morning, Sherman’s army withdrew from in front of Rocky Face Ridge. Discovering Sherman’s movement, Johnston retired south towards Resaca on the 12th.

Resaca (May 13-15)

In the Battle of Resaca casualties were about equal on both sides. This is the battle William Graham describes in his letter.

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca. On the 13th, the Union troops tested the Rebel lines to pinpoint their whereabouts. The next day full scale fighting occurred, and the Union troops were generally repulsed except on the Rebel right flank where Sherman did not fully exploit his advantage. On the 15th, the battle continued with no advantage to either side until Sherman sent a force across the Oostanula River, at Lay’s Ferry, towards Johnston’s railroad supply line. Unable to halt this Union movement, Johnston was forced to retire.

Battle of Resaca

New Hope Church and Dallas (May 25-June 1) 

 

The Battles of New Hope Church and Dallas occurred as a series of engagements beginning after William's May 21 letter was sent. Prior to the battle, Johnston’s army fell back from the vicinity of Cassville-Kinston, first to Allatoona Pass and then to the Dallas area and entrenched. Sherman’s army tested the Rebel line while entrenching themselves.

The Battle of New Hope Church occurred with intense trench warfare and skirmishing associated with an attack on May 25 and 26 under Hooker's 20th Corps command. It was reported that 703 Union soldiers were killed and 350 taken prisoner as a result of this battle. The Battle of Dallas occurred on May 28 when Confederate Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee’s forces, looking for any weakness, probed the Union defensive line held by Maj. Gen. John A. Logan’s forces. Fighting ensued at two different points. The Rebels were repulsed, suffering some 600 more casualties than the Union forces.

Sherman looked for a way around Johnston’s line, and, on June 1, his cavalry occupied Allatoona Pass, which had a railroad and would allow his men and supplies to reach him by train. Sherman abandoned his lines at Dallas on June 5 and moved toward the railhead at Allatoona Pass forcing Johnston to follow soon afterwards. Since Sherman took great pains to ensure security measures for his supply and communications lines, he could be fairly confident that supplies would continue to flow without interruption. The battle resulted in a Union victory.

Confederate Strategic Error 

 

The unwillingness of Confederate authorities in Richmond to temporarily abandon Mississippi and to utilize the substantial forces available there to counter the primary Union threat against Atlanta demonstrated the flaws in Confederate President Davis’ command system. Union diversionary operations in Mississippi effectively kept Forrest – probably the only cavalry leader who could have seriously threatened Sherman’s logistics – away from the Union commander’s railroad lifeline. Because of Sherman’s detailed advance planning, the railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta (the part of the line in Union hands) was well defended, and the Union army well maintained.

Commentary

William Tecumseh Sherman received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched earth" policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States. Military historian Basil Liddell Hart famously declared that Sherman was "the first modern general".[1]

General William Tecumseh Sherman

Sherman served under General Ulysses S. Grant in 1862 and 1863 during the campaigns that led to the fall of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River and culminated with the routing of the Confederate armies in the state of Tennessee. In 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the western theater of the war. 

He proceeded to lead his troops to the capture of the city of Atlanta, a military success that contributed to the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln. Sherman's subsequent march through Georgia and the Carolinas further undermined the Confederacy's ability to continue fighting. He accepted the surrender of all the Confederate armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida in April 1865.

Prior to Atlanta, William Graham's 107th Regiment participated in two more battles after Dallas; Kennesaw Mountain at the end of June and Peachtree Creek two days after this letter was written.

Kennesaw Mountain (June 27)

The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain took place on June 27, 1864. On the night of June 18-19, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, fearing envelopment, withdrew his army to a new, previously selected position astride Kennesaw Mountain. This entrenched arc-shaped line, to the north and west of Marietta, protected the Western & Atlantic Railroad, the supply link to Atlanta. Having defeated General John B. Hood troops at Kolb’s Farm on the 22nd, Sherman was sure that Johnston had stretched his line too thin and, therefore, decided on a frontal attack with some diversions on the flanks. On the morning of June 27, Sherman sent his troops forward after an artillery bombardment. At first they made some headway overrunning Confederate pickets. However, attacking an enemy that was well dug in is usually futile. The fighting ended by noon, and Sherman suffered high casualties - 3000 to 1000 for the Rebels.

Major General Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker became known as "Fighting Joe" during the Civil War. He gained a reputation as a solid commander when he was transferred westward to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland around Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hooker was in command at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, playing an important role in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's decisive victory at the Battle of Chattanooga. He was brevetted to major general in the regular army for his success at Chattanooga, but he was disappointed to find that Grant's official report of the battle credited his friend William Tecumseh Sherman's contribution over Hooker's.

Hooker led his now 20th Corps (William Graham's Corps) competently in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign under Sherman, but asked to be relieved before the capture of the city because of his dissatisfaction with the promotion of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard to command of the Army of the Tennessee, upon the death of Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson.

 

Chattahoochee River Line  (July 8 - 9)

Example of pontoon bridge used to quickly cross rivers

The Chattahoochee River Line was revolutionary in its design and formidable in its strength. Sherman called it "one of the strongest pieces of field fortifications I ever saw". It stretched about seven miles along a ridge on the northern bank of the Chattahoochee River. The fortifications included 36 distinctive small forts called Shoupades after their designer, Confederate Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup. A network of trenches connected them.

General Joseph Johnston's Confederates took up the line as a defensive position following the battle of Kennesaw Mountain. The River Line was such a well-engineered defensive system that Union forces declined a direct assault; instead they dug themselves in to engage in daily artillery duels.

At the River Line on July 8 and 9, Union forces feigned to the right, but crossed the Chattahoochee by the left. Rapidly assembled bridges soon spanned the Chattahoochee, and wagons and men of Sherman’s army were pouring across the waterway to flank the Confederate position. This was the pontoon bridge mentioned in William's letter. Johnston abandoned the River Line on the evening of July 9, 1864.

To secure the real prize – the city of Atlanta – the Federals had to sever its railroads; four lines radiating out of the city to various vital points of the Confederacy. Once across the Chattahoochee, Sherman controlled the first, the Western & Atlantic railroad. Johnston was forced once more to retreat.

Johnston's strategy throughout the Atlanta Campaign seemed to be withdrawal. He would prepare strong defensive positions, only to see Sherman maneuver around them, causing Johnston to fall back in the general direction of Atlanta. Johnston saw the preservation of his army as most important. He handled his army well, slowing the Union advance and inflicting heavier losses than he sustained. However, given the Union's advantage in numbers, it was not enough.

Peachtree Creek (July 20)

By noon of July 17th Johnston's forces waited behind his first line of entrenchments (prepared in advance for this very occasion) south of Peach Tree Creek, an east to west flowing stream, about three miles north of Atlanta. Confederate President Jefferson Davis becoming increasingly irritated by Johnston's withdrawal strategy removed Johnston from command on July 17, 1864.  Lt. General John Bell Hood was substituted to command the Confederate army on July 18, 1864, the date of William Graham's letter. 

Sherman split his army into three columns for the assault with George H. Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland moving from the north. Johnston had decided to attack Thomas, but it was Hood who actually attacked on July 20, 1864 after Thomas's army crossed Peach Tree Creek. The determined assault threatened to overrun the Union troops at various locations. Ultimately, though, the Yankees held, and the Rebels fell back. Victory went to the Union with the Confederates suffering a level of casualties which they could not long sustain: 4,796 to the Union's 1,710.

Clement Vallandigham

Clement Laird Vallandigham was an Ohio member of the Copperhead faction of anti-war, pro-Confederate Democrats during the American Civil War. Vallandigham was a vigorous supporter of Constitutional "States' Rights" and although personally opposed to slavery, believed that the federal government had no power to regulate the institution. He further believed that the Confederacy had a right to secede and could not constitutionally be conquered militarily.

He supported the Crittenden Compromise and proposed (February 20, 1861) a division of the Senate and of the electoral college into four sections, each with a veto. He strongly opposed every military bill, leading his opponents to allege that he wanted the Confederacy to win the war. He was the acknowledged leader of the Copperheads and in May 1862 coined their slogan, "To maintain the Constitution as it is, and to restore the Union as it was."