Atlanta Campaign

• General Joseph E. JohnstonRocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Adairsville, New Hope Church, Dallas, Marietta [Operations] +1 more
• Lieutenant General John Bell HoodKolb's Farm, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ezra Church, Utoy Creek
• Major General Patrick R. CleburnePickett's Mill
• Major General Joseph WheelerDalton II
• Brigadier General William H. JacksonLovejoy's Station
• Lieutenant General William J. HardeeJonesborough

• Major General William T. ShermanRocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Adairsville, New Hope Church, Dallas, Marietta [Operations] +3 more
• Major General Joseph HookerNew Hope Church, Kolb's Farm
• Major General Oliver O. HowardPickett's Mill, Ezra Church
• Major General John M. SchofieldKolb's Farm, Utoy Creek
• Major General George H. ThomasPeachtree Creek
• Major General James B. SteedmanDalton II
• Brigadier General H. Judson KilpatrickLovejoy's Station

During the summer of 1864, a string of engagements unfolded across northwest Georgia and near Atlanta itself, collectively known as the Atlanta campaign, part of the war's western theater. Starting that May, Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman pushed into Georgia from around Chattanooga, Tennessee, facing resistance from Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston.

As Sherman's armies repeatedly maneuvered around his flanks, Johnston pulled his Army of Tennessee back toward Atlanta rather than risk open confrontation. This caution led Confederate president Jefferson Davis to remove Johnston from command in July, installing the far more combative General John B. Hood in his place. Hood responded by launching a series of frontal attacks against Union forces, assaults that proved costly. Eventually trapped and besieged within Atlanta, Hood's army could not prevent the city's fall on September 2, an outcome that paved the way for Sherman's subsequent March to the Sea and pushed the conflict closer to its conclusion.

Opposing forces

During the opening phase of the campaign, Sherman commanded the Military Division of the Mississippi, which brought together three separate armies under his overall direction.

The Army of the Tennessee, Sherman's own former command from his time serving under Grant in 1863, fell under Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson. Its ranks were organized into three corps: the XV Corps under Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, the XVI Corps led by Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, and the XVII Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair Jr. McPherson's death during the Battle of Atlanta brought Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard into command of this army.

Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield led the Army of the Ohio, built around his own XXIII Corps along with a cavalry division under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman.

Rounding out Sherman's forces was Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, at the head of the Army of the Cumberland. This army encompassed four components: the IV Corps under Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, the XIV Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John M. Palmer, the XX Corps led by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, and a Cavalry Corps under Brig. Gen. Washington L. Elliott. Once Howard moved up to lead an army, David S. Stanley assumed command of the IV Corps.

Numerically speaking, Sherman held a considerable edge as the campaign began, fielding roughly 98,500 troops against Johnston's 50,000. Yet this advantage was not as solid as it appeared: numerous furloughs had thinned Sherman's available manpower early on, while Johnston's side gained 15,000 additional troops sent from Alabama. Still, reinforcements continued flowing steadily to Sherman's armies, and by June his total strength had climbed to 112,000 men.

Summary

No battle details are provided in the source material to rewrite.

Aftermath

Sherman emerged the victor of this campaign, while Hood earned a reputation as the Confederate Army's most recklessly aggressive commander. In terms of sheer numbers, the losses on both sides came out fairly close: the Union suffered 31,687 casualties (4,423 dead, 22,822 wounded, and 4,442 missing or captured), while the Confederates counted 34,979 (3,044 dead, 18,952 wounded, and 12,983 missing or captured). Yet these figures masked a far steeper toll for the Confederacy in relative terms. When Hood's forces withdrew from the region, they numbered only about 30,000, whereas Sherman still commanded 81,000 troops. The triumph came with an asterisk, though, since Sherman's original objective, the destruction of the Army of Tennessee, went unmet, and he has drawn criticism for letting his adversary slip away. Still, taking Atlanta gave a tremendous boost to morale and played a significant role in securing Lincoln's re-election as president.

Sherman recognized that keeping troops stationed in Atlanta indefinitely would squander manpower, and that the city could not be held forever. Before any withdrawal, however, his army needed time to rebuild its strength, so he settled in to occupy Atlanta temporarily. The population had already thinned considerably, down to roughly 1,600 residents from a prewar figure near 10,000, yet Sherman viewed even this remaining group as a hindrance. As a result, he issued Special Field Orders No. 67 on September 14, calling for the civilians to evacuate.

Although Hood had lost Atlanta, he began plotting a counteroffensive. His scheme became known to Sherman only because Confederate President Davis revealed its particulars during a public address. Leaving behind just one corps to hold Atlanta, Sherman set out with the bulk of his forces to pursue Hood in what became the Franklin-Nashville campaign. Even with his plans exposed, Hood managed to seize the initiative for a time, luring Sherman's army northward away from the city. This pursuit stretched on through November until Sherman finally brought his troops back to Atlanta to make ready for the March to the Sea. Although the two armies represented the primary Confederate and Union forces operating in the western theater, they never again clashed directly, and it fell to George Henry Thomas rather than Sherman to effectively finish off Hood's army. Sherman's forces re-entered Atlanta on November 12 and spent only a handful of days there, systematically wrecking anything of military use, the rail lines included. This tactic marked a genuine departure in how warfare was conducted, since cutting off rail supply meant the army would need to sustain itself by foraging from the countryside. On November 15 the army pulled out of Atlanta, marking the start of Sherman's March to the Sea.