General Sherman was given command of the Western army, which was
to operate against Joseph E. Johnston, who was in command of the
Confederate army in the West. Johnston was reckoned second to Lee in
military genius. Sherman found under his command 120,000 men, while
that of Johnston's army numbered about 75,000. The Federals were
concentrated around Chattanooga, while the Confederates were massed at
Dalton, where they had been in winter quarters.
Sherman moved his army on May 6, 1864, against Johnston, and thus the
beginning of Sherman's march to the sea and a series of battles fought,
viz.: Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and the Battle of
Atlanta.
Sherman's army was divided into three divisions commanded by Generals
McPherson, Schofield and Thomas. His army was in good spirits and
seemed anxious for the opportunity to move forward, after a long
wearisome winter in camp, and rejoiced at the journey before them,
though their mission was to be one of strife and bloodshed.
General Johnston had succeeded General Bragg in command of this
Confederate army, which was now divided into two corps, commanded by
Generals Hood and Hardee. He was later reënforced by General Polk.
On account of the strong position occupied by Johnston at Dalton
Sherman thought best to refrain from attacking him there and moved
round to the right of the Confederate army to Resaca.
When Johnston discovered this movement on the part of the Federals he
quickly evacuated Dalton and moved with all speed to Resaca, which
place he succeeded in reaching before it was occupied by the Federals.
On his way to Resaca his cavalry, under General Wheeler, fought a
desperate battle with that of the Federals, under General McCook, in
which Wheeler was successful.
The Confederates were strongly entrenched at Resaca by the time
Sherman's army came up.
On May 14th Sherman ordered a general attack on the Confederate
stronghold, which was done by Thomas' division and a part of
Schofield's. This attack was received by Hood's corps. There was
desperate fighting and the advantage first lay with one and then
the other, when at length the Federals were reënforced by General
Hooker, and the Confederates fell back to the second line of their
entrenchments.
There was terrible fighting on the next day during which the outworks
were captured by General Butterfield, but he was unable to hold his
position gained on account of the raking fire from Hardee's corps,
which galled him very much.
During the night Johnston withdrew his army from Resaca toward Atlanta,
and was closely followed by Sherman, who sent a part of his army under
General Davis to capture Rome, a small town in Georgia, where there was
quite a number of iron factories.
This he did, and destroyed the factories, which were a serious loss to
the Confederates, for they were used for the manufacture of cannon and
other munitions of war.
Johnston brought his army to a halt at Adairsville, at which place he
had fully decided to give battle to Sherman, and had so informed his
officers. After skirmishing with the enemy for some time he suddenly
changed his mind and withdrew his army to Cassville, where he took
a strong position and issued a spirited address to his army, and
had fully decided to give battle to Sherman, but, on account of his
superior numbers, Sherman had been able to turn the right flank of the
Confederate army.
On the advice of Hood and Polk, Johnston again withdrew his army from
its position and took a much stronger position a few miles south on
Kenesaw Mountain.
On account of these several retreats, gave rise to a cause of a great
deal of dissent among his soldiers, as well as the inhabitants of the
country through which he passed, which left them in the hands of the
enemy, but it is conceded that Johnston did the best he could, as his
army was inferior to that of Sherman both in numbers and equipment,
and he was waiting for an opportunity to catch Sherman's army divided,
or to get a strong position which would help him in repulsing any
attack made by Sherman. This strong position he found at Kenesaw
Mountain, and here made ready for battle in earnest.
A few days prior to this, while Johnston's army was retiring from its
former position at Cassville, they became engaged with a division of
the Federal army at Pine Mountain, in which battle General Polk was
killed by a cannon ball. This was a serious loss to the Confederacy.
He was a graduate of West Point; but after being graduated he took
work with the Episcopal church as bishop, but at the outbreak of the
war he entered the Confederate army and served with distinction. Only
a short time before his death it is reported that he administered the
ordinance of baptism to Generals Johnston and Hood. It is said that he
was rebuked by some of his church for taking up arms. He replied that
he felt as a man plowing in a field and was called by his neighbor to
help extinguish the flames from his house which was on fire, and after
the fire would go back to work. He was succeeded in command by General
Loring.
Sherman decided to attack Johnston at Kenesaw Mountain, this being
anticipated by Johnston and, on account of his strong position, met
with his approval. This desperate battle was fought on the 27th day
of June. Sherman's army advanced against the strong Confederate
works again and again during the day, but every charge was repulsed,
the mountainside being swept by the musketry and artillery of the
Confederates. Sherman's loss in this battle was more than 3,000 men,
while that of the Confederates was less than 1,000.
Sherman was convinced that his success did not lay in attacking his
antagonist in a strong position, and turned upon Johnston's right and
attempted to pass around him to Atlanta in the same manner in which
Grant was trying to pass around Lee to Richmond.
Sherman succeeded in drawing Johnston away from Kenesaw Mountain, and
Johnston withdrew his army by shorter roads within the entrenchments
before Atlanta, which was immediately confronted by the Federal
hosts. This was a critical time for Sherman, as the North was in a
presidential campaign in which it appeared that the success of the war
party depended upon his capture of Atlanta; and on the other hand it
was a critical time for the Confederates, for the loss of Atlanta would
mean the loss of their iron foundries, where they manufactured most of
their munitions of war, and besides would divide their country in two
divisions again as Grant's capture of Vicksburg had divided it before.
General Johnston was removed from command of the army for the reasons
assigned by the Confederate government that he had failed to arrest
the advance of the enemy to the vicinity of Atlanta, and that he had
expressed no confidence that he could defeat or repel Sherman, and for
these reasons he was relieved and the same was handed to General Hood.
It was said that when General Johnston received this information he
informed General Hardee, who was with him, of the information received.
Hardee replied, "I don't believe it." In answer Johnston said, "A thing
may be unbelievable and a fact."
The removal of Johnston from the command is thought to have been a
great mistake on the part of the Confederate Government, as his tactics
had been in this campaign on the defensive on account of his inferior
numbers and equipment to that of Sherman, while that of Hood was on the
aggressive, and he maintained the idea of attacking Sherman's army,
which proved to be the loss of Atlanta for the Confederacy.
Hood found himself in command of about 60,000 men, and on July 20th
offered battle which was fierce and a decided loss to the Confederates,
in which they were repulsed on every hand, but not without hard
fighting and much loss to the Federals, for General Hood had the
reputation of being a fearless, aggressive commander. This was known as
the Battle of Peach Tree Creek.
Two days later, on July 22d, the Battle of Atlanta was fought, this
being the greatest engagement of the entire campaign.
The Federals had closed in upon Atlanta and had succeeded in capturing
some out entrenchments, but on the 22d was a general engagement of all
the army, the attack being made by Hood to recapture some of his lost
positions. In this engagement General McPherson was killed, which was a
great blow to the Union army. General Logan succeeded to his command.
The Confederates achieved considerable success, but the Federals were
presently reënforced, and Hood withdrew within the defenses of Atlanta.
Again on the 28th the Federals were attacked by General Hardee and a
fierce battle was fought at Ezra Church, in which the Confederates were
defeated with heavy loss.
Sherman determined on besieging the city and if possible destroy the
line of supplies for Hood's army. This he succeeded in doing late in
August by destroying the Macon and Western railroad.
Hood determined to attack the Federals and sent General Hardee to make
an attack near Jonesboro, while he himself should attack Sherman's
right flank. These attacks failed, thus necessitating the evacuation
of Atlanta, which he did on September 2d, after destroying all the
supplies he could not take with him.
Hood kept his army between that of Sherman's and Andersonville, at
which place there were confined many thousands of Federal prisoners.
With the fall of Atlanta practically ended the points of interest of
Sherman's march to the sea.
The command of Hood's army was later given back to General Joseph E.
Johnston.