Some Southerners suspected in 1864 what we now know—Sherman had not
retreated. Rather, he had concluded that only his infantry could
effectively break Hood’s lines of supply and had resolved to move almost
all of his force to the southwest of the city. The movement began on
August 25. One corps was sent back to the Chattahoochee bridgehead to
guard the railroad that connected Sherman with the North. The remaining
Federal troops pulled out of their trenches and marched away to the west
and south. By noon on the 28th, Howard’s Army of the Tennessee had
reached Fairburn, a small station on the Atlanta and West Point
Railroad, 13 miles southwest of East Point. Later that afternoon,
Thomas’ troops occupied Red Oak, on the railroad 5 miles to the
northeast. The Northerners spent the rest of the 28th and the 29th
destroying the tracks. The rails were torn up, heated, and twisted so
that they were useless. Only one railroad, the Macon and Western,
running southeast from East Point to Macon, now remained in Confederate
hands. Sherman soon moved to cut it.
By August 29, Hood had learned of the activities of the Federals at
Fairburn. It was clear that the railroad to Macon would be Sherman’s
next objective and the Southern commander acted to defend that line.
However, he badly misjudged the situation and thought that only two
corps of Sherman’s army were to the southwest. Late on August 30, Hood
ordered Hardee to take two corps of the Southern army, move against the
raiding column, and drive it away. Both armies were soon closing in on
Jonesborough, 14 miles below East Point on the Macon railroad. By that
evening, advance elements of the Union forces had crossed the Flint
River and entrenched a position 1 mile west of Jonesborough. During the
night, Hardee’s Southerners moved into the town by rail; by morning they
were deploying in front of the Federal line.
Hardee had his own corps (temporarily led by Maj. Gen. Patrick R.
Cleburne) and Lee’s. It took until mid-afternoon to complete
preparations for an attack. The Confederates advanced about 3 p.m.,
their assault falling mostly on an entrenched salient on the east bank
of the Flint held by the Army of the Tennessee. The attack was fierce
but uncoordinated and failed to drive back the Northerners. When the
fighting ceased that night, the relative positions of the armies were
unchanged.
Meanwhile, Schofield’s Army of the Ohio had managed to break the Macon
railroad near Rough-and-Ready, a small station between Jonesborough and
East Point. This movement led Hood to conclude that Sherman’s main force
was attacking Atlanta from the south. The Confederate commander,
therefore, ordered Lee’s Corps to leave Hardee at Jonesborough and move
toward Atlanta to help defend the city. Lee began this movement at 2
a.m. the next morning.
At dawn on September 1, Sherman with almost all of his troops was south
of Atlanta. The Federals were concentrating at Jonesborough where they
had encountered the bulk of the Southern army on the preceding day and
where it seemed a decisive battle would be fought. The Confederates were
widely separated. Hood, with one corps, was in Atlanta; Hardee, with his
corps, was at Jonesborough; and Lee, with the remaining corps, was near
East Point.
At Jonesborough, Hardee had taken up a defensive position north and west
of the town. During the afternoon he was attacked by the overwhelming
force of Northerners concentrated there. Although suffering many
casualties, especially in prisoners, Hardee’s Corps fought well and held
its position until night offered a chance to fall back to Lovejoy’s
Station, 7 miles to the south.
By this time Hood had realized what was happening and knew that Atlanta
could not be held any longer. During the night of September 1-2, he
evacuated the city. Supplies that could not be carried away were burned.
Hood’s forces moved far to the east of the city to pass around
Jonesborough and join Hardee at Lovejoy’s Station. On September 2, Mayor
James M. Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to a party of Federal soldiers.
On the following day, Sherman sent a telegram to the authorities in
Washington announcing that “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won.” He added
that he would not pursue the Confederates, who were then fortified at
Lovejoy’s Station, but would return to Atlanta so that his men could
enjoy a brief respite from fighting. “Since May 5,” he wrote, “we have
been in one constant battle or skirmish, and need rest.”
A few days later another Federal wrote from his camp near Atlanta: “Here
we will rest until further orders.... The campaign that commenced May 2
is now over, and we will rest here to recruit and prepare for a new
campaign.”
Some writers have been critical of Sherman’s decision not to press after
Hood’s army. They maintain that the enemy force and not the city of
Atlanta was the true objective of the Unionists. It may have been that
Sherman’s action was determined by the question of supplies or it may
have been that his men were too exhausted for immediate operations south
of the city. At any rate, the capture of Atlanta delighted and heartened
Northerners. News of Sherman’s victory was greeted with ringing bells
and cannon fire all over the North.
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