Atlanta in the American Civil War

The city of Atlanta, Georgia, was an important rail and commercial center during the American Civil War. Although relatively small in population, the city became a critical point of contention during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864 when a powerful Union army approached from Federally-held Tennessee. The fall of Atlanta was a critical point in the Civil War, giving the North more confidence, and (along with the victories at Mobile Bay and Winchester) leading to the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln and the eventual surrender of the Confederacy.

Early war years

In the years before the Civil War, Atlanta was a relatively small city, ranking 99th in the United States in size with a population of 9,554 according to the 1860 U.S. Census. However, it was the 12th largest city in what became the Confederate States of America.

The city was a vital transportation and logistics center, with several major railroads in the area, including the Western & Atlantic Railroad, which connected the city with Chattanooga, Tennessee, 138 miles to the north. A series of roads radiated out from the city in all directions, connecting Atlanta with neighboring towns and states. Thought to be relatively safe from Union forces early in the war, Atlanta rapidly became a concentration point for the Confederate quartermasters and logistics experts, and warehouses were filled with food, forage, supplies, ammunition, clothing and other war materiel critical to the Confederate armies operating in the Western Theater.

The Atlanta Rolling Mill, established before the war, was significantly expanded and provided a major source for armor plating for Confederate Navy ironclads, including the CSS Virginia. It also refurbished railroad tracks. A large number of machine shops, foundries, and other industrial concerns were soon established in Atlanta, and the population swelled to nearly 22,000 as workers arrived for these new factories and warehouses.

A number of newspapers flourished in Atlanta during the Civil War. Among the more prominent ones were the "Atlanta Southern Confederacy" and the "Daily Intelligencer", which was moved to Macon during the Union occupation in 1864. It was the only Atlanta paper to survive the war and resume publication after the hostilities.

Atlanta as a target

Concerned after the Vicksburg Campaign that Atlanta would be a logical target for future Union Army attacks, the Confederate Chief of the Engineer Bureau, Jeremy F. Gilmer, contacted Atlanta businessman and entrepreneur Lemuel P. Grant and asked him to survey possible enemy crossings of the Chattahoochee River, a broad waterway that offered some protection from an approach from the north. Grant soon complied. After a thorough investigation and survey, Grant explained to Gilmer that fortifying Atlanta would be as difficult as that of Richmond, Virginia, due to the many possible approaches an enemy army could take. However, Gilmer gave him the approval to develop a plan to ring the city with forts and earthworks along all the key approaches to Atlanta.

Grant planned a series of 17 redoubts forming a 10-mile (16 km) circle over a mile (1.6 km) out from the center of town. These would be interlinked with a series of earthworks and trenches, along with rows of abatis and other imprediments to enemy troops. Construction on the extensive defensive works began in August 1863. They were bounded on the north on high ground (the present location of the Fox Theatre), the west by Ashby Street, the south by McDonough Drive, and the east by what is today known as Grant Park. Gilmer inspected the completed work in December 1863 and gave his approval. Because of how the subsequent Atlanta Campaign unfolded, much of these fortifications were never really put to the test.

The fall of Atlanta

In 1864, the city, as feared by Gilmer, did indeed become the target of a major Union invasion (the subject of the 1939 film "Gone with the Wind"). The area now covered by metropolitan Atlanta was the scene of several fiercely contested battles, including the Battle of Peachtree Creek, the Battle of Atlanta, and the Battle of Ezra Church. On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta, after a four-month siege mounted by Union General William Sherman and ordered all public buildings and possible Union assets destroyed.

On September 2, a committee of Mayor James Calhoun and Union-leaning citizens William Markham, Jonathan Norcross, and Edward Rawson met a captain on the staff of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum and surrendered the city. [ [http://www.artery.org/UpperArtery/CivilWar/FMGarrettsSurrender.html Upper Marietta Street Artery website] ] Sherman sent a telegram to Washington reading, "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won" and he established his headquarters there on September 7, where he stayed for two months. That same day, Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate. [ [http://www.civilwarhome.com/atlantaevacuation.htm Correspondence Pertaining to Sherman's Evacuation of Atlanta] reproduced at civilwarhome.com.] His forces occupied the city for several months, and he then ordered Atlanta burned to the ground on November 11 in preparation for his punitive march south. After a plea by Father Thomas O'Reilly of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Sherman did not burn the city's churches or hospitals. However, the remaining war resources were then destroyed in the aftermath and in Sherman's March to the Sea. As General Sherman departed Atlanta at 7:00 a.m. on November 15 with the bulk of his army, he noted his handiwork:

Aftermath

The fall of Atlanta was especially noteworthy for its political ramifications. Former Union General George B. McClellan was running against President Lincoln on a peace platform in the 1864 election. Part of the Democratic platform called for a truce with the Confederates. Had this truce been achieved, it is highly unlikely that the war could ever have been restarted. However, the capture of Atlanta and Hood's burning of many military facilities as he evacuated were extensively covered by Northern newspapers, and significantly boosted Northern morale. Lincoln was re-elected by a comfortable margin.

Federal soldiers continued to occupy Atlanta for the rest of the war. With the Confederacy's dwindling resources and military strength, the Confederate army was never in a position to retake the city. Periodic cavalry raids continued on Union supply lines in the general vicinity for some time.

Following the war, the Federal troops remained in Atlanta to help enforce the provisions of Reconstruction.

References

External links

* [http://www.atlanta.net/visitors/seedo/civilWar2.aspx Driving tour of modern Atlanta's Civil War sites and places]
* [http://www.webguide.com/cyclorama.html Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum]
* [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/civilwar.htm University of Georgia website for Georgia in the Civil War]
* [http://www.kudcom.com/www/cw.html Civil War Sites in Georgia]