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Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. The "Atlanta campaign" is the name given to more than 60 military operations that took place in north Georgia during the Civil War in the spring and summer of 1864 . Kennesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, Allatoona
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Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign • The "Atlanta campaign" is the name given to more than 60 military operations that took place in north Georgia during the Civil War in the spring and summer of 1864. • Kennesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, Allatoona • Union General William T. Sherman's goal would be Atlanta. As a pivotal industrial and railroad center, it was key to the war's outcome. • Sherman = 112,000 troops AGAINST Conf. General Joseph E. Johnston = 60,000 and not enough ammunition
Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign • Johnston (CSA) kept retreating and was replaced with John Bell Hood who was told to attack Sherman (USA) head on. • In July, 1864, Hood attacked and lost 11,000 men in 2 days of fighting. Had to retreat into Atlanta where the Battle of Atlanta happened on July 22. • Fighting in the city continues for 2 months and Hood retreats. The Union takes control of Atlanta (its railroads and factories), and much of the city is burned to the ground by soldiers. • Lincoln is sure to get re-elected with capture of Atlanta!
Concerning his “March to the Sea”, General William T. Sherman reportedly stated, “If the people (of Georgia) raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is hell and not popularity seeking.” What do you think his statement means?
Sherman’s March to the Sea • “War is hell and not popularity seeking” ~ Sherman on war in GA • Sherman and his men leave Atlanta Nov. 16, 1864 for Savannah, GA. • March takes about 2 months • Marched a path of men 60 miles wide and destroyed anything of war-making potential – military or personal. • Farms, homes, bridges, railroads, factories, mills, and cotton storehouses
Sherman’s March to the Sea • Damages = $100 million dollars. • Dec. 22, 1864 – Sav. given as X-mas gift to Lincoln w/ guns ,ammo., and cotton • Sherman did not burn Savannah • When Sherman takes over Savannah he cuts off Robert E. Lee from supplies, and this ends the war in GA. Only 4 months more until Confederacy surrenders.
Andersonville • A Confederate prison for captured Union soldiers • Located on purpose in a remote, isolated area in SW Georgia • Built by black slaves, it opens in Feb. 1864 (little more than a year before war ends) • The camp held the largest prison population of its time, with numbers that would have made it the fifth-largest city in the Confederacy.
Map: Location of AndersonvillePrison McCleskey (Andersonville National Historic Site, National Park Service)
Andersonville • Approximately 45,000 prisoners would enter Andersonville's gates during its 14-month existence. • Nearly 13,000 died due to a lack of sanitation, overcrowding, starvation/malnutrition, and disease. • Confederate Captain Henry Wirz, who was in charge of the camp, is tried for war crimes after the war and is executed. Wirz tried relentlessly to get additional food, medicine, supplies, and help to improve conditions at the camp, but Confederate govt. didn’t have supplies to send.
