As part of Major-General William T. Sherman’s three Federal armies made their way across the Chattahoochee River, Sherman directed them to rest, “and accordingly we took a short spell.” Sherman needed not only to regroup, but to find the Confederate Army of Tennessee and assess its defenses.
On July 11, Sherman dispatched cavalry under Major-General George Stoneman to wreck railroads and deceive the Confederates into thinking that the main Federal force would cross the Chattahoochee below Atlanta. To help with the deception:
- Two corps from Major-General James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee would cross above Atlanta and attack the Georgia Railroad.
- One of McPherson’s corps would remain to the right of Major-General George H. Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland to support Stoneman.
- Major-General John Schofield’s Army of the Ohio would distract the Confederates in their front.
Sherman telegraphed Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck on the 13th:
“All is well. I have now accumulated stores at Allatoona and Marietta, both fortified and garrisoned points. Have also three places at which to cross the Chattahoochee in our possession, and only await General Stoneman’s return from a trip down the river, to cross the army in force and move on Atlanta. Stoneman is now out two days, and had orders to be back on the fourth or fifth day at furthest.”
A massive thunderstorm took place on the night of the 14th, which included strong winds, pouring rain, and lightning so loud and close that it killed a handful of Federal troops. The next day, Stoneman returned to the main body, and Sherman prepared to cross the Chattahoochee as McPherson conducted an enveloping movement around the north side of Atlanta toward Decatur. The Confederates continued strengthening their defenses near the Chattahoochee, from south of Peachtree Creek to the Atlanta & Decatur Railroad. General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding the Confederate army, planned to attack when Sherman’s two flanks separated from the center.
On the 16th, Sherman received word from General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant that the Confederates may be sending as many as 25,000 troops from Virginia to reinforce Johnston. Sherman passed this on to McPherson and Thomas, adding, “It behooves us, therefore, to hurry.” The advance was to begin the next day, with McPherson threatening the railroad near Decatur while Thomas and Schofield moved directly toward Atlanta.
The Federal movement began on the 17th. Sherman’s three armies crossed the Chattahoochee with Schofield’s army in the center. Thomas’s army crossed on pontoon bridges, Schofield moved toward Cross Keys, and McPherson moved toward Stone Mountain. There was no opposition except by enemy cavalry; the Federals were now within eight miles of Atlanta. That morning, Johnston learned that the entire Federal force had crossed the river, apparently to move on Atlanta from the north and east.
Concerned that Thomas’s army may be moving too slow, Sherman wrote him, “Feel down strong to Peach Tree and see what is there. A vigorous demonstration should be made, and caution your commanders not to exhibit any of the signs of a halt or pause.” That night, Sherman learned that Schofield and McPherson had reached their objectives and would begin wrecking the Georgia Railroad at daybreak.
The next morning, Sherman’s right-wheel movement continued. McPherson continued moving west through Decatur toward Atlanta, wrecking the Georgia Railroad as he went. Schofield closed in to put his right flank in contact with McPherson’s left. Thomas moved up to Peachtree Creek. Sherman wrote McPherson, “Now we must look after Joe Johnston.”
Later that morning, Sherman was discussing strategy with Thomas when a spy showed them an Atlanta newspaper reporting that Johnston had been replaced as Confederate army commander by General John Bell Hood. According to Sherman:
“I immediately inquired of General Schofield, who was his classmate at West Point, about Hood, as to his general character, etc., and learned that he was bold even to rashness, and courageous in the extreme; I inferred that the change of commanders meant ‘fight.’ Notice of this important change was at once sent to all parts of the army, and every division commander was cautioned to be always prepared for battle in any shape. This was just what we wanted, viz., to fight in open ground, on any thing like equal terms, instead of being forced to run up against prepared intrenchments; but, at the same time, the enemy having Atlanta behind him, could choose the time and place of attack, and could at pleasure mass a superior force on our weakest points. Therefore, we had to be constantly ready for sallies.”
Meanwhile, the Atlanta city council adjourned as the Federals approached. Sherman directed Thomas to “press down from the north on Atlanta,” crossing Peachtree Creek and driving off the Confederates in the area. Schofield was to advance on Decatur (northeast of Atlanta) from the north, wrecking railroad track and telegraph wires along the way. McPherson was to continue his advance on Decatur from the east, aiding Schofield if needed. Sherman instructed:
“Otherwise keep every man of his (McPherson’s) command at work in destroying the railroad by tearing up track, burning the ties and iron, and twisting the bars when hot. Officers should be instructed that bar simply bent may be used again, but if when red hot they are twisted out of light they cannot be used again. Pile the ties into shape for a bonfire, put the rails across, and when red hot in the middle, let a man at each end twist the bar so that its surface become spiral.”
By the 19th, two Confederate corps under Lieutenant-Generals William Hardee and Alexander P. Stewart defended Peachtree Creek, north of Atlanta. Hood’s former corps, now led by Major-General Benjamin F. Cheatham, guarded Atlanta to the east.
The Federals began their advance, and, Sherman later wrote, “meeting such feeble resistance that I really thought the enemy intended to evacuate the place… There was quite a gap between Thomas and Schofield, which I endeavored to close by drawing two of (Major-General Oliver O.) Howard’s divisions nearer Schofield.” By day’s end all three Federal armies were within support of each other. Sherman ordered them to advance next morning to within cannon range of Atlanta and build defenses. But if the Confederates moved to attack, “Each army commander will accept battle on anything like fair terms.”
Hood received word that Thomas was crossing Peachtree Creek, north of Atlanta, while the armies of Schofield and McPherson were at least two miles to Thomas’s left (east). Johnston had originally planned to attack the Federals if a portion of their force became isolated. Hood decided to adopt this strategy and attack Thomas’s isolated army before it could cross the creek and build defenses. That night, Hood gathered his commanders at his Whitehall Street headquarters in Atlanta and explained his plan:
- Hardee and Stewart would attack Thomas’s army and drive it west, away from both Atlanta and the other two Federal armies.
- Cheatham’s corps, along with Confederate cavalry and Georgia militia, would demonstrate against McPherson and Schofield to prevent them from helping Thomas.
- After Hardee and Stewart defeated Thomas, they would turn right (east) to join with Cheatham in defeating McPherson and Schofield.
Hood demanded that the attacks be “bold and persistent,” and the defensive works that the Federals were building were to be seized at the “point of the bayonet.” For Hood to succeed, time was of the essence. However, instead of scheduling the attack to begin at dawn, he set it for 1 p.m. And the armies of Schofield and McPherson were not as far from Thomas as originally reported.
Bibliography
- Bailey, Ronald H., The Battles for Atlanta: Sherman Moves East. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983.
- Foote, Shelby, The Civil War, A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox. New York: Vintage Civil War Library, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Kindle Edition), 2011.
- Long, E.B. with Long, Barbara, The Civil War Day by Day. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971.
- Sherman, William T., Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, Vol. I. New York: D. Appleton and Co. (Kindle Edition), 1889.
- Woodworth, Steven E., Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865. New York: Vintage Civil War Library, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, 2005.