OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Kentucky’s neutrality, which had been in question for several months, officially ends when Confederate forces enter the state and occupy the town of Columbus.
Tag: Leonidas Polk
Georgia: Johnston Compacts His Line
William T. Sherman’s Federals attempt to maneuver around the strong defenses of Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates near Marietta, Georgia. Federal forces kill a prominent Confederate commander, Johnston contracts his Confederate line, and Sherman tries moving southeast around Johnston’s left.
Georgia: From Adairsville to the Etowah
Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate Army of Tennessee establishes positions around Adairsville after retreating southward from Resaca. But he soon finds this position untenable and is forced to fall back closer to the Etowah River.
The Georgia Campaign: Final Preparations
William T. Sherman assembles three Federal armies to confront Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate army in northern Georgia. This is part of Ulysses S. Grant’s overall strategy of putting all major Federal armies in motion simultaneously.
The Fall of Meridian
William T. Sherman’s Federal Army of the Tennessee completes its destructive march through central Mississippi by capturing and destroying the last Confederate-controlled railroad center in the state.
Meridian: Federals Continue Moving East
Federal cavalry finally starts riding out of Tennessee to support William T. Sherman’s Federal army moving east through central Mississippi. Leonidas Polk prepares his Confederates for a possible retreat into Alabama.