The Atlanta Campaign The March to the Sea

Many people mistakenly combine and intermingle the events of these two distinct campaigns. Their only similarity is that they were fought in Georgia. The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles whose stated intent was to destroy the Army of Tennessee. The March to the Sea was a 6 week romp beginning in Kingston, Georgia in November, 1864. It ended east of Fort McAllister in December, 1864.

In the spring of 1864 William Tecumseh Sherman was placed in charge of the Military Division of the Mississippi comprised of George H. Thomas' Army of the Cumberland, James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee, and John Schofield's Army of the Ohio, a total of about 100,000 men. Sherman's superior numbers, well fed and equipped, faced a Confederate force of 65,000 men whose biggest problems were getting blankets, shoes and small arms. In December, 1863, Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of the Army of Tennessee when Braxton Bragg resigned following the defeat of his forces at Chattanooga. The stage was set for what is known as the Atlanta Campaign.

During the winter of 1863-64 operations in the west had not ceased. In late February Sherman marched on Meridian, Alabama to attack Leonidas Polk. Thomas feinted against the Rebel fortifications in Dalton from his base at Ringgold to prevent Johnston from reinforcing Polk. He was easily repulsed. All during the winter, preparations continued for the campaign coming in the spring. "Uncle Billy" ordered his soldiers trained not only in military tactics but rail work as well, since he realized the Western and Atlantic would be his lifeline, and any Rebel damage would have to be quickly repaired.

General Ulysses S. Grant told Sherman that his mission was "...inflicting all the damage you can against their War resources." The destruction of the Southern war machine played a key role in Lincoln's "divide and conquer" strategy. Atlanta lay as Sherman's prize with the Appalachian Mountains and the Confederate Army as its protector.

Ken Burns' Civil War

The Atlanta Campaign
Prelude
Opening Curtain
Sherman leaves his lifeline
A formidible foe
The battles for Atlanta
Chronology

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