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Resaca in Gordon County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Why Fight at Resaca?

 
 
Why Fight at Resaca? Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, April 11, 2021
1. Why Fight at Resaca? Marker
Inscription. Have you wondered why two large armies would fight a major battle at the tiny village of Resaca? What would they gain by fighting here? The simple answer is that Resaca was important because of the railroad, the river, and the terrain.

Confederate General Johnston's idea was to fall back south from position to position toward Atlanta to lure Union General Sherman into a bottleneck. Johnston hoped that Sherman would out march and out fight his supply line — an army needs massive amounts of food, ammunition, and supplies to keep fighting. As Sherman's army moved south, Confederate forces would attack his supply line to the north.

So General Johnston chose places with good terrain to provide his men with the advantage. He would build temporary fortifications like cannon emplacements and rifle pits. Then he would wait for Sherman's army to arrive. Each new battle — like the one at Resaca — would wear down Sherman's army, use massive amounts of supplies, and pull Sherman further south.

Johnston hoped when Sherman's army out marched its supply line that his smaller Confederate forces would then be able to push the Union army back north. Unfortunately, General Johnston didn't have a chance to make his plan work, and Sherman pushed all the way through Georgia to Savannah.

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left
: General William T. Sherman
Bottom left: As the battle ended at Resaca, the Confederate forces fled south across the Oostanaula River on a pontoon bridge, taking it up as the last men crossed. They then burned the railroad bridge so that Sherman could not use the railroad to bring supplies to his army as it moved south.
Bottom right: General Joseph E. Johnston
 
Erected by Georgia Department of Natural Resources - State Parks and Historic Sites.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1864.
 
Location. 34° 35.21′ N, 84° 57.313′ W. Marker is in Resaca, Georgia, in Gordon County. Marker can be reached from Resaca Lafayette Road Northwest (Georgia Route 136). Marker is at the southern Red Battlefield Trailhead on Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site's entrance road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6 GA-136, Resaca GA 30735, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Civil War Fighting Men (here, next to this marker); Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site (a few steps from this marker); Resaca's Confederate Cemetery / Resaca's Fort Wayne (a few steps
Why Fight at Resaca? Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, September 17, 2022
2. Why Fight at Resaca? Marker
from this marker); South Toward Atlanta (approx. 0.4 miles away); Dancers in the Red Clay Minuet (approx. 0.4 miles away); Logan's XV Corps to the South (approx. 0.4 miles away); How to Tell the Yankees from the Rebels! (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Resaca.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 17, 2022. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 161 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on April 14, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   2. submitted on October 14, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia.

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Mar. 29, 2024