Prelude to Johnsonville

Prelude to Johnsonville. . In early March 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman took command of the Union armies in the war's Western Theater. His immediate strategy was to move from his base in Chattanooga toward Atlanta, capture the city's Confederate supply depot, and in the process destroy the Army of Tennessee led by Gen Joseph E. Johnston. Fighting à long series of hotly contested battles in northern Georgia throughout the summer, Johnston's defensive strategy to stop Sherman's advance failed and the Confederate commander was replaced by Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood. Hood proved to be as ineffective as Johnston and abandoned Atlanta on September 2, 1864 to the Union's Army of the Cumberland. , Sherman quickly turned his attention to the coast. On November 15, he launched his Savannah Campaign-the "March to the Sea." After a failed attempt to draw Sherman out of Georgia, Hood moved much of his army into Alabama, leaving only a token force to slow Sherman. His objective was to recapture Nashville and in the process cut Sherman's supply line from the Tennessee capitol. As part of Hood's campaign, Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was ordered to destroy Johnsonville, a major Union supply depot on the Tennessee River., The Ft. Heiman Campaign , On October 16th Forrest left Corinth, Mississippi, bound for the abandoned Ft. Heiman located on the west bank of the Tennessee River just across the Kentucky state line. He reached Jackson, Tennessee, on October 20th where he rendezvoused with Brig. Gen. James Chalmers arriving from Memphis. Forrest continued north. Within the week Confederate artillery was placed at key locations below Fort Heiman and Paris Landing, Tennessee. Over the next three days Forrest engaged two Union gunboats, capturing one., October 29 , 1 Confederate cavalry capture the steamer Mazeppa., October 30 , The steamer Anna is heavily damaged, but escapes toward Paducah. 2 The gunboat Undine at Big Sandy Island hears firing and moves downstream. After engaging rebel guns at Paris Landing, the Undine and Union transport ships Venus and Cheeseman are trapped. 3 The Confederates capture all three boats. 4 The gunboat Tawah steams downstream to engage, but withdraws due to Confederate sharpshooters., October 31 , Confederates repair the Undine and Venus. The Cheeseman is heavily damaged and destroyed., Captions , Upper Left: Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest , Upper Right: Confederate troops abandoned Ft. Heiman in February 1862 , Ft. Donelson National Battlefield