Battle of Atlanta
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Fall of Atlanta

Battle of Atlanta, also, Fall of Atlanta. . , Battle of Atlanta , Battle of Atlanta - 22 July 1864, This land was once a battlefield. Repulsed in his 20 July attack against the Federal forces near Peachtree Creek, commander of Confederate forces General John B. Hood next tried to crush the Federals approaching Atlanta from the east. On the morning of 22 July, Federal troops occupied trenches abandoned by the Confederates the previous evening. The new Federal line ran from Copenhill (northeast of this spot, now the site of the Carter Center) southeast towards what is now Moreland Avenue, then south before turning sharply eastward at the Bald Hill (now the Moreland Avenue interchange with I-20). The new Confederate position occupied a line built the previous summer and fall under the direction of Lemuel Grant. The section in this area ran south near Randolph Street and Boulevard, just west of here. The single track Georgia Railroad, which connected Atlanta to Augusta, ran along the same course as the modern railroad., After an exhausting 15-hour overnight march from its previous lines north of the city, Lieutenant General William J. Hardee's Confederate Corps opened the Battle of Atlanta shortly after noon on 22 July. Hardee's troops first attacked the left (south) end of the Federal line, near the present intersection of Clay Street and Memorial Drive (about two miles east of here). Major General Frank Cheatham's Confederate Corps, occupying the Confederate line in this area, was to advance to help Hardee roll up the Federal position. About 3:30 p.m., Cheatham's Corps attacked, with Clayton's Division on the left (north); Brown's Division in the center, along the railroad and traversing the ground where you stand; and Stevenson's Division on the right (south). Major General William T. Sherman, overall Federal commander, was on Copenhill and observed Cheatham's advance. Sherman ordered as much artillery as possible to be assembled on the hill to fire into Cheatham's troops., Brown's Division broke through the Federal XV Corps line about where the Inman Park MARTA Station now stands, but the Confederate command structure failed to realize Brown's success, so his troops did not receive enough support to resist a Federal counterattack that pushed back Brown's and Clayton's divisions. This counterattack is the central subject of the famous Cyclorama now in Grant Park. (Grant Park is named for Lemuel Grant, the man who designed the defense line around Atlanta and who donated the land for the park after the war.), The Confederates retreated across this ground to their original position, again having been unable to turn back the Federal advance. The human toll was high on both sides: 5500 Confederates and 3700 Federals were killed, wounded, or missing. Among the Federal dead was Major General James B. McPherson, the highest ranking Federal officer to die in combat during the war., Marker content and map by: Georgia Battlefields Association www.georgiabattlefields.org , Marker design and installation by: Atlanta Creative Graphics www.atlantacreativegraphics.com , Marker funding by: Ultima Holdings, developer of Mill Town Lofts www.ultima-atl.com, Fall of Atlanta , Evacuation of Atlanta - 1 September 1864, The land on which you stand shook from explosions on the night of 1 September 1864., When Federal forces overwhelmed the Confederates at Jonesboro, about 15 miles south of here, the city of Atlanta lost its last rail connection to the rest of the Confederacy. Upon receiving word of the defeat at Jonesboro on the afternoon or 1 September, General Hood, commanding the Confederate forces, decided to evacuate the city. The troops began to leave Atlanta via the McDonough Road, but they did not have enough wagons to transport all the military stores. Rather than allow supplies to fall into Federal hands, General Hood ordered the destruction of military material, including weapons and ammunition which couldn't be carried away. Considerable damage was done to the city by the fires that were set by the Confederates., Parked on the railroad near... trains loaded with with military supplies. ...move the trains south from the city had... by Federal artillery fire near Rough and... (now just east of the airport) earlier on 1 September. One train had 81 cars, 28 of which were full of ammunition. Confederate officers ordered the train put to the torch, and the resulting explosions shook this area for hours. Windows were broken for miles around., The burning of the train is depicted in Gone with the Wind, when Rhett Butler is driving a wagon to take Scarlett, Prissy, Melanie, and baby Beau out of Atlanta., The aftermath is depicted in one of the most famous photographs of the Civil War. George Barnard was a photographer working under contract to the Federal government. He arrived in Atlanta in September while Federal troops were occupying the city. This photo was taken from just north of the railroad, facing east. It shows the remains of the train, with the cars burned to their trucks (wheels), and the chimneys of the Schofield and Markham Rolling Mill, which was completely blown down and burned. The spot on which you stand would be visible in the left background of the photo., The rolling mill was an example of Atlanta's value as a military manufacturing and supply center. In the 1880s, the site of the rolling mill became the location of the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill and today is the site of loft apartments., Marker content and map by: Georgia Battlefields Association www.georgiabattlefields.org , Marker design and installation by: Atlanta Creative Graphics www.atlantacreativegraphics.com , Marker funding by: Ultima Holdings, developer of Mill Town Lofts www.ultima-atl.com