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In this picture General Hood is displayed, Hood was known as the General who oversaw the confederate Army during the Battle of Atlanta.

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1 photographic print. | Portrait of General John Bell Hood.

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How Sherman's veterans took Atlanta. Air- Lanigan's ball. ... No. 300 North 20th Street, Philadelphia. [c. 1864]

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Song Sheet. print | 1 score | In English. (Language). Print (Form).

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Sherman's men in Confederate Fort East of Atlanta

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Sherman's men in Confederate Fort East of Atlanta

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The image above is a photo taken when federalists were present in a Confederate Fort.

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Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman's men in Confederate fort east of Atlanta

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Although the text is displaced in the bottom half above the text is an image displaying how Sherman was able to maneuver, taking back Atlanta almost as if he was playing music.

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How Sherman's veterans took Atlanta. Air- Lanigan's ball. ... No. 300 North 20th Street, Philadelphia. [c. 1864]

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Song Sheet. print | 1 score | In English. (Language). Print (Form).

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The image above displays Sherman’s men destroying a railroad in Atlanta in order to attempt to weaken the Confederates.

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Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman's men destroying railroad

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1 negative (2 plates) : glass, stereograph, wet collodion.

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Library Of Photos From the Battle Of Atlanta

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Library Of Photos From the Battle Of Atlanta

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The Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and, in some cases, other units of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship.

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Above is a picture of Sherman on horseback riding in Atlanta Georgia.

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[Atlanta, Ga. Gen. William T. Sherman on horseback at Federal Fort No. 7]

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2 negatives (3 plates) : glass, stereograph, wet collodion. | Photograph of the War in the West. These photographs are of Sherman in Atlanta, September-November, 1864. After three and a half months of incessant maneuvering and much hard fighting, Sherman forced Hood to abandon the munitions center of the Confederacy.

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A Letter That Major Taylor Wrote to His Wife

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A Letter That Major Taylor Wrote to His Wife

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Major Thomas T. Taylor from Georgetown, Ohio Wrote a letter to his wife, Netta 4 days after the Battle of Atlanta that described what events took place when he and the rest of Sherman’s Army moved against Atlanta. The purpose for this letter was to describe his experience during the Battle of Atlanta to his wife and display how he was able to go around the confederate “skirmishers”. The letter possesses several pieces of information about the Battle of Atlanta and the aftermath of the Battle. This information is given in a friendly but formal tone. This could be because he was addressing his wife however he was a lawyer and newspaper editor therefore he was very well spoken and grammatically correct for the time period. To a historian looking at the larger view of the Civil War this letter could be considered valuable when addressing and looking over different federalist war tactics used because the letter goes into depth about the different “fights” as Taylor describes. This letter does have limitations because it is dramatized and in the letter historians can only view Taylor’s Point of View.

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Eyewitness to the Battle of Atlanta
In late July 1864, Major General William T. Sherman's Union army closed in on General John B. Hood's Confederate army defending Atlanta. On July 20 Hood lashed out against the Union right wing north of the city. Repulsed but undaunted, Hood turned to strike the Federal left wing, Major General James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee, east of Atlanta. He deployed Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham's corps northeast of the city and sent Lieutenant General William J. Hardee's corps around McPherson's left flank with orders to crush the Army of the Tennessee on the morning of July 22. Both corps were then to assail the rest of Sherman's host. Among the blue-clad soldiers moving against Atlanta was Major Thomas T. Taylor of Georgetown, Ohio. Twenty-seven years old and dashingly handsome, Taylor was a lawyer and sometime newspaper editor who had been with the 47th Ohio since the fall of 1861. During the opening phase of the Atlanta Campaign, Taylor had remained with his regiment, part of Major General John A. Logan's XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee. In mid-May he had been placed in command of Brigadier General Morgan Smith's divisional skirmishers, 15 companies in all. By July 22 he was highly adept in skirmish tactics, as will be seen in the following passage from the letter he wrote four days later to his wife, Netta, describing what he saw, experienced, and did during the Battle of Atlanta, 'the most eventful day of this campaign.' Taylor's letters have been lightly edited for clarity.
An the morning as usual at daylight I went down to the skirmish line to learn the condition of things. Soon Gen'l Morgan L. Smith sent an order to move forward my line and feel the enemy. I pushed forward and soon began driving his [the enemy's skirmish] line. At his skirmish pits I redressed it [Taylor's own line] and advanced on his main works and soon drove his skirmishers in, but without giving them time to form I hurried forward with a shout and a volley which set the rebels skedaddling and a regiment of reserves in full and rapid retreat. In the main [out-lying] works I again dressed the line and pursued them, capturing a few prisoners and two lines of skirmish pits and drove them square into their [main] works and occupied with my line a portion of the corporation of Atlanta, not more than 600 yards from their forts. Here they served us with 'minnies' [mini bullets], case and solid shot and shells. I soon discovered where their skirmish pits were and made my line crawl forward in some places within 20 yards of them and build rail barricades. I found one set [of his own skirmishers] timid and awkward and I had to crawl up to a point where I wished a post, show them the bearings and range and help them build it ... .

Their skirmishers were kept so close [to the ground] that I had only two wounded by musket balls. One solid shot knocked down a rail pile and buried the men under it. A Captain thought destruction had come and wished to retire but I make it a point never to give up my ground if my flanks are protected [and] so they rebuilt it. I sent back for shovels to dig good pits but our Division General was not at liberty to send them to us. Our men in authority appeared to think the enemy were evacuating Atlanta because they were moving columns to the left. About 9 or 10 a.m. Logan's Senior Aide came out and I showed him how earnestly they [the Confederates] were working in town upon their fortifications and asked if it looked like an evacuation. He said no. I then asked him for tools, but they came not. Our Commanders appeared infatuated with the thought of evacuation of Atlanta.

After a time two regiments of infantry and a section of artillery were sent out as a second reserve. I laid down and got a good nap and awoke about 121/2 m. Just after I got up Lieut. [Adolph] Ahlers [of the 47th Ohio] and two men were wounded near me and I was struck with dirt, bark or something and Ahlers reported me wounded. My negro went to the rear with the horses, but came back. About 1 p.m. I moved to a high point in the line and sat down. Firing soon commenced and became very heavy on the extreme left and in the rear ... .

Oh! how anxiously I listened and waited, how anxious for the cheers! The enemy cheered before [his] charges, our men cheered after repulsing [them]. For two hours they appeared to drive our line back until it was at almost right angles with my [the XV Corps'] line. Can you imagine how my heart throbbed, every pulsation grew more rapid. There I sat under a big oak tree...only 600 yards from the main line of [enemy] works, from which solid shot was being thrown and case & shells, too, with fearful rapidity at and over us. I was anxious not from fear, but dread that we might lose our advantage, the ground we had gained and again be compelled to retake it by charges. At three o'clock the tide of war seemed rolling back. I could not mistake those cheers and that firing-the enemy at last were checked and being driven oh, how rapidly. At 4 p.m. we had regained our old lines and the fighting on the left had subsided like a fierce rain & wind storm, [and] only gusts and sobs sounded in the ear.

My attention was called from this by a Captain saying: 'Look, Major, look!' What a grand sight-I was almost entranced by it. The enemy's [Major General Thomas C.] Hindman's Division of 25 regiments [commanded by Maj. Gen. John C. Brown] were moving out of the works and deploying in line of battle. How well they moved, how perfectly and how grandly did the first line advance with the beautiful 'battle flags' waving in the breeze [and] not an unsteady step nor a waver was perceptible in it. Anon they moved by the right flank, then halted and fronted and a second line was formed. I saw them complete it and an Officer rode a short distance from us to advance their skirmish line & [I] ordered several of the men to shoot him but they failed. I then saw the 4th Div [skirmish] line [to the left] break and run, called my line to attention and remained until I saw their line of battle approach within 250 yards of us.

By the retreat of the 4th Div. [skirmishers], my left was exposed and I marched back to my first reserve. Here I shall tell you that as soon as I saw the 2nd [Confederate battle] line form and the advance toward us begin, I sent back word. At the reserve we halted and again opened [fire] on the enemy, drove in his skirmishers and, when the line flanked us on the left and was within about fifty yards [I] rallied on the 2nd reserve. Here we made a fine little fight and broke their [skirmish] lines but being outflanked we were compelled to fall back. In making this distance part of the time I moved leisurely and part lively-picked up a canteen of coffee and moved for the [Union] works when some miserable [Southern] traitor with murder stamped on his countenance deliberately shot at me. But I was a little too far away & his bullet almost spent struck me a glancing blow in the muscles of my left thigh as I was lifting my leg to run. I knew if I was hurt it would bleed in my boot so I went on as rapidly as I could as other bullets were dropping too close to make it at all pleasant.

The rebels reformed and advanced upon our main line in three columns. Two columns moved up on our right...and were both after a heavy fire severely repulsed and took refuge behind some outbuildings and a large house where they reformed. About twenty yards from our works on the left of the rail and wagon roads is a ravine which at the railroad was so thick [with] undergrowth as to completely screen as well as protect an advancing column. The railway through our lines is built in a cut about 15 feet deep. On the left of the railway was a section of artillery occupying three rods [about 50 feet]. [The] width of cut at top [is] 3 rods [and] between cut & wagon road on right of railroad is a space four rods wide [65 feet], protected by a log earthwork terminating a few feet from the railway. The wagon road is almost two rods [33 feet] wide and on the right of this road was a section of artillery [two cannons] occupying about three rods more and all of this space of 15 rods had only one company in position [and only] one platoon [of] 16 men...was between the [artillery] section in the space between the wagon and rail roads. The cut was open and clear, nowhere was it occupied by troops nor blockaded, the wagon road was likewise open and unoccupied by works or troops. When Col. [Wells S.] Jones, 53rd Ohio, came for the reserve, he suggested to Genl's Smith & [Brigadier General John] Lightburn the propriety of burning said outbuildings & placing his regiment in rear of this artillery to support it and shut the gaps, yet they disdained the proffer and they were not filled.

Concealed by the dense smoke of the artillery the first we saw of the third [enemy] column it was rushing in the gap in the wagon road around the low works between the rail & wagon roads and over the parapet at the guns. Every one was surprised but none thought of moving, the platoon between the guns fired and fought with bayonets & butts of their muskets, the other platoon lying down in the rear of it could not fire without killing their comrades and artillerists in their front. Some of the men [in the platoon] were bleeding at the ears and nose from the concussion, yet fought until all were killed, wounded and captured except four.

I started across the road to move the other platoon to make it effective when I happened to look at the upper end of the cut and saw a column of rebels deploying from it. This 2nd [Union] platoon was shut in by a line of fire on every side and to avoid capture retired. Simultaneously the whole line began to fall back. Gen'l Smith moved over to the right & Lightburn went off on a run. I heard no order given and after vainly trying to rally the men dashed into the woods, where on a small ridge I halted a few men and again tried to form [a line]. Then, hearing someone shouting halt, I went to the road supposing it was one of our officers trying to form the line. I came within five feet of a rebel officer on a white horse with a flag in his hand and a revolver in the other. I took this in at a glance, he said 'Halt! we'll treat you like men.' I said, 'Hell, stranger, this is no place for me to halt!' and went for the bushes. I told a man at my elbow to shoot him. When I got out of his reach I went slow and got some men of the 47th to go down and run off two caissons which the artillery had abandoned. I then went down to the works. Lt. Col. Wallace & Capt. [Hananiah D.] Pugh [of the 47th Ohio] while striving vainly to form a line were captured, [Capt. Charles] Haltentof wounded and Adjt. [John W.] Duecherman wounded. Only four officers [of the 47th Ohio] were left.

I was relieved as Div. Picket Officer to take command of the regiment and reformed it very quickly and then was ordered forward and marched up the road some distance by the flank ... . I [then] was ordered into line [and] to fix bayonets and to retake the works [with] one small company and [some men] from other regiments [who] joined me ... . I advanced on the 'double quick' and got within a few feet of the works, when such was the hail storm of fire and bullets which swept over us that both flag staffs were shot off, the regiment's standard was torn from the staff by the fragment of a shell, one color bearer killed, and a color corporal wounded, [and] others as a matter of course fell. Finding I was completely flanked [I] withdrew to avoid capture.

On account of an entanglement and the dense undergrowth in my rear, the command became separated. Meeting a line upon a ridge in the rear advancing I halted and with them made a second assault. A portion of the regiment under Capt. [Joseph L.] Pinkerton went to the right of the railroad. I kept on the left, we reached the point I reached in the first assault but were again compelled to fall back. This time we went to an open field when reforming as best we could, [then] again advanced. Upon reaching the crest of the first ridge the men halted and laid down to avoid the sheet of bullets which swept over ... . I pushed through the line, dashed ahead, shouting, cheering and exhorting [but] only one man followed. I went fifty yards in this manner and finally halted and gave three lusty cheers, [then] without waiting I pushed on and in a moment had the pleasure to see that the line was hurrying [forward]. I soon struck another line [of Federal troops] on the left which had halted. I sent Capt. Pinkerton & Lieut. [William] Brachman with a portion of the regiment again on the right, while I with the rest of it and the remainder of [the men from other regiments] pushed up immediately on the left, pouring a continuous and deadly fire upon the enemy, driving them from their works and recapturing a section of artillery upon the left of the railway which the [Rebels] had turned upon us ... .

Lightburn said we had disgraced ourselves. I told him 'that was enough of that! I would show him whether we had.' I had no idea that I had such determination, such stubbornness or strength. I was almost frantic, yet perfectly sane-directed the entire line. All the officers obeyed me and ran to me for advice and directions. I saw men perform prodigies, display the most unparalleled valor. One man, Joseph Bedol [Bedall] of Co. 'D', was surrounded and knocked by rebels, he came to, jumped up & wounded them and knocked a fourth down with his fist and escaped.

Dear, I would not write this to any other one as it seems egotistical, but is nevertheless true. The men of the Division give me credit for much more.
Following the Battle of Atlanta Sherman moved the Army of the Tennessee west of the city for the purpose of cutting the railroad to Macon, Hood's sole remaining supply line. Hood countered by sending Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee's corps to block this thrust while another corps under Lieutenant General A.P. Stewart swung around the Union right flank. Before Stewart could do this, Lee attacked on the morning of July 28, bringing on the Battle of Ezra Church. Two days later Taylor described to his wife what ensued:
Well dear, on the 28th of July we had another big fight ... . After moving forward and occupying a part of the ridge, the enemy were discovered moving around the right. To check this I was ordered over on the right and deployed. This extension of the line only made them move further to the right but we dashed over an open field and [took up a] position on a road. Presently I saw a column of the enemy move from a wood a short distance in front, [then] pass up a ravine near my left and between the 53rd Ohio and the 47th. To prevent them from cutting me off, I moved out of the road & half way across the field behind the crest [of the ridge]. This movement thwarted their designs and after a heavy fire the column retired to the woods [beyond the ridge].

Again I advanced but shortened my line by moving obliquely to the left and connecting with the 53rd. We first took position about 10 a.m. and from that time had very lively work. After advancing to the fence [along the Lick Skillet Road] I placed men on posts of observation who discovered the enemy still moving to the right and likewise massing in our front. Of this I sent word to the Division Commander who said 'Now I know it is so when Major Taylor sends word.' After a short time the enemy made his appearance, this time moving from the woods, in line of battle and then moving by the flank in three or four columns. We held our position, firing heavily and doing much execution but finding them too heavy to check we retired to the crest of the hill or ridge before mentioned where we made a stubborn stand from which we were driven by another forward movement of the enemy. This time they were moving by right of Co[mpanies] to the front, in columns of regiments, followed by a line of battle with bayonets fixed. This meant work and again we were compelled to retire. In the meantime we had been reinforced by one regiment [the 54th Ohio] but it was impossible to withstand this avalanche of bayonets and again we retired.

I halted behind a fence in the skirt of the woods and gave one shot [volley]. [Then] Col. [name illegible] hollored to look out or I would be cut off as they [the Confederates] were rushing up a hollow passing in our rear. At the same time I received notice from the right and beheld a [Confederate] column...both on the left and right, the enemy converging [and] leaving us a gap only about two or three hundred yards in width to escape through. All three regiments hurried through this and escaped the enemy [by] only about 50 yards ... .

Our [new] line was formed upon [a ridge] at least half a mile from the line [just abandoned] and as it afterwards turned out this move of ours saved the day. Immediately upon gaining this ridge we reformed...as best we could behind the yard and garden fences and fought the enemy as they charged our position. We maintained our ground until they moved right up to us and pressed us over the hill by superiority of numbers but we were not yet defeated ... . Every officer and man in the Division knows me and will fight under my orders, therefore, I began rallying men and officers and started after a gallant Captain of the 53rd Ohio up the hill, leading a varied lot of men and shouting and cheering to the best of my ability and having every one do likewise ... .

We took possession of the hill and I got a color bearer of the 54th & one of [the] 53rd Ohio and rushed to the garden fence through a perfect storm of bullets and exhorted but only three or four ventured to follow, as the rebels, deeply chagrined to think so small a force had made them yield such a position gave us volley after volley which made us move from the garden fence to a less exposed position ... .

We then had a little independent fight of our own-four regiments under Col. Jones, 53rd Ohio. [The fourth regiment was the 37th Ohio]. He arranged our lines so as to give us complete cross fire over every part of the ground in our front. This we had to do as our four regiments were compelled to hold over a mile of space and we had many gaps and this was the only way by which we could defend them, [because] across these gaps we had only small skirmish lines. This occurred about noon [according to Confederate reports it was much later than that]. After this time the enemy made four successive assaults; my men fought from open ground, almost as clear as our yard except [for] a few brush [heaps] which I [had] piled up in front of the lines to offer some slight obstacle to their approach ... .

At half past three we were relieved by the 81st Ohio and at 5 p.m. again went on duty. We lost ten wounded and three captured. The Commander of the III Division [Harrow's] thanked me and said he believed my fire had saved him twice.

I never saw more stubborn assaults & more bloody repulses. Three times they were compelled to go back and leave colors standing on the field. We soon learned that the same Division [Brown's] was in our front that charged us a few days ago and we did our best to repay them for the heavy loss which was inflicted upon us by them on that occasion. How well we accomplished this you can judge when I tell you they left 300 dead in our front, [and] altogether we buried 900 of them in front of the 15th A.C. after they had been most of the night engaged in removing their killed and wounded ... .

The 53rd & 47th Ohio brought on the whole affair. [If] I can, the General [Smith] said, be recommended for Colonel, he will do so and he says the Generals above him will take pleasure in recommending me ... .A rebel officer, a prisoner taken on the 28th inst. said 'Hood has about enough [men] left to make two more killings.' Co. 'F' [Taylor's former company] had William Weber [from Georgetown] slightly wounded by an explosion of his load by ramming. I can't give you any more particulars. Wait until I get home.
Taylor next fought in the Battle of Jonesboro (August 31-September 1), which resulted in Hood evacuating Atlanta. Starting on November 15 Taylor participated in Sherman's March to the Sea until December 13, when during the storming of Fort McAllister outside of Savannah a bullet sliced off his right index finger. This ended his combat career but not his wartime letters to his wife, which by the time he was mustered out in July 1865 totaled nearly 300.
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Facts about The Battle Of Atlanta, an 1864 Civil War Battle of the American Civil War Battle Of Atlanta Facts Location Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia

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1 photographic print. | Portrait of General John Bell Hood.

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Eyewitness to the Battle of Atlanta
In late July 1864, Major General William T. Sherman's Union army closed in on General John B. Hood's Confederate army defending Atlanta. On July 20 Hood lashed out against the Union right wing north of the city. Repulsed but undaunted, Hood turned to strike the Federal left wing, Major General James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee, east of Atlanta. He deployed Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham's corps northeast of the city and sent Lieutenant General William J. Hardee's corps around McPherson's left flank with orders to crush the Army of the Tennessee on the morning of July 22. Both corps were then to assail the rest of Sherman's host. Among the blue-clad soldiers moving against Atlanta was Major Thomas T. Taylor of Georgetown, Ohio. Twenty-seven years old and dashingly handsome, Taylor was a lawyer and sometime newspaper editor who had been with the 47th Ohio since the fall of 1861. During the opening phase of the Atlanta Campaign, Taylor had remained with his regiment, part of Major General John A. Logan's XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee. In mid-May he had been placed in command of Brigadier General Morgan Smith's divisional skirmishers, 15 companies in all. By July 22 he was highly adept in skirmish tactics, as will be seen in the following passage from the letter he wrote four days later to his wife, Netta, describing what he saw, experienced, and did during the Battle of Atlanta, 'the most eventful day of this campaign.' Taylor's letters have been lightly edited for clarity.
An the morning as usual at daylight I went down to the skirmish line to learn the condition of things. Soon Gen'l Morgan L. Smith sent an order to move forward my line and feel the enemy. I pushed forward and soon began driving his [the enemy's skirmish] line. At his skirmish pits I redressed it [Taylor's own line] and advanced on his main works and soon drove his skirmishers in, but without giving them time to form I hurried forward with a shout and a volley which set the rebels skedaddling and a regiment of reserves in full and rapid retreat. In the main [out-lying] works I again dressed the line and pursued them, capturing a few prisoners and two lines of skirmish pits and drove them square into their [main] works and occupied with my line a portion of the corporation of Atlanta, not more than 600 yards from their forts. Here they served us with 'minnies' [mini bullets], case and solid shot and shells. I soon discovered where their skirmish pits were and made my line crawl forward in some places within 20 yards of them and build rail barricades. I found one set [of his own skirmishers] timid and awkward and I had to crawl up to a point where I wished a post, show them the bearings and range and help them build it ... .

Their skirmishers were kept so close [to the ground] that I had only two wounded by musket balls. One solid shot knocked down a rail pile and buried the men under it. A Captain thought destruction had come and wished to retire but I make it a point never to give up my ground if my flanks are protected [and] so they rebuilt it. I sent back for shovels to dig good pits but our Division General was not at liberty to send them to us. Our men in authority appeared to think the enemy were evacuating Atlanta because they were moving columns to the left. About 9 or 10 a.m. Logan's Senior Aide came out and I showed him how earnestly they [the Confederates] were working in town upon their fortifications and asked if it looked like an evacuation. He said no. I then asked him for tools, but they came not. Our Commanders appeared infatuated with the thought of evacuation of Atlanta.

After a time two regiments of infantry and a section of artillery were sent out as a second reserve. I laid down and got a good nap and awoke about 121/2 m. Just after I got up Lieut. [Adolph] Ahlers [of the 47th Ohio] and two men were wounded near me and I was struck with dirt, bark or something and Ahlers reported me wounded. My negro went to the rear with the horses, but came back. About 1 p.m. I moved to a high point in the line and sat down. Firing soon commenced and became very heavy on the extreme left and in the rear ... .

Oh! how anxiously I listened and waited, how anxious for the cheers! The enemy cheered before [his] charges, our men cheered after repulsing [them]. For two hours they appeared to drive our line back until it was at almost right angles with my [the XV Corps'] line. Can you imagine how my heart throbbed, every pulsation grew more rapid. There I sat under a big oak tree...only 600 yards from the main line of [enemy] works, from which solid shot was being thrown and case & shells, too, with fearful rapidity at and over us. I was anxious not from fear, but dread that we might lose our advantage, the ground we had gained and again be compelled to retake it by charges. At three o'clock the tide of war seemed rolling back. I could not mistake those cheers and that firing-the enemy at last were checked and being driven oh, how rapidly. At 4 p.m. we had regained our old lines and the fighting on the left had subsided like a fierce rain & wind storm, [and] only gusts and sobs sounded in the ear.

My attention was called from this by a Captain saying: 'Look, Major, look!' What a grand sight-I was almost entranced by it. The enemy's [Major General Thomas C.] Hindman's Division of 25 regiments [commanded by Maj. Gen. John C. Brown] were moving out of the works and deploying in line of battle. How well they moved, how perfectly and how grandly did the first line advance with the beautiful 'battle flags' waving in the breeze [and] not an unsteady step nor a waver was perceptible in it. Anon they moved by the right flank, then halted and fronted and a second line was formed. I saw them complete it and an Officer rode a short distance from us to advance their skirmish line & [I] ordered several of the men to shoot him but they failed. I then saw the 4th Div [skirmish] line [to the left] break and run, called my line to attention and remained until I saw their line of battle approach within 250 yards of us.

By the retreat of the 4th Div. [skirmishers], my left was exposed and I marched back to my first reserve. Here I shall tell you that as soon as I saw the 2nd [Confederate battle] line form and the advance toward us begin, I sent back word. At the reserve we halted and again opened [fire] on the enemy, drove in his skirmishers and, when the line flanked us on the left and was within about fifty yards [I] rallied on the 2nd reserve. Here we made a fine little fight and broke their [skirmish] lines but being outflanked we were compelled to fall back. In making this distance part of the time I moved leisurely and part lively-picked up a canteen of coffee and moved for the [Union] works when some miserable [Southern] traitor with murder stamped on his countenance deliberately shot at me. But I was a little too far away & his bullet almost spent struck me a glancing blow in the muscles of my left thigh as I was lifting my leg to run. I knew if I was hurt it would bleed in my boot so I went on as rapidly as I could as other bullets were dropping too close to make it at all pleasant.

The rebels reformed and advanced upon our main line in three columns. Two columns moved up on our right...and were both after a heavy fire severely repulsed and took refuge behind some outbuildings and a large house where they reformed. About twenty yards from our works on the left of the rail and wagon roads is a ravine which at the railroad was so thick [with] undergrowth as to completely screen as well as protect an advancing column. The railway through our lines is built in a cut about 15 feet deep. On the left of the railway was a section of artillery occupying three rods [about 50 feet]. [The] width of cut at top [is] 3 rods [and] between cut & wagon road on right of railroad is a space four rods wide [65 feet], protected by a log earthwork terminating a few feet from the railway. The wagon road is almost two rods [33 feet] wide and on the right of this road was a section of artillery [two cannons] occupying about three rods more and all of this space of 15 rods had only one company in position [and only] one platoon [of] 16 men...was between the [artillery] section in the space between the wagon and rail roads. The cut was open and clear, nowhere was it occupied by troops nor blockaded, the wagon road was likewise open and unoccupied by works or troops. When Col. [Wells S.] Jones, 53rd Ohio, came for the reserve, he suggested to Genl's Smith & [Brigadier General John] Lightburn the propriety of burning said outbuildings & placing his regiment in rear of this artillery to support it and shut the gaps, yet they disdained the proffer and they were not filled.

Concealed by the dense smoke of the artillery the first we saw of the third [enemy] column it was rushing in the gap in the wagon road around the low works between the rail & wagon roads and over the parapet at the guns. Every one was surprised but none thought of moving, the platoon between the guns fired and fought with bayonets & butts of their muskets, the other platoon lying down in the rear of it could not fire without killing their comrades and artillerists in their front. Some of the men [in the platoon] were bleeding at the ears and nose from the concussion, yet fought until all were killed, wounded and captured except four.

I started across the road to move the other platoon to make it effective when I happened to look at the upper end of the cut and saw a column of rebels deploying from it. This 2nd [Union] platoon was shut in by a line of fire on every side and to avoid capture retired. Simultaneously the whole line began to fall back. Gen'l Smith moved over to the right & Lightburn went off on a run. I heard no order given and after vainly trying to rally the men dashed into the woods, where on a small ridge I halted a few men and again tried to form [a line]. Then, hearing someone shouting halt, I went to the road supposing it was one of our officers trying to form the line. I came within five feet of a rebel officer on a white horse with a flag in his hand and a revolver in the other. I took this in at a glance, he said 'Halt! we'll treat you like men.' I said, 'Hell, stranger, this is no place for me to halt!' and went for the bushes. I told a man at my elbow to shoot him. When I got out of his reach I went slow and got some men of the 47th to go down and run off two caissons which the artillery had abandoned. I then went down to the works. Lt. Col. Wallace & Capt. [Hananiah D.] Pugh [of the 47th Ohio] while striving vainly to form a line were captured, [Capt. Charles] Haltentof wounded and Adjt. [John W.] Duecherman wounded. Only four officers [of the 47th Ohio] were left.

I was relieved as Div. Picket Officer to take command of the regiment and reformed it very quickly and then was ordered forward and marched up the road some distance by the flank ... . I [then] was ordered into line [and] to fix bayonets and to retake the works [with] one small company and [some men] from other regiments [who] joined me ... . I advanced on the 'double quick' and got within a few feet of the works, when such was the hail storm of fire and bullets which swept over us that both flag staffs were shot off, the regiment's standard was torn from the staff by the fragment of a shell, one color bearer killed, and a color corporal wounded, [and] others as a matter of course fell. Finding I was completely flanked [I] withdrew to avoid capture.

On account of an entanglement and the dense undergrowth in my rear, the command became separated. Meeting a line upon a ridge in the rear advancing I halted and with them made a second assault. A portion of the regiment under Capt. [Joseph L.] Pinkerton went to the right of the railroad. I kept on the left, we reached the point I reached in the first assault but were again compelled to fall back. This time we went to an open field when reforming as best we could, [then] again advanced. Upon reaching the crest of the first ridge the men halted and laid down to avoid the sheet of bullets which swept over ... . I pushed through the line, dashed ahead, shouting, cheering and exhorting [but] only one man followed. I went fifty yards in this manner and finally halted and gave three lusty cheers, [then] without waiting I pushed on and in a moment had the pleasure to see that the line was hurrying [forward]. I soon struck another line [of Federal troops] on the left which had halted. I sent Capt. Pinkerton & Lieut. [William] Brachman with a portion of the regiment again on the right, while I with the rest of it and the remainder of [the men from other regiments] pushed up immediately on the left, pouring a continuous and deadly fire upon the enemy, driving them from their works and recapturing a section of artillery upon the left of the railway which the [Rebels] had turned upon us ... .

Lightburn said we had disgraced ourselves. I told him 'that was enough of that! I would show him whether we had.' I had no idea that I had such determination, such stubbornness or strength. I was almost frantic, yet perfectly sane-directed the entire line. All the officers obeyed me and ran to me for advice and directions. I saw men perform prodigies, display the most unparalleled valor. One man, Joseph Bedol [Bedall] of Co. 'D', was surrounded and knocked by rebels, he came to, jumped up & wounded them and knocked a fourth down with his fist and escaped.

Dear, I would not write this to any other one as it seems egotistical, but is nevertheless true. The men of the Division give me credit for much more.
Following the Battle of Atlanta Sherman moved the Army of the Tennessee west of the city for the purpose of cutting the railroad to Macon, Hood's sole remaining supply line. Hood countered by sending Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee's corps to block this thrust while another corps under Lieutenant General A.P. Stewart swung around the Union right flank. Before Stewart could do this, Lee attacked on the morning of July 28, bringing on the Battle of Ezra Church. Two days later Taylor described to his wife what ensued:
Well dear, on the 28th of July we had another big fight ... . After moving forward and occupying a part of the ridge, the enemy were discovered moving around the right. To check this I was ordered over on the right and deployed. This extension of the line only made them move further to the right but we dashed over an open field and [took up a] position on a road. Presently I saw a column of the enemy move from a wood a short distance in front, [then] pass up a ravine near my left and between the 53rd Ohio and the 47th. To prevent them from cutting me off, I moved out of the road & half way across the field behind the crest [of the ridge]. This movement thwarted their designs and after a heavy fire the column retired to the woods [beyond the ridge].

Again I advanced but shortened my line by moving obliquely to the left and connecting with the 53rd. We first took position about 10 a.m. and from that time had very lively work. After advancing to the fence [along the Lick Skillet Road] I placed men on posts of observation who discovered the enemy still moving to the right and likewise massing in our front. Of this I sent word to the Division Commander who said 'Now I know it is so when Major Taylor sends word.' After a short time the enemy made his appearance, this time moving from the woods, in line of battle and then moving by the flank in three or four columns. We held our position, firing heavily and doing much execution but finding them too heavy to check we retired to the crest of the hill or ridge before mentioned where we made a stubborn stand from which we were driven by another forward movement of the enemy. This time they were moving by right of Co[mpanies] to the front, in columns of regiments, followed by a line of battle with bayonets fixed. This meant work and again we were compelled to retire. In the meantime we had been reinforced by one regiment [the 54th Ohio] but it was impossible to withstand this avalanche of bayonets and again we retired.

I halted behind a fence in the skirt of the woods and gave one shot [volley]. [Then] Col. [name illegible] hollored to look out or I would be cut off as they [the Confederates] were rushing up a hollow passing in our rear. At the same time I received notice from the right and beheld a [Confederate] column...both on the left and right, the enemy converging [and] leaving us a gap only about two or three hundred yards in width to escape through. All three regiments hurried through this and escaped the enemy [by] only about 50 yards ... .

Our [new] line was formed upon [a ridge] at least half a mile from the line [just abandoned] and as it afterwards turned out this move of ours saved the day. Immediately upon gaining this ridge we reformed...as best we could behind the yard and garden fences and fought the enemy as they charged our position. We maintained our ground until they moved right up to us and pressed us over the hill by superiority of numbers but we were not yet defeated ... . Every officer and man in the Division knows me and will fight under my orders, therefore, I began rallying men and officers and started after a gallant Captain of the 53rd Ohio up the hill, leading a varied lot of men and shouting and cheering to the best of my ability and having every one do likewise ... .

We took possession of the hill and I got a color bearer of the 54th & one of [the] 53rd Ohio and rushed to the garden fence through a perfect storm of bullets and exhorted but only three or four ventured to follow, as the rebels, deeply chagrined to think so small a force had made them yield such a position gave us volley after volley which made us move from the garden fence to a less exposed position ... .

We then had a little independent fight of our own-four regiments under Col. Jones, 53rd Ohio. [The fourth regiment was the 37th Ohio]. He arranged our lines so as to give us complete cross fire over every part of the ground in our front. This we had to do as our four regiments were compelled to hold over a mile of space and we had many gaps and this was the only way by which we could defend them, [because] across these gaps we had only small skirmish lines. This occurred about noon [according to Confederate reports it was much later than that]. After this time the enemy made four successive assaults; my men fought from open ground, almost as clear as our yard except [for] a few brush [heaps] which I [had] piled up in front of the lines to offer some slight obstacle to their approach ... .

At half past three we were relieved by the 81st Ohio and at 5 p.m. again went on duty. We lost ten wounded and three captured. The Commander of the III Division [Harrow's] thanked me and said he believed my fire had saved him twice.

I never saw more stubborn assaults & more bloody repulses. Three times they were compelled to go back and leave colors standing on the field. We soon learned that the same Division [Brown's] was in our front that charged us a few days ago and we did our best to repay them for the heavy loss which was inflicted upon us by them on that occasion. How well we accomplished this you can judge when I tell you they left 300 dead in our front, [and] altogether we buried 900 of them in front of the 15th A.C. after they had been most of the night engaged in removing their killed and wounded ... .

The 53rd & 47th Ohio brought on the whole affair. [If] I can, the General [Smith] said, be recommended for Colonel, he will do so and he says the Generals above him will take pleasure in recommending me ... .A rebel officer, a prisoner taken on the 28th inst. said 'Hood has about enough [men] left to make two more killings.' Co. 'F' [Taylor's former company] had William Weber [from Georgetown] slightly wounded by an explosion of his load by ramming. I can't give you any more particulars. Wait until I get home.
Taylor next fought in the Battle of Jonesboro (August 31-September 1), which resulted in Hood evacuating Atlanta. Starting on November 15 Taylor participated in Sherman's March to the Sea until December 13, when during the storming of Fort McAllister outside of Savannah a bullet sliced off his right index finger. This ended his combat career but not his wartime letters to his wife, which by the time he was mustered out in July 1865 totaled nearly 300.
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Facts about The Battle Of Atlanta, an 1864 Civil War Battle of the American Civil War Battle Of Atlanta Facts Location Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia

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Today it is hard to imagine two massive armies maneuvering and clashing in the area that is now Atlanta: one army attempting to force its will upon the future metropolis and the other doing everything in its power to resist that will. Under the command of General William T. Sherman, a large Federal force moved out of Chattanooga, Tennessee towards the Georgia capital. The smaller Confederate army led by General Joseph E. Johnston and later John B. Hood had the job of stopping this Federal onslaught. From May 7 until September 2, when Sherman's troops moved into Atlanta, these armies collided and parried throughout Northwest Georgia. For the most part, the Confederates dug in while the Federals either attacked head-on or flanked around the battlements forcing the besieged force to withdraw, regroup, and dig in. At times, the reverse occurred.

The impact of the fall of Atlanta was instrumental in the eventual victory for the Federal forces. It boosted morale in the North and insured the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln which meant that the war would continue to the South's capitulation. Until then, with no major Confederate Army left to contest Sherman and his men, he would order them to move east, towards Savannah, and from there, north into the Carolinas. Unopposed, Sherman's Army brought the war to the heart of the South and to its civilian population, making both Georgia and South Carolina "howl."

Many of the photographs below are the work of George Barnard. Once an employee of Matthew Brady Studios, Barnard worked for the Topographical Branch of the Army Engineers after December 1863. Assigned to Sherman's Army, he captured many of the images of the Atlanta Campaign on early photographic equipment. The remaining photographs are attributed to the Matthew Brady Studios but were likely not taken by Brady but one of his employees. Notice the detail in the images: rifle stacks, railroad trestles, entrenchments, the ravages of war.

Documents

Suggested Activities:

These images might make a good, but simple research project. Have students access descriptions of the Atlanta Campaign either on-line or with a print source and then have them place the images in the chronological sequence they represent. For example, which images represent battles in the early part of the campaign or which images took part at the end of the campaign?

There are more online images taken during the Atlanta Campaign available from the National Archives

An online copy of Civil War photographer George Barnard's 1866 publication Barnard's Photographic Views of the Sherman Campaign, can be found online at the Digital Library of Georgia http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/hargrett/barnard/.

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The Atlanta Campaign of 1864: The Camera at War

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Today it is hard to imagine two massive armies maneuvering and clashing in the area that is now Atlanta: one army attempting to force its will upon the future metropolis and the other doing everything in its power to resist that will. Under the command of General William T.

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In this picture General William T. Sherman is displayed, Sherman was known as the General who oversaw the Union Army during the Battle of Atlanta. 

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On the evening of July 21, 1864, Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood ordered Lt. General William J. Hardee's corps to make 15-mile night march and assault the Union left flank, commanded by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee. McPherson anticipated the move and held his XVI Corps in position, where they were ideally placed to meet Hardee's attempted flank attack. Fierce but uncoordinated Confederate attacks bent back the division lines of Brig. Gen. John Fuller from the XVI Corps and Brig. Gen. Giles A. Smith from the XVII Corps. Brigades from the corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham, supporting Hardee, broke through along the Georgia Railroad but was repulsed. Despite the initial success on the left and then the right, Hood's attacks failed to dislodge the Federals.

McPherson was killed near the second position of Col. Benjamin Potts' brigade on this map. The remains of Leggett's Hill (also known as the "Bald Hill") are around the modern interchange where Interstate 20 and U.S. Route 23 meet. The Troup Hurt house along the Georgia Railroad, at the site of Cheatham's breakthrough in Logan's XV Corps line, is the "center" of the Atlanta Cyclorama painting.

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The American Battlefield Trust's map of the July 22, 1864 , battle of Atlanta, a fierce battle that saw the only death of a Union army commander during the entire war - James B. McPherson.

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The Union victory in the largest battle of the Atlanta Campaign led to the capture of that critical Confederate city and opened the door for Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's most famous operation-the March to the Sea and the capture of Savannah.

How it ended

Union victory. Confederate Lt. Gen. John B. Hood's attack on Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's troops at Atlanta was repulsed with heavy losses. Hood and Sherman continued to battle for the crucial Confederate city throughout the summer until Hood was finally forced to abandon Atlanta to Union forces on September 1, 1864.

In context

In the spring of 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all U.S. armies, ordered five, simultaneous offensives to press Confederates all along their frontier. Grant recognized that the Confederates could not win a war of attrition, and he instilled in his commanders the need to exhaust the resources of the Rebels by destroying their armies.

Grant assigned his friend Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman to command the fifth advance against Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army. Johnston was charged with defending Atlanta, the largest industrial, logistical, and administrative center outside of Richmond. Atlanta was at the junction of four railroads that connected all remaining Confederate-held territory east of the Mississippi River.

By early July, Johnston had fallen back into the defenses of Atlanta. Frustrated by Johnston's lack of aggressiveness, President Jefferson Davis replaced him with Lt. Gen. John B. Hood on July 18. Within days, Hood launched two attacks on Sherman-one at Peach Tree Creek on July 20 and the other along the Georgia Railroad (known as the Battle of Atlanta) on July 22. Both ended in defeat and led to the fall of Atlanta in September. The capture of such a valuable Confederate stronghold boosted Northern morale, helped ensure the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln in November, and precipitated the downfall of the Confederacy.

Before the Battle

On July 21, 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's three armies are separated on the outskirts of Atlanta. Major General James B. McPherson 's Army of the Tennessee, facing Atlanta from the east astride the Georgia Railroad, has its left flank "in the air" (Sherman has sent his cavalry to wreck the railroad further east). This situation presents Confederate general Hood with an opportunity to launch a flank attack like the one made famous by "Stonewall" Jackson at Chancellorsville.

Hood plans for the corps of Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee to drop back from its lines north of the city into the main fortified perimeter on the night of July 21-22; the remaining corps of Maj. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart and Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham will follow. Hardee's corps will march through and out of the city, southeast then northeast, guided by Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry, and jump into McPherson's left-rear, while Wheeler attacks McPherson's wagon trains at Decatur. Cheatham will support Hardee from the east edge of Atlanta. It is an ambitious plan, calling for a 15-mile night march by Hardee's troops and a dawn attack on July 22.

During the Battle

July 22. A late start, exhausted troops, a hot night, and dusty roads combine to bring the four assault divisions not nearly far enough into McPherson's rear when Hardee, well behind schedule, decides to deploy. Then rough terrain adds further delay, and Confederate Maj. Gen. W. H. T. Walker is killed while getting his division into place. Hardee's "surprise" attack does not begin until shortly after noon.

The Federals have better luck. By chance, a Union Sixteenth Corps division under Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Sweeny happens to be in just the right position to meet Hardee's opening assault. Instead of overrunning hospital tents and wagon trains in McPherson's rear, Walker's and Maj. Gen. William Bate's troops run face-to-face into veteran Yankee infantry.

McPherson, having left Sherman's headquarters just before the firing started, is watching Sweeny contend with the Rebels. He rides off to see how Maj. Gen. Frank Blair's Seventeenth Corps are faring; by now it has been struck by Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne 's hard-hitting division. McPherson and his staff are riding down a wagon road when they unexpectedly run into part of Cleburne's line. "He came upon us suddenly," Capt. Richard Beard of the Fifth Confederate Infantry later remembered:
I threw up my sword as a signal for him to surrender. He checked his horse, raised his hat in salute, wheeled to the right and dashed off to the rear in a gallop. Corporal Coleman, standing near me, was ordered to fire, and it was his shot that brought General McPherson down.
McPherson's subordinates dash off. One Union officer strikes a tree in his flight; the blow smashes his pocket watch and preserves the time of the general's death-2:02 p.m.

Cleburne's attack initially overruns part of the Union line, capturing two guns and several hundred prisoners. Then the Southerners run up against infantry and artillery on a treeless hilltop occupied by Brig. Gen. Mortimer Leggett's division and are stopped cold. Brig. Gen. George Maney's Confederate division joins in the fight, but Leggett holds onto his hill.

Around 3:00 p.m., Hood orders Cheatham's corps to launch an attack from Atlanta's eastern line of works. Cheatham's fierce but uncoordinated assaults against the Federal line held by Logan's Fifteenth Corps meet with initial success, overrunning the Union line at the Troup Hurt House and capturing artillery, until a counterattack forces it back. At the end of the afternoon, the Confederates retire back to their initial positions. The Battle of Atlanta, the bloodiest of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, is over.

Aftermath

Hood's effort to roll up Sherman's left flank fails. On July 27, Sherman resumes operations against the city by shifting to the west side to cut the Macon & Western Railroad. The armies meet again at Ezra Church on July 28, which earns the Union another victory. Worn out after that, both armies settle in for a siege of the city that lasts throughout August.

Atlanta: Featured Resources

Related Battles

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The American Battlefield Trust's battle summary of the July 22, 1864, Battle of Atlanta includes history articles and more on the bloodiest battle of the Atlanta Campaign

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Socially, in Georgia plantations, cities, homes, businesses, ect. Had been affected by the result of the The Battle of Atlanta because the battle was a “backyard battle” for the citizens of Georgia. However, looking at the Civil War as a whole, battles took place all over the South meaning that most southern states took part in a “backyard battle”.  Furthermore, the destruction of the plantations, homes, businesses, ect. Was one of the main concerns because everything that was destroyed not only in the Battle of Atlanta but in the Civil War would have to be built up again. Overall this proved to be a challenging time for the United States. In today’s world socially, the Civil War is still a conversation piece and a part of American History that can be observed through historical sites and museums.

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A cultural significance of the aftermath of the Battle of Atlanta was the emphasis around railroads reconstruction. This is because the south relied on railroads in order to transport goods and crops. In addition, in the Pre-Civil War time period, slavery had been a huge part of culture in the south because the south was economically reliant on plantation agriculture. However, with the outlaw of slavery in the post-Civil War time period the culture and economic principles of the south had to be reshaped.

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Politically, The Battle of Atlanta had a significant impact on Abraham Lincoln’s re-election because when the Union won the Battle the public opinion of Lincoln was reshaped because The Battle of Atlanta showed that the Union was making progress in the War. Furthermore, Northern morale was boosted because the victory gave the Union hope that the Civil War would soon be over.

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“History of the Battle of Atlanta in the American Civil War | Britannica.” Www.britannica.com, www.britannica.com/summary/Battle-of-Atlanta#:~:text=Of%20the%2034%2C863%20Union%20troops.

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Battle of Atlanta, (July 22, 1864) American Civil War engagement that was part of the Union's summer Atlanta Campaign. Union Major Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and James B. McPherson successfully defended against a Confederate offensive from Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood on the eastern outskirts of Atlanta, Ga. The Union victory inflicted heavy casualties on Hood's army, but the city would not fall to Sherman until September. Of the 34,863 Union troops engaged at the Battle of Atlanta, 3,722 were killed, wounded, captured, or reported missing. Confederate forces suffered an estimated 5,500 casualties of the 40,438 engaged. The battle had special significance for Abraham Lincoln, who was seeking a second term as U.S. president. The war had been dragging on longer than either the Union or the Confederacy expected, and war dissatisfaction was already threatening Lincoln's chances of reelection.

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History of the Battle of Atlanta in the American Civil War

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Battle of Atlanta, (July 22, 1864) American Civil War engagement that was part of the Union's summer Atlanta Campaign.

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A Letter Than Marcus Bell Wrote to his Wife

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A Letter Than Marcus Bell Wrote to his Wife

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This primary Source is a letter written in 1864 by Marcus A Bell, a confederate officer. In the letter, he writes about the shells going off around his location in Atlanta. The purpose of this letter was to inform his wife about the “fiery missiles of death” and the forces surrounding Atlanta. Furthermore, the letter contains content about shells and the damage that they did to neighbors houses and their community. The letter also possesses information about “bomb proofs” or bomb shelters in which the citizens would hide in however, they were not necessarily safe. To a historian looking at the larger scale of the Civil War, this could hold value because this letter does contain emotions, feelings, and information about this bombing. A historian looking at the larger picture could use the information in the letter to ask themselves if the Civil War was worth it to the Confederate party because such a small part of the War took its toll. In addition, this letter does have some limitations because there was only one writer and the letter was written during a scary and emotional time for the writer.

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The war finally reached Atlanta in July 1864 - the Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought on July 20, the Battle of Atlanta was waged on July 22, and the Battle of Ezra Church was decided on July 28, but it would be five long weeks until the city of Atlanta would surrender to Union forces on September 2, 1864. During the five week long siege General Sherman's forces settled in to shell the city and sent raids west and south of the city to cut Confederate supply lines from Macon, Georgia.

We know a good deal about this time period and what was occurring due to diary entries and letters written by Atlanta citizens who remained in the city during those terrible weeks. A letter written by Marcus A. Bell, an Atlanta attorney and real estate dealer on August 11, 1864 is just one of many accounts.

Bell, a Confederate officer and aid to General Howell Cobb, had reached his home, Atlanta's famed Calico House, at the corner of Wheat and Collins Streets now known as Auburn Avenue and Courtland Street, on August 10 for a twenty-day furlough. Bell's wife and children had left the city on July 10 or 11 for Elbert County to remain with family during the siege and eventual occupation of Atlanta.

Union forces began shelling the city on July 20, 1864. On August 9 via a dispatch sent to Major General Halleck, Sherman advised he had "threw into Atlanta about 3,000 solid shot and shell today." What was described as "siege cannons" were brought by rail and began firing over the city on August 10, the day Bell arrived for his furlough. By the time the shelling stopped on August 25 those four cannons alone fired 4,500 rounds on the city.

I provide Bell's letter below as it appeared in The Atlanta Constitution on October 18, 1919 presented by Bell's son, Piromus. Marcus Bell wrote the letter over a two to three-day span. Throughout the letter Bell writes the word "Bang!" each time he heard a shell explode. I also find it interesting he writes of citizens building "bomb proofs" which were often crudely dug caves or holes where citizens hid thinking they were safer than remaining in their homes during the shelling.
Calico House, Atlanta Georgia August 11, 1864 My dear wife, Having been granted a twenty days' furlough, I arrived at home about...yesterday afternoon, when huge and fiery missiles of death were flying in thick and fast upon this city. I was not frightened, as the coward, but to be subject at any moment to be torn into pieces by unseen monsters, will make the stoutest heart tremble.
I am writing on my convenient old walnut desk now, about 5 o'clock p.m., and since I commenced four shells have burst between this point and toward the carshed (Union passenger depot). Though the bang! shelling is not so furious as when I first arrived, nor during nearly all of last night, it still continues.

The situation as to the fighting forces around Atlanta is now about as follows: Here a map was inserted [that was not included in the newspaper].
Went another shell, Bang!, Bang! Again. I must write and let them rip. We are strongly entrenched. I went over to our cemetery lot yesterday and while I was there I could hear the firing in the heavy skirmish fight broken loose on our extreme east - the thunder of artillery and musketry was like the roaring of many waters, and in the falling of gentle showers around me I turned and beheld the graves of brother Henry Bibb Bell, killed in Tennessee with 'Duty unto Death' on his tomb, and of father, on whose tomb 'He was known to be a peacemaker,' met my eye - and, as I stood beneath a mourning pine, the roaring of musketry and cannon filled the air with sights. I gave my heart up to sadness at the cruelties of man. This was yesterday; and last night about 12 o'clock commenced a most furious bombardment of the city. I was awakened from slumbers and stood at the west window of formerly Mrs. Buchanan's room. There were three batteries shelling - seemed to be about four miles out on Peachtree, or west of Peachtree road. At the flash of the guns the heavens would lighten; then in a few seconds a ball of fire, climbing up the heavens and flying along like a meteor, but steadily - there it goes - it flies - it passes my front view; and, seemingly about 100 yards in the rear of its hot track, you hear shrieking, hoarse, groaning noises, indescribably harsh - and Bang! goes the bomb about the vicinity of the city hall. Yonder goes another! Bang! just over the house tops near the Beasley boarding house. Yonder will come another - Bang! about the Dawson building.
Look now for the flash! Yonder comes the fire-ball - it thunders - the ball flies - did not burst, but you hear it crash through some building. I look out the window for the flash. It was further south - an enfilading fire. I see the fire ball - I retire behind the rock wall of the house - Bang! about the car shed (Union passenger depot). Here comes another - Bang! with a horrible closeup, in mid-air. Thus, for three mortal hours I viewed the terrible monsters of death. I go down in our room and try to sleep.
This morning I go about town. Now you can see no 'fire balls,' but Bang! here and there. I take as much risk as I think prudent and go back to my house. A very great many houses are struck, and some eight to ten persons killed, and hundreds are the tales of hair-breadth escapes. The shells have fallen in our front and rear yards - struck McMillan's well and yard; one went through Charlie Schuartz's house and one through John Butler's well and into the kitchen and torn our wash pot into flinders. I sent you newspaper showing some casualties. Our house was struck by a 20-pounder about two feet from the east end of the upper north veranda, on the walk, about six inches from the floor, tearing away the plastering and bruising the rock a little, and rebounded and now lies on the veranda floor. Bang! went another - just then - between our house and Mr. Alexander's. Mrs. D.B. Dodd's opposite to us, has been ploughed six times with huge bombs. One burst right plumb in their side gate, one near the other gate. Poor Della Pitman. I am sorry to for her. She superintended yesterday the digging of a big cave right this side of Pitman's kitchen. It is finished - it is now full of women and children. I went over and talked to her and Mrs. Ladd. The cave belongs to her and the Pitmans. Nearly every family has one. You go over the city and everywhere during the shelling you see poor and rich men, women and children now and then poke their heads out of the little doors of these dens. Bang! went one - seemed to be about Butler's. Fragments of shells lie on the slate roof of our house. This morning, Friday, August 12, finds me slightly unwell, owing to so much excitement and loss of sleep. The shelling last night was not so furious, but pretty severe just before day. Now, seven o'clock, slow shelling, but constant. There was a heavy skirmish fight last night at about 11 on our left. The enemy seems to be massing his forces towards East Point, south of the city, though his line reaches around on the north and east to the Georgia railroad. The fight will likely come off before I leave Atlanta and I have confidence we shall be victorious against all the odds. Your brother, Gus Hulsey and Cousin John Brantley are in the very front. The old Methodist church was pierced by shells four or five times, the bookcases and benches shattered awfully. The parsonage riddled severely. Judge William Ezzard's and the Smith houses are injured badly. All the poorer people here 'drew' rations. There is no business of consequence. The burning swept all of the Connally block up to that other burning. Church going here has almost ceased - so with business. The people wander about in distress. Mr. William Downs' house is vacant, the back door battered down by a shell, one dreadful shot went through the first stable we built, passed on and ploughed through the fence and back yard of McWilliams. It is strange so few are killed, and yet a shell strikes, now and then, some poor unoffending man or child. A man, Peter Long, was struck in both legs and died in about ten hours. Mrs. Weaver, on Walton Street, was in her kitchen with her child nearby and the shell ripped through the walls and tore her child to pieces. The young lady who was killed was in that house in front of old man Morris - the house on the Beasley lot I used to own.
Cabaniss is not located yet, awaiting orders from commandant and nothing to do, hence I got the furlough.
I went over to the Atlanta hospital and talked to Yankee prisoners being treated there. One said he was "fighting for the Mississippi river." Poor deluded creatures - we should have no objection to the free navigation of that river.
I am in our conservatory (the cupola atop the home). Half past 12 and much fighting near the "Distillery" - shelling rapidly. Gus is here for a short rest. We can see the smoke of the guns - the lines are so long that we are only one deep on the right, but we have trees felled in front for two or three hundred yards. Gus has learned that some Yankees visited your father's (Elija Hulsey's) home in DeKalb and cursed your mother terribly. All of Mr. Hulsey's horses are stolen.
You can see the enemy from the observatory of the Female college, and the lights at night. But it is dangerous to go there in daytime. Their sharpshooters have been stopping the curiosity of those who went there. I often go up to my observatory to see the signal lights at night. Very heavy cannonading going on now to our extreme left. I am now on our front veranda. Oh! One terrible explosion of a shell took place, then, like a clap of thunder. Several ladies have run in from the street and on through to our back veranda. I will try and go to see your father and mother before I receive new orders. Dr. Avary has moved back. Oh! What a fate is Atlanta's! I hope the day of relief is near at hand! My love to all, Yours every truly, Marcus A. Bell Prayer for peace...
Today, we all know the outcome.

Find out more about the Calico House in my post here.

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August 1864: The Bombardment of Atlanta - An Eyewitness Account - Lisa Land Cooper -

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The war finally reached Atlanta in July 1864 - the Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought on July 20, the Battle of Atlanta was waged on July 22, and the Battle of Ezra Church was decided on July 28, but it would be five long weeks until the city of Atlanta would surrender to Union ...

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The Battle of Atlanta took place on July 22, 1864. In this battle 34,863 Union soldiers fought against 40,438 Confederate soldiers. The total casualty count in the Battle of Atlanta with soldiers from the Union and the Confederacy was a total of 9,222. In addition, this battle held extreme significance because the Union was able to take out major southern railroads and weaken the Confederacy because their supplies were cut off. Furthermore, because the Union targeted the railroads other Confederate states were not able to receive supplies because the supply depots were cut off. Furthermore, The general on the Union side leading the attack was William T. Sherman, while the general of the Confederate side was John Bell Hood, both men made strategic moves in order to attempt to win the Battle. For example Hood took a defensive approach which resulted in the confederate armies retreating behind Atlanta's defenses. While Sherman took an offensive approach targeting the major railroads and implementing total war. Overall Hood came up short and the Union won the Battle of Atlanta. In addition, in comparison to the Union, the confederacy faced a different type of war because the battles were in their own backyards. However, backyard battle was both an advantage and a disadvantage because other southerners were more likely to give immediate resources to Confederate Soldiers and not the Union Soldiers. However, the disadvantage was that the war was taking place in their hubs and cities therefore, not only their supplies were under attack but the locations and plantations in which their supplies were made were under attack. In regards to the significance of the aftermath, after the Union won The Battle of Atlanta the Confederacy was extremely weakened and the March to Savannah began.

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BATTLE MAP | American Battlefield Trust’s map of the Atlanta Campaign, Georgia from May 7 to September 1, 1864.