The Campaign For Atlanta Sherman S March To The Sea Volume 1

The first of two volumes. The Atlanta Campaign (May - September 1864) consisted of wide-ranging maneuvers and a series of battles North Georgia during the Civil War with the intent to capture the important city of Atlanta. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman launched his three-army invasion from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in early May 1864, opposed by Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee. The Confederates fell back toward Atlanta in a series of withdrawals after Sherman's successive flanking maneuvers. Johnston was replaced by the more aggressive Gen. John Bell Hood in mid-July, who turned to a series of attacks to throw back and defeat Sherman on Atlanta's doorstep. The Army of Tennessee was besieged in the city that August and the city fell on September 2. Original well-researched and written essays by leading scholars in the field on a wide variety of fascinating topics. Contains original maps, photos, and illustrations.

According to historian Richard McMurry, the 1864 campaign "through the woods and across the hills, valleys, and streams of North Georgia was one of the biggest, longest, and most spellbinding of the American Civil War. It was also one of the most important." Despite its decisive impact on the war, the Georgia campaigns have still not received the attention they deserve. In the 1990s, editors Savas and Woodbury put together two volumes of wide-ranging and especially thoughtful essays by leading historians and students of war with footnotes, original maps, photos, and index that quickly sold out. Long out of print, they are once more being made available with a new Foreword by award-winning author Steve Davis in The Campaign for Atlanta & Sherman's March to the Sea.Volume 1"A Reassessment of Confederate Command Options During the Winter of 1863-1864," by Steven E. Woodworth;"'The Heavens and Earth had Suddenly Come Together': The Battle of Peachtree Creek," by Albert Castel;"A Reappraisal of the Generalship of General John Bell Hood in the Battles for Atlanta," by Stephen Davis;"Feeding Sherman's Army: Union Logistics in the Campaign for Atlanta," by James J. Cooke;"'It is Surrender or Fight?' The Battle for Allatoona," by Phil Gottschalk;"'The Flash of Their Guns was a Sure Guide': The 19th Michigan Infantry in the Atlanta Campaign," by Terry L. Jones;"Lines of Battle: The Partial Atlanta Reports of Confederate Maj. Gen. William B. Bate," edited by Zack Waters.

The long-awaited third installment in this popular series on the critical but overlooked campaign that captured Atlanta. These essays by leading Civil War writers examine the campaign from political, military, and strategic perspectives. It includes articles on the bloody 154th New York Regiment, a pair of brilliant battle studies, an in-depth examination of the attack and defense of the railroads upon which the armies depended, the politics of the 1864 presidential election, and more.

In the fall of 1864 after his triumphant capture of Atlanta, Union Gen. William T. Sherman mobilized 62,000 of his veteran troops and waged destructive war across Georgia, from Atlanta to Savannah. Unhappy with the killing and maiming of Union and Confederate soldiers in combat blood baths. Sherman decided on purposeful destruction, hoping to insure fewer casualties while helping bring the war to an end as quickly as possible. He repeatedly promised Southerners that he would wage a hard war but would tender a soft peace once the South stopped fighting. The general was true to his word on both counts. In studying a main element of the Lost Cause view of the Civil War, award-winning author John F. Marszalek recounts the march's destructive details, analyzes William T. Sherman's strategy, and describes white and black southern reaction. The result is a gripping tale which demonstrates both how the march affected the Confederacy's last days and how it continues to influence Americans at the beginning of the twenty-first century. John F. Marszalek is Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Mississippi State University. He is the author of twelve books and numerous articles, including Commander of All Lincoln's Armies, A Life of Henry W. Halleck (2004).

In the 1990s, editors Savas and Woodbury put together two volumes of wide-ranging and especially thoughtful essays by leading historians and students of war with footnotes, original maps, photos, and index that quickly sold out. Long out of print, they are once more being made available with a new Foreword by award-winning author Steve Davis.

Providing a balanced interpretation of one of the most infamous campaigns of the American Civil War, this book addresses the realities of the March to the Sea that are too often shrouded in myths and misperceptions.