Guide to the Atlanta campaign

By Harold W. Nelson, Jay Luvaas

Subjects: Historic sites, Georgia, guidebooks, Kennesaw Mountain, Battle of, Ga., 1864, Guidebooks, Atlanta campaign, 1864, Atlanta Campaign, 1864

Description: Following William T. Sherman's capture of Chattanooga, the Union Army initiated a series of battles and operations that took it from the Tennessee border to the outskirts of Atlanta, with bloody confrontations at places such as Resaca and New Hope Church. Grant had ordered Sherman to penetrate the enemy's interior and inflict "all the damage you can against their War resources," and from the first major engagement at Rocky Face Ridge to the bitter standoff at Kennesaw Mountain, Sherman proceeded to do just that. This latest in the Army War College Guides to Civil War Battles offers a concise and easy-to-use introduction to Sherman's route, focusing on this first and most critical phase of the Atlanta campaign. It leads visitors to all of the pertinent sites: Dug Gap, Adairsville, Pickett's Mill, etc. The authors show respect for both sides of the fighting, but especially convey Sherman's special genius in mastering the logistical challenges that confronted him, moving reinforcements and supplies, and directing diverse offensive actions over immense--and immensely hostile--territory.