by Jeffrey Schaffer

Created on: October 26, 2009

In July 1864, the country stood at a crossroad in the American Civil War. The three armies under General William Sherman were at the gates of Atlanta in the heart of the Confederacy. The North was growing weary of the war, and General Hood hoped that if he could bloody and stall General Sherman's armies, it could prevent President Lincoln's reelection and give the South a chance for a negotiated peace.

General Hood, commanding the Confederate Army of Tennessee, had struck General Sherman's army at Peachtree Creek to the north and Bald Hill to the east. They were bloody, desperate engagements that managed to stop Sherman's attempt to flank the city from the east. Both sides had fought hard, but the Confederate attacks failed due to poor coordination among the corps commanders. Hood knew that Sherman would try to swing around to the west side of the city, and so he sent two corps under Generals Stephen Lee and Stewart to intercept and destroy the Union forces.

The plan was to have General Lee's corps find and engage the lead elements of the Union army and hold them in place while General Stewart's corps would move behind Lee and around his left flank to strike the Union Army in the flank, hopefully driving them off.

On July 28th, things began to unravel immediately. General Howard, the commander of the Union corps in the area, anticipated a Confederate counterattack and ordered his men to prepare a defensive position to meet them. General Lee reported this to General Hood, who modified his plan: General Lee was to approach the Union lines, but assume a defensive position to prevent them from advancing further. General Stewart was to proceed as planned and march around Lee's corps to attack the Union army in the flank.

General Lee, being the senior corps commander in the field, decided to disregard General Hood's orders and attack the Union lines with his corps. Lee's attack, however, was piecemeal and was repulsed with heavy losses. When General Stewart's corps came up, General Lee directed him to reinforce his attack instead of proceeding as Hood directed. Despite General Stewart's brave assault, the Confederate Army was still beaten back with heavy losses, including General Stewart, who had been wounded.

While the Confederates had succeeded in stopping Sherman's maneuver, it had come at a heavy price. The Confederate Army suffered 3,000 casualties to 560 for the Union. The poor coordination and disregard for orders shown by General Lee lead what could have been a significant victory into a fiasco. While Hood would hold onto Atlanta until September, the losses he endured from these battles would ultimately lead to him losing the campaign.

Sources

Jefferson Davis and his Generals, Steven E. Woodworth, University Press of Kansas, 1990

War Like the Thunderbolt, The Battle and Burning of Atlanta, Russell S. Bonds, Westholme Publishing, 2009

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