Zach Lawson
This is a curation of sources related to the Atlanta Campaign of 1864 when Sherman destroyed Atlanta and marched to the sea.
It is important to discuss Chattanooga in late 1863 because the Union's success there paved the way for Sherman to make his way into Georgia to begin the Atlanta Campaign. The victory by the north at Chattanooga continued their communication lines south to the Georgia line and Chattanooga became a major supply line for the Atlanta Campaign. One has to understand Chattanooga to set the scene for Atlanta.
A strategic overview of the Atlanta Campaign of 1864, when Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman pushed his army through Georgia in hopes of capturing Atlanta.
The video above does a great job explaining the Atlanta Campaign in just four minutes. It provides a great overview of the entire campaign and its significance to the war.
This is a letter from Sherman himself encouraging political leaders of Atlanta to remove the civilians from the city because war is brutal and because he has specific plans to sack the city. Sherman puts into practice what would come to be known in the 20th century as total war.
The eyewitness account contained in this page is the perspective of Dolly Sumner Lunt, a young lady that lived with her sister in Covington, Georgia at the time Sherman and his men were advancing south and east toward the sea. Please pay close attention to the southerner's views about the Union troops.
The telegram linked above is very short, but very poignant. Sherman presents Savannah to Lincoln on December 22, 1864 as a Christmas gift. Although the text of the telegram is short, it is a very important primary source as it indicates the Atlanta Campaign and subsequent march to the sea was over and it signifies a dominating effort on the side of the Union army under the leadership of William Tecumseh Sherman.
