The Strategic Importance of Atlanta
By the summer of 1864, the American Civil War had reached a critical juncture. The Confederate stronghold of Atlanta, a vital railroad hub and industrial center, became the focal point of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s campaign in the Western Theater. Its capture would not only cripple Southern supply lines but also deliver a psychological blow to the Confederacy.
For months, Sherman’s forces had engaged in a grueling series of maneuvers against Confederate General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee. Despite fierce resistance, Sherman’s relentless pressure forced Hood into a desperate gamble—abandoning Atlanta’s defenses in early September 1864. The city’s fall sent shockwaves through both North and South, reshaping the political and military landscape of the war.
Sherman’s Masterstroke: Cutting the Confederate Lifeline
In late August, Sherman executed a daring deception. While Confederate cavalry raided Union supply lines, Sherman withdrew most of his infantry from the trenches around Atlanta, leading Hood to believe the Union army was retreating. Instead, Sherman marched south, severing the last open railroad into the city. His troops twisted heated rails around trees—creating “Sherman neckties”—rendering the tracks unusable.
Hood realized the trap too late. On August 30, he sent two corps to attack Union forces at Jonesborough, twenty miles south of Atlanta. The assault failed disastrously. The next day, Sherman counterattacked, forcing Hood to evacuate Atlanta on September 1. The Union army marched in the following day, raising the American flag over city hall. Sherman’s triumphant telegram to Washington—”Atlanta is ours, and fairly won”—marked a turning point in the war.
Political Repercussions in the North and South
The fall of Atlanta electrified the Northern public. Cities celebrated with 100-gun salutes, and newspapers hailed Sherman as a military genius. The victory also shattered the Democratic Party’s narrative that the war was a failure, undermining their platform at the Chicago convention. Secretary of State William Seward crowed that Sherman and Admiral Farragut had “knocked the bottom out of the Chicago platform.”
In the South, despair spread. Mary Boykin Chesnut, a prominent Southern diarist, wrote, “Since Atlanta I have felt as if all were dead within me, forever. We are going to be wiped off the earth.” The loss demoralized Confederate civilians and soldiers alike, eroding faith in their leadership.
The Shenandoah Valley: Sheridan’s Scorched Earth Campaign
While Sherman advanced in Georgia, Union General Philip Sheridan waged a brutal campaign in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, a crucial Confederate breadbasket. Following General Ulysses S. Grant’s orders to turn the region into “a barren waste,” Sheridan’s troops burned crops, barns, and mills, depriving Confederate forces of supplies.
Sheridan’s most famous moment came at the Battle of Cedar Creek in October 1864. After a surprise Confederate attack routed his army, Sheridan rallied his troops with a dramatic horseback ride, shouting, “If you love your country, come up to the front!” His counterattack crushed the Confederates, securing another decisive Union victory.
The 1864 Election: A Referendum on War and Peace
The military successes of Sherman and Sheridan revitalized President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election campaign. Initially facing strong opposition from Peace Democrats, Lincoln’s prospects brightened as Union victories dispelled war-weariness. His opponent, General George B. McClellan, struggled to reconcile his party’s pro-peace faction with his own commitment to Union victory.
McClellan’s acceptance letter repudiated the Democratic platform’s call for immediate peace, declaring, “The Union is the one condition of peace—we ask no more.” This alienated Peace Democrats but failed to inspire confidence among war-weary voters. Meanwhile, Lincoln’s Republicans framed the election as a choice between victory and surrender.
The Prisoner of War Controversy
One of the war’s most contentious issues was the treatment of prisoners. The breakdown of prisoner exchanges in 1863, triggered by Confederate refusal to recognize black Union soldiers as legitimate prisoners, led to horrific conditions in camps like Andersonville. Nearly 13,000 Union prisoners died there from disease, malnutrition, and exposure.
Northern outrage over Andersonville fueled demands for retaliation, but Lincoln and Grant refused to abandon black soldiers. Grant declared, “No distinction whatever will be made in the exchange between white and colored prisoners.” The Confederacy’s eventual capitulation in early 1865 allowed exchanges to resume, but the suffering left lasting bitterness.
The Legacy of Atlanta’s Fall
The capture of Atlanta and Sheridan’s victories in the Shenandoah Valley ensured Lincoln’s re-election in November 1864. With a renewed mandate, Lincoln pressed for total victory, leading to Sherman’s March to the Sea and the eventual collapse of the Confederacy in 1865.
The fall of Atlanta demonstrated the Union’s growing strategic superiority and shattered Southern morale. It also marked the beginning of modern total war, where civilian infrastructure became a legitimate military target. The campaign’s success validated Sherman’s belief that only by breaking the South’s will to fight could the Union secure lasting peace.
In the end, Atlanta’s fall was more than a military victory—it was the moment the Confederacy’s fate was sealed. The war would drag on for months, but after September 1864, the outcome was inevitable. The Union’s triumph reshaped American history, ensuring the survival of the nation and the end of slavery.