War of the Rebellion: Serial 074 Introduction

Intro
The Atlanta Campaign Intro

Vol. 38 Introduction - Serial 74

Sherman had a larger army than Joe Johnston, and he used it to great effect in the long campaign to take Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta was a key rail junction and major manufacturing center; with it lost the Confederacy would have little chance of shifting troops or supplies between the Eastern and Western theaters.
Sherman pushed down a single railroad line, always trying to outflank and capture part of Johnston's army, but Johnston was a canny defender and held position after position until the verge of defeat, then withdrew a few miles to fresh lines. Eventually Sherman levered him out of the mountains of North Georgia and into the open around Atlanta. Jefferson Davis was frustrated with Johnston, who wasn't fighting enough for Davis' tastes, and replaced him with John Hood, who was aggressive beyond prudence. Hood fought for Atlanta, taking heavy casualties - and losing the city. It was a key campaign in the war, and these five volumes trace the long struggle to split the Confederacy in half.

This volume finishes the reports, taking in the Union Army of the Tennessee (XV, XVI, and XVII Corps as well as cavalry and artillery), and the Confederate Army of Tennessee.
It includes reports from James McPherson, Oliver Howard, John Logan, Joe Johnston, John Hood, William Hardee, Patrick Cleburne, Stephen Lee, and Leonidas Polk.

Intro
The Atlanta Campaign Intro