Question: who burned down atlanta in the civil war
Answer: Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood

title: Atlanta in the American Civil War
text: several fiercely contested battles, including the Battle of Peachtree Creek, the Battle of Atlanta, Battle of Ezra Church and the Battle of Jonesboro. On September 1, 1864, Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta, after a five-week siege mounted by Union Gen. William Sherman, and ordered all public buildings and possible Confederate assets destroyed. In the spring of 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, was entrenched near the city of Dalton, Georgia. In early May, 1864, Union forces under the command of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began the Atlanta Campaign. By early July