Battle of Kennesaw Mountain The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27 , 1864 , during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War . It was the most significant frontal assault launched by Union Maj . Gen . William T . Sherman against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen . Joseph E . Johnston , ending in a tactical defeat for the Union forces . Sherman ' s 1864 campaign against Atlanta , Georgia , was initially characterized by a series of flanking maneuvers against Johnston , each of which compelling the Confederate army to withdraw from heavily fortified positions with minimal casualties on either side . After two months and of such maneuvering , Sherman ' s path was blocked by imposing fortifications on Kennesaw Mountain , near Marietta , Georgia , and the Union general chose to change his tactics and ordered a large - scale frontal assault on June 27 , 1864 . Maj . Gen . James B . McPherson feinted against the northern end of Kennesaw Mountain , while his corps under Maj . Gen . John A . Logan assaulted Pigeon Hill on its southwest corner . At the same time , Maj . Gen . George H . Thomas launched strong attacks against Cheatham Hill at the center of the Confederate line . Both attacks were repulsed with heavy losses , but a demonstration by Maj . Gen . John M . Schofield achieved a strategic success by threatening the Confederate army ' s left flank , prompting yet another Confederate withdrawal toward Atlanta and the removal of General Johnston from command of the army . Background . In March 1864 , Ulysses S . Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and named general in chief of the Union Army . He devised a strategy of multiple , simultaneous offensives against the Confederacy , hoping to prevent any of the rebel armies from reinforcing the others over interior lines . The two most significant of these were by Maj . Gen . George G . Meade ' s Army of the Potomac , accompanied by Grant himself , which would attack Robert E . Lee ' s army directly and advance toward the Confederate capital of Richmond , Virginia ; and Maj . Gen . William T . Sherman , replacing Grant in his role as commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi , who would advance from Chattanooga , Tennessee , to Atlanta . Both Grant and Sherman initially had objectives to engage with and destroy the two principal armies of the Confederacy , relegating the capture of important enemy cities to a secondary , supporting role . This was a strategy that President Abraham Lincoln had emphasized throughout the war , but Grant was the first general who actively cooperated with it . As their campaigns progressed , however , the political importance of the cities of Richmond and Atlanta began to dominate their strategy . By 1864 , Atlanta was a critical target . The city of 20 , 000 was founded at the intersection of four important railroad lines that supplied the Confederacy and was a military manufacturing arsenal in its own right . Atlanta ' s nickname of " Gate City of the South " was apt — its capture would open virtually the entire Deep South to Union conquest . Grant ' s orders to Sherman were to " move against Johnston ' s Army , to break it up and to get into the interior of the enemy ' s country as far as you can , inflicting all the damage you can against their War resources . " Sherman ' s force of about 100 , 000 men was composed of three subordinate armies : the Army of the Tennessee ( Grant ' s and later Sherman ' s army of 1862 – 63 ) under Maj . Gen . James B . McPherson ; the Army of the Cumberland under Maj . Gen . George H . Thomas ; and the relatively small Army of the Ohio ( composed of only the XXIII Corps ) under Maj . Gen . John M . Schofield . Their principal opponent was the Confederate Army of Tennessee , commanded by Gen . Joseph E . Johnston , who had replaced the unpopular Braxton Bragg after his defeat in Chattanooga in November 1863 . The 50 , 000 - man army consisted of the infantry corps of Lt . Gens . William J . Hardee , John Bell Hood , and Leonidas Polk , and a cavalry corps under Maj . Gen . Joseph Wheeler . Start of the Atlanta Campaign . Sherman ' s campaign began on May 7 , 1864 , as his three armies departed from the vicinity of Chattanooga . He launched demonstration attacks against Johnston ' s position on the long , high mountain named Rocky Face Ridge while McPherson ' s Army of the Tennessee advanced stealthily around Johnston ' s left flank toward the town of Resaca and Johnston ' s supply line on the Western & Atlantic Railroad . Unfortunately for Sherman , McPherson encountered a small Confederate force entrenched in the outskirts of Resaca and cautiously pulled back to Snake Creek Gap , squandering the opportunity to trap the Confederate army . As Sherman swung his entire army in the direction of Resaca , Johnston retired to take up positions there . Full scale fighting erupted in the Battle of Resaca on May 14 – 15 but there was no conclusive result and Sherman flanked Johnston for a second time by crossing the Oostanaula River . As Johnston withdrew again , skirmishing erupted at Adairsville on May 17 and more general fighting on Johnston ' s Cassville line May 18 – 19 . Johnston planned to defeat part of Sherman ' s force as it approached on multiple routes , but Hood became uncharacteristically cautious and feared encirclement , failing to attack as ordered . Encouraged by Hood and Polk , Johnston ordered another withdrawal , this time across the Etowah River . Johnston ' s army took up defensive positions at Allatoona Pass south of Cartersville , but Sherman once again turned Johnston ' s left as he temporarily abandoned his railroad supply line and advanced on Dallas . Johnston was forced to move from his strong position and meet Sherman ' s army in the open . Fierce but inconclusive fighting occurred on May 25 at New Hope Church , May 27 at Pickett ' s Mill , and May 28 at Dallas . By June 1 , heavy rains turned the roads to quagmires and Sherman was forced to return to the railroad to supply his men . Johnston ' s new line ( called the Brushy Mountain Line ) was established by June 4 northwest of Marietta , along Lost Mountain , Pine Mountain , and Brush Mountain . On June 14 , following eleven days of steady rain , Sherman was ready to move again . While on a personal reconnaissance , he spotted a group of Confederate officers on Pine Mountain and ordered one of his artillery batteries to open fire . Lt . Gen . Leonidas Polk , the " Fighting Bishop , " was killed and Johnston withdrew his men from Pine Mountain , establishing a new line in an arc - shaped defensive position from Kennesaw Mountain to Little Kennesaw Mountain . Hood ' s corps attempted an unsuccessful attack at Peter Kolb ' s farm ( the Battle of Kolb ' s Farm ) south of Little Kennesaw Mountain on June 22 . Maj . Gen . William W . Loring succeeded to command Polk ' s corps . Sherman was in a difficult position , stalled north of Atlanta . He could not continue his strategy of moving around Johnston ' s flank because of the impassable roads , and his railroad supply line was dominated by Johnston ' s position on the top of Kennesaw Mountain . He reported to Washington " The whole country is one vast fort , and Johnston must have at least of connected trenches with abatis and finished batteries . We gain ground daily , fighting all the time . . . . Our lines are now in close contact and the fighting incessant , with a good deal of artillery . As fast as we gain one position the enemy has another all ready . . . . Kennesaw . . . is the key to the whole country . " Sherman decided to break the stalemate by attacking Johnston ' s position on Kennesaw Mountain . He issued orders on June 24 for an 8 a . m . attack on June 27 . Battle . Sherman ' s plan was first to induce Johnston to thin out and weaken his line by ordering Schofield to extend his army to the right . Then McPherson was to make a feint on his extreme left — the northern outskirts of Marietta and the northeastern end of Kennesaw Mountain — with his cavalry and a division of infantry , and to make a major assault on the southwestern end of Little Kennesaw Mountain . Meanwhile , Thomas ' s army was to conduct the principal attack against the Confederate fortifications in the center of their line , and Schofield was to demonstrate on the Confederate left flank and attack somewhere near the Powder Springs Road " as he can with the prospect of success . " At 8 a . m . on June 27 , Union artillery opened a furious bombardment with over 200 guns on the Confederate works and the Rebel artillery responded in kind . Lt . Col . Joseph S . Fullerton wrote , " Kennesaw smoked and blazed with fire , a volcano as grand as Etna . " As the Federal infantry began moving soon afterward , the Confederates quickly determined that much of the wide advance consisted of demonstrations rather than concerted assaults . The first of those assaults began at around 8 : 30 a . m . , with three brigades of Brig . Gen . Morgan L . Smith ' s division ( Maj . Gen . John A . Logan ' s XV Corps , Army of the Tennessee ) moving against Loring ' s corps on the southern end of Little Kennesaw Mountain and the spur known as Pigeon Hill near the Burnt Hickory Road . If the attack were successful , capturing Pigeon Hill would isolate Loring ' s corps on Kennesaw Mountain . All three brigades were disadvantaged by the approach through dense thickets , steep and rocky slopes , and a lack of knowledge of the terrain . About 5 , 500 Union troops in two columns of regiments moved against about 5 , 000 Confederate soldiers , well entrenched . On the right of Smith ' s attack , the brigade of Brig . Gen . Joseph A . J . Lightburn was forced to advance through a knee - deep swamp , stopped short of the Confederate breastworks on the southern end of Pigeon Hill by enfilading fire . They were able to overrun the rifle pits in front of the works , but could not pierce the main Confederate line . To their left , the brigades of Col . Charles C . Walcutt and Brig . Gen . Giles A . Smith crossed difficult terrain interrupted by steep cliffs and scattered with huge rocks to approach the Missouri brigade of Brig . Gen . Francis Cockrell . Some of the troops were able to reach as far as the abatis , but most were not and they were forced to remain stationary , firing behind trees and rocks . When General Logan rode forward to judge their progress , he determined that many of his men were being " uselessly slain " and ordered Walcutt and Smith to withdraw and entrench behind the gorge that separated the lines . About to the south , Thomas ' s troops were behind schedule , but began their main attack against Hardee ' s corps at 9 a . m . Two divisions of the Army of the Cumberland — about 9 , 000 men under Brig . Gen . John Newton ( Maj . Gen . Oliver O . Howard ' s IV Corps ) and Brig . Gen . Jefferson C . Davis ( Maj . Gen . John M . Palmer ' s XIV Corps ) — advanced in column formation rather than the typical broad line of battle against the Confederate divisions of Maj . Gens . Benjamin F . Cheatham and Patrick R . Cleburne , entrenched on what is now known as " Cheatham Hill . " On Newton ' s left , his brigade under Brig . Gen . George D . Wagner attacked through dense undergrowth , but was unable to break through the abatis and fierce rifle fire . On his right , the brigade of Brig . Gen . Charles G . Harker charged the Tennessee brigade of Brig . Gen . Alfred Vaughan and was repulsed . During a second charge , Harker was mortally wounded . Davis ' s division , to the right of Newton ' s , also advanced in column formation . While such a movement offered the opportunity for a quick breakthrough by massing power against a narrow point , it also had the disadvantage of offering a large concentrated target to enemy guns . Their orders were to advance silently , capture the works , and then cheer to give a signal to the reserve divisions to move forward to secure the railroad and cut the Confederate army in two . Col . Daniel McCook ' s brigade advanced down a slope to a creek and then crossed a wheat field to ascend the slope of Cheatham Hill . When they reached within a few yards of the Confederate works , the line halted , crouched , and began firing . But the Confederate counter fire was too strong and McCook ' s brigade lost two commanders ( McCook and his replacement , Col . Oscar F . Harmon ) , nearly all of its field officers , and a third of its men . McCook was killed on the Confederate parapet as he slashed with his sword and shouted " Surrender , you traitors ! " Col . John G . Mitchell ' s brigade on McCook ' s right suffered similar losses . After ferocious hand - to - hand fighting , the Union troops dug in across from the Confederates , ending the fighting around 10 : 45 a . m . Both sides nicknamed this place the " Dead Angle . " To the right of Davis ' s division , Maj . Gen . John W . Geary ' s division of Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker ' s XX Corps advanced , but did not join in Davis ' s attack . Considerably farther to the right , however , was the site of the only success of the day . Schofield ' s army had been assigned to demonstrate against the Confederate left and he was able to put two brigades across Olley ' s Creek without resistance . That movement , along with an advance by Maj . Gen . George Stoneman ' s cavalry division on Schofield ' s right , put Union troops within of the Chattahoochee River , closer to the last river protecting Atlanta than any unit in Johnston ' s army . Aftermath . Sherman ' s armies suffered about 3 , 000 casualties in comparison to Johnston ' s 1 , 000 . The Union general was not initially deterred by these losses and he twice asked Thomas to renew the assault . " Our loss is small , compared to some of those [ battles in the ] East . " The Rock of Chickamauga replied , however , " One or two more such assaults would use up this army . " A few days later Sherman mournfully wrote to his wife , " I begin to regard the death and mangling of couple thousand men as a small affair , a kind of morning dash . " Kennesaw Mountain was not Sherman ' s first large - scale frontal assault of the war , but it was his last . He interrupted his string of successful flanking maneuvers in the Atlanta campaign for the logistical reasons mentioned earlier , but also so that he could keep Johnston guessing about the tactics he would employ in the future . In his report of the battle , Sherman wrote , " I perceived that the enemy and our officers had settled down into a conviction that I would not assault fortified lines . All looked to me to outflank . An army to be efficient , must not settle down to a single mode of offence , but must be prepared to execute any plan which promises success . I wanted , therefore , for the moral effect , to make a successful assault against the enemy behind his breastworks , and resolved to attempt it at that point where success would give the largest fruits of victory . " Kennesaw Mountain is usually considered a significant Union tactical defeat , but Richard M . McMurry wrote , " Tactically Johnston had won a minor defensive triumph on Loring ' s and Hardee ' s lines . Schofield ' s success , however , gave Sherman a great advantage , and the federal commander quickly decided to exploit it . " The opposing forces spent five days facing each other at close range , but on July 2 , with good summer weather at hand , Sherman sent the Army of the Tennessee and Stoneman ' s cavalry around the Confederate left flank and Johnston was forced to withdraw from Kennesaw Mountain to prepared positions at Smyrna . On July 8 , Sherman outflanked Johnston again — for the first time on his right — by sending Schofield to cross the Chattahoochee near the mouth of Soap Creek . The last major geographic barrier to entering Atlanta had been overcome . Alarmed at the imminent danger posed to the city of Atlanta , and frustrated with the strategy of continual withdrawals , Confederate President Jefferson Davis relieved Johnston of command on July 17 , replacing him with the aggressive John Bell Hood , who was temporarily promoted to full general . Hood proceeded to attack Sherman in battles at Peachtree Creek ( July 20 ) , Atlanta / Decatur ( July 22 ) , and Ezra Church ( July 28 ) , in all of which he suffered enormous casualties without tactical advantage . Sherman besieged Atlanta for the month of August , but sent almost his entire force swinging to the south to cut off the city ' s last remaining railroad connection . In the Battle of Jonesboro ( August 31 and September 1 ) , Hood attacked again to save his railroad , but was unsuccessful and was forced to evacuate Atlanta . Sherman ' s men entered the city on September 2 and Sherman telegraphed President Lincoln , " Atlanta is ours , and fairly won . " This milestone was arguably one of the key factors enabling Lincoln ' s reelection in November . Battlefield today . The site of the battle is now part of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park , where both Confederate deliberate trenches on top of the mountain and some Union rifle pits are still visible today . In popular culture . The first commissioner of Major League Baseball , Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis , was named for Kennesaw Mountain , but using a variant spelling . His father , a physician , fought on the Union side and reportedly nearly lost his leg in the battle .