Battle of Jonesborough The Battle of Jonesborough ( modern name Jonesboro ) was fought August 31 – September 1 , 1864 , during the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War . Two Union armies led by Maj . Gen . William T . Sherman maneuvered to draw the Army of Tennessee ( led by John Bell Hood ) away from their defenses at Atlanta , Georgia , where it could be destroyed . Although Hood ' s army was not destroyed , the city of Atlanta was abandoned and then occupied by Union troops for the rest of the war . The fall of Atlanta also had far - reaching political as well as military effects on the course of the war . Background . In several previous raids during the campaign , Sherman had successfully ( but temporarily ) cut Confederate Gen . John Bell Hood ’ s supply lines by using small detachments , but the Confederates had always quickly repaired the damage . Late in August 1864 , Sherman believed that if he could completely sever Hood ’ s supply lines — both the Macon & Western and the Atlanta & West Point Railroads — the Confederates would be forced to evacuate Atlanta . Therefore , Sherman elected to move six out of his seven infantry corps against the Confederate supply lines . The Union army began pulling out of its positions on August 25 to hit the railroad between the towns of Rough and Ready and Jonesborough . To counter this move , Lt . Gen . William J . Hardee and two Confederate corps were sent to halt and if possible rout the Union troops . However , Hood failed to realize most of Sherman ’ s army was approaching there and in force , causing Hardee and his command to be highly outnumbered . Battle . August 31 . On August 31 , Maj . Gen . Oliver O . Howard had two corps entrenched on the east side of the Flint River . John A . Logan ' s XV Corps dug in on high ground facing the Macon & Western Railroad . The XVI Corps , now led by Thomas E . G . Ransom formed a right angle connected to Logan ' s right . Frank Blair and the XVII Corps were in reserve west of the Flint River . Hardee left Patrick Cleburne in command of his own corps while he directed the two - corps assault . Cleburne would move south and attack the Federal line held by Ransom , while Lee was to make the secondary attack against the Logan ' s line . Cleburne ' s lead division , led by Mark Lowrey moved west and just as it was turning north toward toward the Federal lines he was unexpectedly hit by H . Judson Kilpatrick ' s dismounted cavalry , concealed behind fence rails and armed with Spencer repeating rifle s . Kilpatrick ' s fire was so effective that Lowrey broke off from his attack against Ransom ' s main line and directed his entire division against the Union cavalry . Lowrey succeeded in driving off the cavalry but instead of returning to his original goal , he pressed the cavalry across the Flint River and was eventually stopped by Giles A . Smith ' s division from the XVII Corps west of the river . Lee mistook the firing between Lowry and Kilpatrick as the main assault and attacked well before Cleburne ' s troops had actually gone into action with Ransom . Lee ordered a frontal assault that was vigorously led by J . Patton Anderson . General Logan , from the Federal lines , admired Anderson ' s bravery in the battle before he was shot down . Lee ' s troops were repulsed with heavy casualties . After Lee ' s troops had been defeated Hardee wished to renew the attack but Lee informed him his troops were in no condition to do so . Indeed , Lee had suffered a disproportionate 1 , 300 casualties to Cleburne ' s 400 . Both were disproportionate to the Federal total of 179 . Learning of this and fearing a direct attack on Atlanta , Hood withdrew Lee ' s corps from Hardee ’ s force that night and into the city ' s defenses , a move that would have great consequences the following morning when fighting resumed . Hood later described the fighting on August 31 as a " disgraceful effort " because the number of Confederate dead was minimal compared to the forces engaged . September 1 . The next day , September 1 , Sherman brought up the XIV Corps , now led by Jefferson C . Davis , for an assault on the Confederate lines north of Jonesborough . Much of the morning , however , was spent bringing up further Union reinforcements . Sherman was particularly concerned about bringing David S . Stanley ' s IV Corps into line which was busy destroying the Macon & Western Railroad near Rough and Ready . Hardee moved his lone corps in a defensive line with the divisions of John C . Brown and Clerburne parallel to the Macon & Western Railroad . George Maney ' s division ran perpendicular to Cleburne ' s right forming a salient centered around the railroad . map By 4 : 00 p . m . Stanley ' s corps had not yet arrived on the battlefield and Sherman ordered Davis to make an attack on a Confederate salient held by Cleburne and Maney . The apex of the salient was held by Daniel Govan ' s brigade . Davis made an initial attack led by a brigade of U . S . Regulars which was easily repulsed . Next , he positioned all three of his divisions for an assault . Absalom Baird was in the center with James D . Morgan on the left and William P . Carlin on the right . John A . Logan ' s XV Corps also moved up on Davis ' right . Baird personally led a bayonet charge which earned him the Medal of Honor . The Confederates held on tenaciously but after hand to hand combat Baird ' s men broke through , capturing Govan and 600 of his men . Davis ' men poured through the breach while Stanley ' s corps finally arrived on Davis ' left . The remaining Confederates managed to retreat in good order to Lovejoy ’ s Station . That night Hood ordered the evacuation of Atlanta . The Union forces did succeed in cutting Hood ’ s supply lines , but had failed to annihilate Hardee ’ s command . However , Sherman would finally occupy Atlanta the following day , September 2 , which had been one of his major goals in the campaign . Aftermath . The Battle of Jonesborough was the final battle of the Atlanta Campaign , and it caused the besieged city of Atlanta to fall into Union hands . The capture of Atlanta greatly aided the re - election of Abraham Lincoln that November , and hastened the end of the American Civil War . Hood led his defeated army away from Atlanta and to the west , opening the way for Sherman ' s March to the Sea and led to the virtual destruction of the Army of Tennessee during the Franklin - Nashville Campaign . Many of the fallen soldiers were relocated and reburied in the Patrick R . Cleburne Confederate Cemetery in 1872 . In popular media . Based on the above , the alternate history novel " Gray Victory " by Robert Skimin assumes that a Union failure to take Atlanta would have led to Lincoln losing the elections to McClellan - who would have ended the war by recognising the Confederacy and in effect conceding a Southern victory . The famous fire scenes in the 1939 American film " Gone with the Wind " depict the conflagration started in Atlanta when Hood ordered the destruction of military supplies and installations as he evacuated the city .