Battle of Resaca The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War . The battle was waged in both Gordon and Whitfield counties , Georgia , from May 13 – 15 , 1864 . It ended inconclusively with the Confederate Army retreating . The engagement was fought between the Military Division of the Mississippi ( led by Major General William T . Sherman ) on the side of the Union and the Army of Tennessee ( General Joseph E . Johnston ) for the Confederates . Background . In early May 1864 , the Confederate government granted Johnston ' s request for reinforcements to his camps around Dalton , Georgia . As the brigade of Brigadier General James Cantey started to move through the city on May 7 , 1864 , cavalry scouts alerted Johnston that a large number of Union troops were moving towards Rome , Georgia , on roads that led through Resaca . During the remainder of May 7 and the day of May 8 Cantey ' s brigade had time to entrench and set up defenses . On May 9 , the Army of the Tennessee under the command of James B . McPherson moved out of Snake Creek Gap and immediately ran into a Confederate cavalry brigade ordered to scout the area the day before under the command of Colonel Warren Grigsby . After a fierce battle , Brigadier General Thomas W . Sweeny formed a defensive line and drove the Confederates back to Resaca , several miles to the east . Sherman ' s plan , as written in his memoirs , was to hold the railroad and telegraph lines south of Dalton , so as Johnston would either evacuate his position at Dalton or detach a section of his army to fight Sherman on a ground that had more of an advantage to Sherman . He devoted the Army of the Tennessee for this , while the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Ohio , commanded by George H . Thomas and John M . Schofield , respectively , would feign attacks in the Confederates ' s front . As McPherson ' s two Corps left the woods , they skirmished with Confederate cavalry for a while until the cavalry was able to withdraw to a line of fortifications on the outer edge of the city , where they were reinforced by the 37th Mississippi , a regiment in James Cantey ' s brigade . In the evening , Sherman sent his only cavalry , the 9th Illinois Mounted Infantry , northeast to scout out the best route to the Western & Atlantic Railroad . Meanwhile , skirmishers in Major General Grenville Dodge ' s XVI Corps moved to attack a line of fortifications along Camp Creek , held by Confederate cavalry , the remainders of Cantey ' s brigade , two twelve pound Napoleonic era batteries and a fresh brigade under Confederate brigadier general Daniel H . Reynolds , which was the lead of the column of 20 , 000 men sent out from Atlanta by John Bell Hood . Battle . Johnston had withdrawn his forces from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca . On May 13 , the Union troops tested the Confederate lines to pinpoint their whereabouts . The next day full scale fighting occurred , and the Union troops were generally repulsed except on the Confederate right flank where Sherman did not fully exploit his advantage . On May 15 , the battle continued with no advantage to either side until Sherman sent a force across the Oostanaula River , at Lay ' s Ferry , using newly delivered Cumberland pontoon bridges and advanced towards Johnston ' s railroad supply line . Unable to halt this Union turning movement , Johnston was forced to retire , leading to the Battle of Adairsville on May 17 . Aftermath . Unable to halt the Union turning movement caused by Sherman ' s crossing of the Oostanaula , Johnston was forced to retire , burning the railroad span and a nearby wagon bridge in the early morning of May 16 . After the Union repaired the bridges and transported more men over , they continued in the pursuit of the Confederates , leading to the Battle of Adairsville on May 17 . There were 6 , 100 combined casualties : 3 , 500 for the Union and 2 , 600 for the Confederacy . Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site . Today , the battlefield is preserved as the Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site . The visitor center is scheduled to open in 2010 . In popular culture . Ambrose Bierce ' s short story " Killed at Resaca " focuses on a cohort of men who fight and die bravely at Resaca , and the needless bloodshed of war in general .