Atlanta in the American Civil War The city of Atlanta , Georgia , was an important rail and commercial center during the American Civil War . Although relatively small in population , the city became a critical point of contention during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864 when a powerful Union army approached from American - held Tennessee . The fall of Atlanta was a critical point in the Civil War , giving the North more confidence , and ( along with the victories at Mobile Bay and Winchester ) leading to the re - election of President Abraham Lincoln and the eventual surrender of the Confederacy . Early war years . The city that would become Atlanta began as the endpoint of a railroad ( aptly named Terminus ) in 1837 . While it grew quickly after two railroad lines were completed in 1845 , in the years before the Civil War , Atlanta was a relatively small city ranking 99th in the United States in size with a population of 9 , 554 according to the 1860 United States ( U . S . ) Census . However , it was the 12th - largest city in what became the Confederate States of America . The city was a vital transportation and logistics center , with several major railroads in the area , including the Western & Atlantic Railroad , which connected the city with Chattanooga , Tennessee , 138 miles to the north . A series of roads radiated out from the city in all directions , connecting Atlanta with neighboring towns and states . Thought to be relatively safe from Union forces early in the war , Atlanta rapidly became a concentration point for the Confederate quartermasters and logistics experts ; warehouses were filled with food , forage , supplies , ammunition , clothing and other materiel critical to the Confederate armies operating in the Western Theater . The Atlanta Rolling Mill , established before the war , was significantly expanded and provided a major source for armor plating for Confederate Navy ironclads , including the CSS Virginia . It also refurbished railroad tracks . A large number of machine shops , foundries and other industrial concerns were soon established in Atlanta . The population swelled to nearly 22 , 000 as workers arrived for these new factories and warehouses . A number of newspapers flourished in Atlanta during the Civil War . Among the more prominent ones were the " Atlanta Southern Confederacy " and the " Daily Intelligencer " , which was moved to Macon during the Union occupation in 1864 . It was the only Atlanta paper to survive the war and resume publication after the hostilities . Atlanta as a target . Concerned after the Vicksburg Campaign that Atlanta would be a logical target for future Union Army attacks , the Confederate Chief of the Engineer Bureau Jeremy F . Gilmer contacted Atlanta businessman and entrepreneur Lemuel P . Grant and asked him to survey possible enemy crossings of the Chattahoochee River , a broad waterway that offered some protection from a Northern approach . Grant complied , and after a thorough investigation and survey , explained that the fortification of Atlanta would be as difficult as that of Richmond , Virginia , due to the many possible enemy approach routes . Gilmer gave Grant the approval to develop a plan to ring Atlanta with forts and earthworks along the key approaches to the city . Grant planned a series of 17 redoubt s forming a 10 - mile ( 16 km ) circle over a mile ( 1 . 6 km ) out from the center of town . These would be interlinked with a series of earthworks and trenches , along with rows of abatis and other impediments to enemy troops . Construction on the extensive defensive works began in August 1863 . They were bounded on the north on high ground ( the present location of the Fox Theatre ) , the west by Ashby Street , the south by McDonough Drive and the east by what is today known as Grant Park . Gilmer inspected the completed work in December 1863 and gave his approval . Because of how the subsequent campaign unfolded , most of these fortifications were never really put to the test . The fall of Atlanta . In 1864 the city , as feared by Gilmer , did indeed become the target of a major Union invasion . The area now covered by metropolitan Atlanta was the scene of several fiercely contested battles , including the Battle of Peachtree Creek , the Battle of Atlanta and the Battle of Ezra Church . On September 1 , 1864 , Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta , after a five - week siege mounted by Union General William Sherman , and ordered all public buildings and possible Confederate assets destroyed . On September 2 , Mayor James Calhoun surrendered the city . Sherman sent a telegram to Washington reading , " Atlanta is ours , and fairly won " and he established his headquarters there on September 7 , where he stayed for two months . That same day , Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate . After a plea by Father Thomas O ' Reilly of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church , Sherman did not burn the city ' s churches or hospitals . However , the remaining war resource s were then destroyed in the aftermath and in Sherman ' s March to the Sea . These included Edward A . Vincent ' s railroad depot , built in 1853 . As General Sherman departed Atlanta at 7 : 00 a . m . on November 15 with the bulk of his army , he noted his handiwork : Aftermath . The fall of Atlanta was especially noteworthy for its political ramifications . The capture and fall of Atlanta were extensively covered by Northern newspapers , and significantly boosted Northern morale . Lincoln was re - elected easily . Federal soldiers continued to occupy Atlanta for the rest of the war , with the Confederacy ' s dwindling resources and military strength , the Confederate army was never in a position to retake the city . Periodic cavalry raids continued on Union supply lines in the general vicinity for some time . Following the war Federal troops remained in Atlanta to help enforce the provisions of Reconstruction . External links . < br >