Battle of Atlanta

The **Battle of Atlanta** (July 22, 1864) was a major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was part of the Atlanta Campaign directed by Union Army general William Tecumseh Sherman. The city of Atlanta was a major supply center, railroad hub and symbol of the Confederate States of America. Its loss proved to be a major blow to the Confederacy and led to the end of the Civil war.

## Background 
### Military 
The war had been going on for three years when Ulysses S. Grant was given overall command of the Union Army. While a much smaller army, the Confederates had been moving their forces to battle whichever Union army was active at the time. By doing this, they had won most of the battles. Grant decided to  his armies and defeat the confederates. His field armies would all engage the confederate field armies at the same time. This would pin down the smaller southern armies so the Union army could defeat them. Grant would personally lead the Army of the Potomac against Confederate general Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. He would try to capture the capital of the confederacy, Richmond. When elected in 1860 Lincoln had won a majority of the Electoral College votes. But he only won 39.8% of the popular vote. He was probably the least popular president when he took office in 1861. Seven southern states had broken away and formed the Confederate States of America. On April 12, 1861, the Civil War began. The war had gone badly for the Union. Even though they had a much larger army, they had lost a number of battles. By 1864 Lincoln needed some victories if he wanted to be ed that November. Johnston's army was only about half the size of the Union army facing him. Sherman used his larger army in a series of battles to push Johnston back. He used two of his armies facing Johnston's Army of Tennessee. The third army was used in flanking maneuvers. Finally, Johnston retreated into Atlanta on July 9–10. He would not  his army to a major battle but ed and harassed Sherman every chance he got. Hood was the most aggressive general the confederacy had. He intended to defend Atlanta. On July 20 Hood's army attacked Union general George Henry Thomas's Army of the Cumberland. John Schofield's Army of the Ohio and James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee were both moving around the Confederate right and could not help Thomas. But Thomas's army stood fast.

During the fighting general Dodge (the author) could see a gap in the Union lines. Then Sherman withdrew his armies leaving only a small force. As intended, Hood's army followed them to Jonesboro, Georgia. Sherman's army destroyed the railway tracks back to Atlanta. The Battle of Jonesborough lasted two days and ended on 1 September. After taking more heavy casualties, what was left of Hood's army burned their supplies and ammunition and left Atlanta. Sherman then took Atlanta. This was a major loss for the confederacy. It almost guaranteed Lincoln's reelection. The Battle of Atlanta marked the  point in the Atlanta campaign.

## Notes 
## References 
## Other websites 
* Battle of Atlanta, About North Georgia 
* American Civil War: Battle of Atlanta 
* The Atlanta Campaign