ATLANTA CAMPAIGN

The main area of the eastern campaigns, 186165. Use left sidebar to control the speed of the in the American Civil War, important series of battles in Georgia (MaySeptember 1864), most ending in draws, that eventually cut off a main Confederate supply centre and influenced the Federal presidential election of 1864. By the end of 1863, with Chattanooga and Vicksburg firmly under the control of the North, Atlanta became the logical point for Union forces to attack in their western campaign. Distant from earlier fighting, Atlanta had become an important Confederate railroad, supply, and manufacturing centre and a gateway to the lower South. Southern defenders of the strategic city were led by Lieutenant General John Bell Hood. After seesaw battles lasting over several months, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman forced Confederate evacuation of Atlanta (August 31September 1). This Union victory presented President Abraham Lincoln with the key to reelection in the fall of 1864.