Adairsville
Civil War Georgia


American Civil War
May 17, 1864

Following the Battle of Resaca, May 13-15, General Joseph E. Johnston' s army retreated southward while Sherman pursued.

Failing to find a good defensive position south of Calhoun, Johnston continued to Adairsville while the Rebel cavalry fought a skillful rearguard action.

On the 17th, skirmish fire continued throughout the day and into the early evening. Major General O.O. Howard's IV Corps ran into entrenched infantry of Lieutenant General William J. Hardee' s corps, while advancing, about two miles north of Adairsville.

The 44th Illinois and 24th Wisconsin (under the command of Major Arthur MacArthur, father of Douglas) attacked Cheatham's Division at Robert Saxon (the Octagon House) and incurred heavy losses.

Three Union divisions prepared for battle, but Major General George H. Thomas halted them due to the approach of darkness. Sherman then concentrated his men in the Adairsville area to attack Johnston the next day.

Johnston had originally expected to find a valley at Adairsville of suitable width to deploy his men and anchor his line with the flanks on hills. The valley, however, was too wide, so Johnston disengaged and withdrew.

Result(s): Confederate delaying action (Allowed Johnston to bait a trap at Cassville.)

Location: Bartow County and Gordon County

Campaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864) next battle in campaign    previous battle in campaign

Date(s): May 17, 1864

Principal Commanders: Major General William T. Sherman [US]; General Joseph E. Johnston [CS]

Forces Engaged: Military Division of the Mississippi [US]; Army of Tennessee [CS]

Estimated Casualties: Total unknown (US 200; CS unknown)


The Atlanta Campaign of 1864
The operations of the Union and Confederate armies from the perspective of the soldiers and the top generals. He offers new accounts and analyses of the major events of the campaign, and, in the process, corrects many long-standing myths, misconceptions, and mistakes. He challenges the standard view of Sherman's performance.




Atalanta Campaign Map




Civil War Map Illustrating the Siege of Atlanta, Georgia, c.1864
Civil War Map Siege of Atlanta, Georgia, c.1864
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Framed

Map of planned attack by General Johnston at Cassville May 18, 1864
Hundred Days Campaign Map Cassville

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Civil War Firearms

Standard Catalog of Civil War Firearms
Over 700 photographs and a rarity scale for each gun, this comprehensive guide to the thousands of weapons used by Billy Yank and Johnny Reb will be indispensable for historians and collectors..
Comments by CSA General John B. Hood on the Confederate Defense of Atlanta
Atlanta Campaign battle map


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American Civil War Book Titles

Rock of Chickamauga: The Life of General George H. Thomas
Union General George Thomas was one of the five men most important in the North's victory. Military historians consider him one of the best defensive generals ever, a man who would have stood out in any war

To Honor These Men: A History of the Phillips Georgia Legion Infantry Battalion
The Georgia Legion was formed shortly after secession and fought in nearly every major engagement on the Eastern Front, including Wilderness and Appomatox
This Terrible Sound
This Terrible Sound
The Battle of Chickamauga

Study of the great bloody battle of Chickamauga that was the last great offensive, although costsly, victory by the Confederates. This is a detailed account of the movements of regiments, brigades, divisions.
White Tecumseh
The White Tecumseh: A Biography of General William T. Sherman

Utilizing regimental histories, historian Hirshon offers a sympathetic yet excellent biography of one of the more noted Civil War generals, best remembered for burning Atlanta, cutting a swath of destruction across Georgia, then creating total destruction in South Carolina, including the burning of Columbia. Hirshon gives us an insight into how Sherman's own troops felt about him and his relationships with fellow generals, especially Grant. The author not only describes Sherman's role in the war but also details his early life and family problems. The latter part of the book deals with his life after the war, especially with the Indians in the West as well as his relationships with Presidents Johnson and Grant.
Sherman Invades Georgia
Sherman Invades Georgia: Planning the North Georgia Campaign Using a Modern Perspective

Sherman Invades Georgia takes advantage of modern planning techniques to fully examine what went into the Georgia campaign. Unlike other studies, though, this one puts the reader squarely into the mind of General Sherman on the eve of his most famous military undertaking—limiting the information to that possessed by Sherman at the time, as documented in his correspondence during the campaign and not in his after-the-fact reports and autobiography.

The Atlanta Campaign: A Civil War Driving Tour of Atlanta-Area Battlefields

The Battle of Peachtree Creek:
An Audio Driving Tour

This is a cd and a map packaged like an audiobook. Tour beautiful Atlanta neighborhoods while listening to audio describe the battle of Peachtree Creek. The route winds seven miles through the hills south of Buckhead before ending in Tanyard Creek Park on Collier Road.

The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns
This book contains an examination of the army that General William Tecumseh Sherman led through Georgia and the Carolinas, in late 1864 and early 1865. Instead of being just another narrative of the March to the Sea and Carolina campaigns, however, Glatthaar's book is a look at the individuals that composed the army. In it, he examines the social and ideological backgrounds of the men in Sherman's army, and evaluates how they felt about various factors of the war--slavery, the union, and, most significantly, the campaign in which they were participating. The result is a fascinating look at Sherman's campaigns through the eyes of the everyday soldier. Amazon Reviewer

The Children of Pride: Selected letters of the family of the Rev. Dr. Charles Colcock Jones from the years 1860-1868
This book provides the thoughts of the entire family, all literate and well-spoken people, over the entire period from the 1850s, just living their ante-bellum experience, to the idea of the war on the horizon, entering into it and living it day by day. This is all seen through ordinary every-day experiences, family anecdotes, and discussions of what is occurring

Guide to the Atlanta Campaign: Rocky Face Ridge to Kennesaw Mountain
Following the capture of Chattanooga, the Union initiated battles and operations that took it from the Tennessee border to the outskirts of Atlanta. Bloody confrontations at places such as Resaca and New Hope Church. Grant had ordered Sherman to penetrate the enemy's interior and inflict "all the damage you can against their War resources,"

Savannah
A large Union army led by Sherman leaves Chattanooga and northern Georgia camps and marches south to Atlanta and ultimately arrives at the coastal city of Savannah, laying waste to the territory through which it passes

The Battle of Resaca:
Atlanta Campaign, 1864

Ideal book for a Civil War buff. Take it with you if you visit the site. Written accounts from the soldiers that stormed across the hills put you in the moment. Several good maps and even pictures taken a few days after the battle help take you out of your living room and into the past



Confederate President Jefferson Davis
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