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Sherman's Battle For Atlanta
In 1864 Abraham Lincoln had privately predicted his defeat in the impending election, but ten days later Atlanta fell, assuring his victory. General Jacob D. Cox (1828–1900) played a key role in the Union success at Atlanta, a city of profound strategic and political significance. At Kenesaw Mountain in June, his division seized a ridge opposite the Confederate left, allowing Sherman to flank the Confederates out of their prepared position; in late August Cox's men served the city's final rail line, forcing Hood's evacuation. It was Cox's self-professed qualities of "a bold heart, a cool hand, and practical common-sense" that later earned him the command of the entire Twenty-third Corps and the rank of major general. After the war, Cox applies those same attributes to his books, Sherman's Battle for Atlanta and Sherman's March to the Sea/two volumes in the landmark series Campaigns of the Civil War. In Atlanta Cox offers readers a compact, comprehensive, and balanced history of that campaign. William T. Sherman emerges as the primary hero of events, but he does not remain unscathed by Cox's evaluation. Cox’s insightful chronicle of the campaign—from the performances of Generals Johnston's evasive maneuvers through Hood's three desperate attempts to dispel the Yankees to Sherman's triumphant telegram to Washington that "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won"—has endured the scrutiny of time.
274 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1882
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About the author
Jacob Dolson Cox
70 books4 followersCox was born in Montreal, Canada, to American parents, Jacob Dolson Cox and Thedia Redelia Kenyon Cox. Cox married Helen Clarissa Finney, whom he met at Oberlin College in Ohio.
He became superintendent of the Warren, Ohio, school system as he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1853. As a strong abolitionist, in 1855 he helped to organize the Republican Party in Ohio and stumped for its candidates in counties surrounding Warren. He entered the Ohio State Senate in 1860 and formed a political alliance with Senator and future President James A. Garfield, and with Governor Salmon P. Chase. While in the legislature, he accepted a commission with the Ohio Militia as a brigadier general and spent much of the winter of 1860–61 studying military science.
After Cox fought in the Civil War he became the Governor of Ohio from 1866-1867. He was appointed Secretary of the Interior by Ulysses S. Grant upon his inauguration in March 1869, serving until November 1870.
During his later years, Cox was a prolific author. His works include Atlanta (published in 1882); The March to the Sea: Franklin and Nashville (1882); The Second Battle of Bull Run (1882); The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee (1897); and Military Reminiscences of the Civil War (1900).
Cox died on summer vacation at Gloucester, Massachusetts. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.
He became superintendent of the Warren, Ohio, school system as he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1853. As a strong abolitionist, in 1855 he helped to organize the Republican Party in Ohio and stumped for its candidates in counties surrounding Warren. He entered the Ohio State Senate in 1860 and formed a political alliance with Senator and future President James A. Garfield, and with Governor Salmon P. Chase. While in the legislature, he accepted a commission with the Ohio Militia as a brigadier general and spent much of the winter of 1860–61 studying military science.
After Cox fought in the Civil War he became the Governor of Ohio from 1866-1867. He was appointed Secretary of the Interior by Ulysses S. Grant upon his inauguration in March 1869, serving until November 1870.
During his later years, Cox was a prolific author. His works include Atlanta (published in 1882); The March to the Sea: Franklin and Nashville (1882); The Second Battle of Bull Run (1882); The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee (1897); and Military Reminiscences of the Civil War (1900).
Cox died on summer vacation at Gloucester, Massachusetts. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 26, 2023
Personal reflections by a key participant in Sherman's campaigns in 1865. Differs with other accounts but gives a compelling account of events.
June 11, 2020
There are advantages and disadvantages to having history written by participants. This particular book was written by one of the higher officers in Sherman's army, one who would later lead a corps in the final campaign in North Carolina, and as a personal account there are clear agendas that the author has in seeking to counteract the lost cause myth that exaggerated Union advantages in manpower during the Atlanta campaign fight. Yet at the same time the author himself did not write with the benefits that later writers would when it comes to having the full official documents to the campaign. As a result, the reader must decide the extent to which the author's personal loyalty to Sherman as well as his personal opposition to the Lost Cause is a sufficient reason to view this as a less than credible account altogether. Speaking personally, I found the author's personal discussion to be engaging and sometimes poignant, and the author has a lot of worth when it comes to respecting Johnston's masterly retreating if noting that he was not quite as much a master of war as some were, a way of giving credit to a skilled foe.
This book is about 250 pages long including some appendices. The book begins with a list of maps and then some preliminary movements (1), including the successful effort to secure Eastern Tennessee (2). After that the author discusses the opposing armies at the beginning of 1864 (3) and their lines before Dalton as the campaign began (4). This leads to the battle at Resaca (5) and movement of the troops to the Etowah, where the next Confederate line was at (6). The author then discusses the march on Dallas (7) and the battles at New Hope Church and Pickett's Mill (8), as well as the resulting lines around Marietta (9) which led to the conflict at Kennesaw Mountain (10). Sherman's march across the Chattahoochee (11) led to Johnston being replaced by Hood and Battle at Peachtree Creek (12) and then Atlanta (13) and Ezra Church (14). Eventually the Battle of Jonesboro (15) led to the fall of Atlanta, which had some dramatic political results (16), but which had strangely indecisive military results as Hood continued to attack Sherman's supply line (17), which is where the book ends, after which there are appendices that discuss the strength of the Confederate army (i) and its organization in the field (ii, iii), the Battle of Alatoona (iv), and the decision of Sherman to ignore Hood and march to the sea.
The Battle for Atlanta was largely one of maneuver, but at the same time this book is at its most compelling when it discusses battles. And the campaign of Atlanta itself is a strangely indecisive one. After the conquest of the city, Sherman found himself still chasing Hood and faced with the question of what would result from victory. Yet the results of that decision made to send some troops to Tennessee and take the rest on a pleasurable time of looting and pillaging in Georgia and South Carolina were left for other volumes. So this book begins with the aftermath of the Battle of Chattanooga and ends with the prelude to Nashville and the March to the Sea, and this is the sort of book that clearly requires some context in understanding its point. It is well worth appreciating the way that Sherman's army masterfully moved through the difficult terrain of Northern Georgia to take over the city of Atlanta at minimal loss to his own men, and even though the campaign was not decisive in a military sense, the conquest of the city demonstrated to Northern voters that the war was going well, and allowed the victory to end up happening.
This book is about 250 pages long including some appendices. The book begins with a list of maps and then some preliminary movements (1), including the successful effort to secure Eastern Tennessee (2). After that the author discusses the opposing armies at the beginning of 1864 (3) and their lines before Dalton as the campaign began (4). This leads to the battle at Resaca (5) and movement of the troops to the Etowah, where the next Confederate line was at (6). The author then discusses the march on Dallas (7) and the battles at New Hope Church and Pickett's Mill (8), as well as the resulting lines around Marietta (9) which led to the conflict at Kennesaw Mountain (10). Sherman's march across the Chattahoochee (11) led to Johnston being replaced by Hood and Battle at Peachtree Creek (12) and then Atlanta (13) and Ezra Church (14). Eventually the Battle of Jonesboro (15) led to the fall of Atlanta, which had some dramatic political results (16), but which had strangely indecisive military results as Hood continued to attack Sherman's supply line (17), which is where the book ends, after which there are appendices that discuss the strength of the Confederate army (i) and its organization in the field (ii, iii), the Battle of Alatoona (iv), and the decision of Sherman to ignore Hood and march to the sea.
The Battle for Atlanta was largely one of maneuver, but at the same time this book is at its most compelling when it discusses battles. And the campaign of Atlanta itself is a strangely indecisive one. After the conquest of the city, Sherman found himself still chasing Hood and faced with the question of what would result from victory. Yet the results of that decision made to send some troops to Tennessee and take the rest on a pleasurable time of looting and pillaging in Georgia and South Carolina were left for other volumes. So this book begins with the aftermath of the Battle of Chattanooga and ends with the prelude to Nashville and the March to the Sea, and this is the sort of book that clearly requires some context in understanding its point. It is well worth appreciating the way that Sherman's army masterfully moved through the difficult terrain of Northern Georgia to take over the city of Atlanta at minimal loss to his own men, and even though the campaign was not decisive in a military sense, the conquest of the city demonstrated to Northern voters that the war was going well, and allowed the victory to end up happening.
January 17, 2021
Vol. 9 - Atlanta
The Scribners History of the Civil War (1883)
Following the fall of Chattanooga [Vol. 7], Sherman uses that base to advance along the single railroad through sparsely populated terrain to Atlanta. Confederate General Joe Johnston's defensive withdrawal buys time for the South but the result is inevitable. A lot of good maps are needed to follow this excellent text with understanding.
* * *
This book is part of the Scribners's series of 16 volumes on the Civil War on land and at sea, published in 1882-3. It took congress twenty years to finally allocate funds to have all official documents and battlefield communications assembled and sorted through. Americans could at last have an inside look at who actually said or did what, and when.
While that massive project was still underway, Scribners persuaded highly qualified people - most of them participants -- to write the individual volumes of this history in light of the new information. There is an immediacy to these brisk and readable accounts, making them a very good starting point for someone who wishes to study the conflict. After reading these, you can pick up any modern volume on any aspect of the war with good contextual grasp of how it fits into the overall picture.
Where these volumes fall short is maps, which are essential but inadequate because the publisher wanted to keep the price of each volume to one dollar – within reach of the ordinary person. The publisher advised readers to keep an atlas handy. Fortunately, today you can google “images” for good maps of almost anything under discussion. For the three naval volumes, you can also google images of the specific ships, or types of ships, under discussion.
The Scribners History of the Civil War (1883)
Following the fall of Chattanooga [Vol. 7], Sherman uses that base to advance along the single railroad through sparsely populated terrain to Atlanta. Confederate General Joe Johnston's defensive withdrawal buys time for the South but the result is inevitable. A lot of good maps are needed to follow this excellent text with understanding.
* * *
This book is part of the Scribners's series of 16 volumes on the Civil War on land and at sea, published in 1882-3. It took congress twenty years to finally allocate funds to have all official documents and battlefield communications assembled and sorted through. Americans could at last have an inside look at who actually said or did what, and when.
While that massive project was still underway, Scribners persuaded highly qualified people - most of them participants -- to write the individual volumes of this history in light of the new information. There is an immediacy to these brisk and readable accounts, making them a very good starting point for someone who wishes to study the conflict. After reading these, you can pick up any modern volume on any aspect of the war with good contextual grasp of how it fits into the overall picture.
Where these volumes fall short is maps, which are essential but inadequate because the publisher wanted to keep the price of each volume to one dollar – within reach of the ordinary person. The publisher advised readers to keep an atlas handy. Fortunately, today you can google “images” for good maps of almost anything under discussion. For the three naval volumes, you can also google images of the specific ships, or types of ships, under discussion.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews