Sherman's First Flanking Movement
— Atlanta Campaign Heritage Trail —
By early May 1864, after wintering around
Dalton, Georgia, Confederate General Joseph E.
Johnston's approximately 50,000-man "Army of
Tennessee" was prepared for
battle on Rocky Face Ridge.
One of Johnston's defensive
necessities was to protect his
"lifeline," the Western &
Atlantic Railroad, to the
south toward Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Union Major
General William T. Sherman,
commanding over 100,000
men positioned in and near
Chattanooga, began marching
his three combined armies
south. Sherman's goals were to
destroy both Johnston's army
and Confederate war-making
capacity throughout the region.
He also aimed to capture
Atlanta. Rather than launch a
major frontal attack against
Johnston's strong positions at
Dalton, Sherman ordered the
"Army of the Tennessee," led
by Union Major General James
B. McPherson, to march
southwest of Dalton through
Snake Creek Gap. This gap
had been discovered by Federal
reconnaissance over the winter.
Sherman hoped to cut the
Confederate army's rail line
at Resaca, located near the
southern end of the gap. He
also wanted to place major
portions of his larger force
on either side of the
Confederate army at
Dalton, thus forcing it to
abandon that city and
retreat into open country with a reduced capacity
for re-supply. Sherman's directive to
McPherson
was explicit:
"Do not fail, in that event, to make
most of the opportunity by the most vigorous
attack possible."
While General Sherman's
other two armies occupied
Confederates on Rocky Face
Ridge, General McPherson
marched his 24,000-man army
toward Snake Creek Gap.
Private Thomas W. Moffatt of
the 12th Illinois Volunteer
Infantry Regiment recalled,
"We were...sloshing along over
the stones and water of Snake
Creek Gap. The road over
which we were passing was
probably the finest in the
world as far as dustlessness
was concerned for it was the
flat bed of Snake Creek."
McPherson's troops arrived at the north end of the
gap on May 8th, finding it undefended, and by only
by a small number of
Confederate cavalrymen
at its southern end.
After noon on the 9th,
McPherson notified
Sherman that his troops
were within two miles
of Resaca. Slamming
his fist on a table,
Sherman excitedly
exclaimed,
"I've got
Joe Johnston dead!"
However, General
McPherson's army soon
encountered about
4,000 Confederates under Brigadier General
James Cantey, entrenched near Resaca. Though
greatly superior in numbers, McPherson had
limited supplies and no cavalry to scout for any
possible enemy flank attack. He decided to
withdraw to the safety of Snake Creek Gap. On
May 12th, in a face-to-face
meeting, General
Sherman said, "Well, Mac, you have missed the
opportunity of a lifetime."
For General Johnston, his failure to adequately
guard Snake Creek Gap, and his cavalry's failure
to notify him sooner of the Federal flanking
movement, could have resulted in a Confederate
disaster. General Sherman pushed the bulk of his
armies through Snake Creek Gap, Johnston
withdrew his army south from Dalton to where
reinforcements awaited, and both commanders
readied for the first major battle of the Atlanta
Campaign, at Resaca on May 14 & 15, 1864.
Comments 0 comments