On this day in 1864, at the Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia,
General William T. Sherman launches the attack that finally
secures Atlanta, Georgia, for the Union, and seals the fate of
Confederate General John Bell Hood's army, which is forced to
evacuate the area. The Battle of Jonesboro was the culmination
of a four-month campaign by Sherman to capture Atlanta. He had
spent the summer driving his army down the 100-mile corridor
from Chattanooga, Tennessee, against a Confederate force led by
General Joseph Johnston. General Hood, who replaced Johnston in
July on the outskirts of Atlanta, proceeded to attack Sherman in
an attempt to drive him northward. However, these attacks
failed, and by August 1 the armies had settled into a siege. In
late August, Sherman swung his army south of Atlanta to cut the
main rail line supplying the Rebel army. Confederate General
William Hardee's corps moved to block Sherman at Jonesboro, and
attacked the Union troops on August 31, but the Rebels were
thrown back with staggering lo