What is Battle of Atlanta?
[[File:Battle of Atlanta Kurz & Allison.jpg|thumb|350px|{{center|The Battle of Atlanta, [[Lithography|chromolithograph]] by [[Kurz & Allison]]}}]] The '''Battle of Atlanta''' (22 July 1864) was a major [[battle]] of the [[American Civil War]]. The battle was part of the [[Atlanta Campaign]] directed by [[Union Army]] [[General officer|general]] [[William Tecumseh Sherman]]. The city of [[Atlanta]] was a major [[Supply depot|supply center]], [[Rail transport|railroad]] [[Transport hub|hub]] and symbol of the [[Confederate States of America]]. Its loss proved to be a major blow to the [[Confederacy]] and led to the end of the Civil war. == Background == === Military === The [[war]] had been going on for three years when [[Ulysses S. Grant]] was given overall [[Command (military)|command]] of the Union Army.<ref name=Arnold18.21>''American Civil War: The Essential Reference Guide'', eds. James R. Arnold; Roberta Wiener (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011), pp. 18–20</ref> While a much smaller army, the Confederates had been moving their forces to battle whichever Union army was active at the time. By doing this, they had won most of the battles. Grant decided to [[wikt:coordinate|coordinate]] his armies and defeat the confederates. His [[Field army|field armies]]{{efn|At this time Sherman commanded the [[Military Division of the Mississippi]]. This was made up of three armies: The [[Army of the Ohio]], the [[Army of the Cumberland]] and the Army of the Tennessee.<ref name=Dodge49>[[Grenville Mellen Dodge]], ''The Battle of Atlanta: And Other Campaigns, Addresses, Etc'' (Council Bluffs, IA: Monarch Print. Co., 1911), p. 49</ref>}} would all engage the confederate field armies at the same time. This would pin down the smaller southern armies so the Union army could defeat them. Grant would personally lead the [[Army of the Potomac]] against Confederate general [[Robert E. Lee]] and his [[Army of Northern Virginia]]. He would try to capture the [[Capital city|capital]] of the confederacy, [[Richmond]].<ref name=Arnold1