In the final year of the American Civil War, having fought their way through Georgia, the Union faced Confederate defenses in Atlanta. Both sides understood that the fall of Atlanta would mean a major turning point in the war.

Union General Sherman divided his troops, sending his best commander, McPherson eastward to encircle the city. To meet McPherson’s troops, Hood ordered two of his division commanders, West Point graduate William J. Hardee and cavalry commander Joseph Wheeler, on a long and taxing night march to attack McPherson’s left flank. Another experienced division commander, William H. T. Walker, marched along with Hardee.

Although Hardee’s men were fresher than most, they had been hard at work building trenches and preparing for battle. “I have been so busy,” one soldier apologized in a letter to his parents, “I could not write for we have had something to do for a few days past.” A Major Cumming, who also participated in the march, commented on “how many men fell out of ranks during the march because of exhaustion.”

The Night March began near what are now West Peachtree and Peachtree Streets. Hardee and his men traveled south down Peachtree, turning east upon reaching Fayetteville road. Eventually, the Confederate troops came to a mill owned by William Cobb, where Hardee and Walker demanded his assistance. In addition to Cobb, a man named Case Turner offered his guidance to the Confederate troops. Turner and Cobb agreed that the only major obstacle for the soldiers would be Terry’s Mill Pond, an especially wide portion of water along Sugar Creek.

Around 11:00 AM the next morning, they came to the millpond, which turned out to be nearly half a mile long and occasionally ten feet deep. They detoured and pushed forward, now estimated to have been 15 to 18 miles long. In an attempt to survey their location, Walker was shot and killed, marking the beginning of the battle.

Because of their delay, Hardee’s men missed their opportunity to take advantage of McPherson’s weakened flank. “We moved all night,” one soldier recalled, “and the next day we came on them … and found them strongly fortified”. The Battle of Atlanta began that afternoon on July 22^nd, 1864, without the advantage Hood hoped to gain with the Night March. No clear winner emerged from the battle that day; however, the already weakened Confederacy suffered heavily from their losses.

Credits and Sources:

Researched and written by Gabby Bunnell, Mary Lawson Burrows, Meghan Cobler, students at the Westminster Schools.

Bunnell, Gabby. Photograph. January 20, 2016. JPEG.

Cumming, Joseph Bryan. Reminiscences on the War Between the States.

Garrett, Hosea, Jr. Letter, August 1, 1864.

Hughes, Nathaniel Cheairs. General William J. Hardee: Old Reliable, N.p.: Louisiana State University Press, 1962.

Morlan, J. A. Letter, July 23, 1864.

Key, William. The Battle of Atlanta.Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, 1981.

Kurtz, Wilbur G. “The Night March: Hardee’s Flank Movement.” Map.

Kurtz, Wilbur G. The Walker Monument on the Battlefield of Atlanta.Illustration.

Russell, Brown K. To the Manner Born: The Life of General William H. T. Walker. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1994.

William J. Hardee. Photograph. Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA.