In August 1864, Robert E. Lee had stopped Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, Virginia for the time being. William T. Sherman’s Federals were temporarily stalled at Atlanta, the largest southern city still in Confederate hands. Bleak northern prospects were brightened by a great naval victory, and the Democrats assembled to nominate a challenger to Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming election.
The Shenandoah Valley Campaign
Confederates under General Jubal Early, fresh off last month’s raid on Washington, continued wreaking havoc in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. To stop them, Grant, promoted General Philip Sheridan to command the new Federal Army of the Valley and "to put himself south of the enemy and follow him to the death."
As the Federals advanced into the Shenandoah, they clashed with Confederates around Cedar Creek. Sheridan strengthened his lines at Winchester, and when Early realized he could not penetrate Sheridan’s defenses, he withdrew. Sheridan began a pursuit that would ultimately lead to the destruction of the Shenandoah Valley.
The Battle of Mobile Bay
In the Gulf of Mexico, Federals had been building up a naval squadron to capture Mobile Bay, Alabama, one of the last remaining Confederate ports for blockade runners. The goal was to close Confederate shipping at Mobile Bay and divert Confederate attention from Sherman’s army advancing on Atlanta.
Under the command of Admiral David Farragut, the Federals assembled four ironclads and 14 warships to run the batteries guarding the bay. Also guarding the bay was the Confederate ironclad Tennessee and a series of floating mines called "torpedoes." On August 5, Farragut’s fleet entered Mobile Bay, enduring artillery fire from Forts Morgan and Gaines guarding the bay’s entrance.
When the lead Federal ship hit a floating mine and sank, Farragut shouted from his flagship Hartford: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" The fleet pushed through and destroyed Tennessee. This left the forts isolated, and by the end of the month, the defenders surrendered and the Federals captured the vital port of Mobile Bay. This was a crucial Federal victory at a time when the Federal war momentum was waning.
The Democratic National Convention
In Chicago, Democrats assembled a national convention to nominate a presidential candidate for the November election. The Democrats had waited as long as possible before calling their convention, hopeful that a summer of war weariness would work in their favor. The party was split between a pro-war faction that sought to defeat the South and preserve the Union, and an anti-war faction that sought peace at any price, even if it meant Confederate independence.
The anti-war faction insisted on adding a plank to the Democratic platform that called for an immediate end to hostilities. The pro-war faction nominated General George McClellan to run for president. Since McClellan sought to continue the war until the Union was preserved, he did not support the party’s anti-war plank. This divided the Democratic Party prior to the crucial election.
The Atlanta Campaign
In Georgia, Sherman’s Federals continued extending their lines around Atlanta, while the outnumbered Confederates under General John Bell Hood spread themselves as thin as possible to defend the city. A series of sharp clashes occurred near the Macon & Western Railroad, the last railroad line into Atlanta by which residents and Confederate forces could receive vital supplies.
Throughout the month, Sherman bombarded Atlanta; on one day alone, the Federals fired over 5,000 artillery shells into the city. Several civilians, including women and children, died in the bombardment. Meanwhile, Confederate cavalry under Generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and Joseph Wheeler conducted raids on Sherman’s supply lines in an effort to force him to pull back. These raids were generally unsuccessful.
By month’s end, Sherman’s Federals were poised to capture the Macon & Western Railroad. In response, Hood launched a desperate attack at Jonesboro, but he was hopelessly outnumbered and outmaneuvered. The Federals repulsed the attack and captured the railroad. Upon receiving the news of defeat, Hood knew he had no choice but to evacuate Atlanta.
Sources
- Long, E.B. and Long, Barbara: The Civil War: Day by Day (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971)
- Wallechinsky, David and Wallace, Irving: The People’s Almanac (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1975)
- Ward, Geoffrey C.; Burns, Ric; Burns, Ken: The Civil War (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990)
Walter Coffey - Walter Coffey is a freelance writer who resides in Houston, Texas. Walter has written several works of historical fiction and non-fiction, ...
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