While many communities in the North finally receive confirmation of the Union’s triumph over Atlanta, this day, as decreed by President Abraham Lincoln two days earlier, is a national day of celebration in the United States, following the Union victories at Atlanta and Mobile Bay. Although Lincoln’s proclamation for this day’s celebratory cannon salutes in…
One day after the fall of Atlanta the news is ever so slowly traveling by word of mouth, as communications infrastructure in the Atlanta area is largely destroyed. The Confederate capital is in the dark regarding Atlanta as the Richmond Daily Dispatch reports of ongoing fighting near the city: “We have news of fighting near…
Today marks the beginning of the battle that will decide the fate of Atlanta. In what becomes known as the Battle of Jonesborough, Union General William T. Sherman maneuvers his forces in an offensive designed to draw the Confederate’s Army of the Tennessee out of the city of Atlanta. Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee,…