Remember when Atlanta's eastside was a battlefield?
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An illustration of the Battle of Atlanta with the Union 4th Division and 15th Corps. Photo: Culture Club/Getty Images
On a hot summer day in 1864, on a patch of southeast Atlanta land where the former Alonzo Crim High School now stands, soldiers fired the opening shots in a pivotal battle that helped swing the Civil War in the Union's favor.
Why it matters: The Battle of Atlanta was a needed Union victory that helped the North gain control of one of the Confederate States of America's most important cities.
- The conflict was the bloodiest battle of Union General William T. Sherman's Atlanta campaign, according to the American Battlefield Trust. The morale-boosting victory helped President Abraham Lincoln win re-election.
Context: During the summer of 1864, Union soldiers marched on Atlanta to seize control of a major railroad city and manufacturing hub for the Confederacy.
- On July 22, Union and CSA soldiers clashed in what today is East Atlanta, Edgewood, Grant Park, Kirkwood, Reynoldstown, and other eastside neighborhoods.
- Sherman set up his headquarters in a hilltop home located not far from where the Carter Center now stands. CSA Gen. John B. Hood observed part of the battle from Oakland Cemetery, according to Battle of Atlanta scholar Daniel Pollock.
Throughout the day, forces fought to gain hilltop advantages and outflank the enemy, with Union troops ultimately forcing the CSA army to retreat.
- Confederate forces suffered 5,500 casualties, according to the American Battlefield Trust; the Union reported 3,722.
The intrigue: Union Gen. James B. McPherson was shot in the back and killed as he galloped away attempting to escape CSA soldiers.
- McPherson Avenue in East Atlanta is named after the general, the second highest-ranked Union officer to die in combat, and a monument near the location of his death pays tribute to him.
Fun Fact: The cyclorama on display at the Atlanta History Center depicts the Battle of Atlanta.
Zoom out: The troops collided again at the Battle of Ezra Church several days later, followed by a long stretch of bombardment on the city.
- Hood abandoned the city on Sept. 1. The following day, Atlanta Mayor James Calhoun surrendered the city to Union troops near what today is Northside Drive and Marietta Street.
- Union troops occupied Atlanta for more than two months; Sherman gave orders to burn the city on Nov. 15 and began the march to Savannah.
State of play: A monument in the southeast corner of Grant Park marks the former location of Fort Walker, a Confederate redoubt.
The intrigue: No Civil War battlefields remain inside I-285.
- An effort in 1899 to preserve roughly 1,400 acres in the area near Bobby Jones Golf Course failed to earn congressional approval, Atlanta History Center senior military historian Gordon Jones told the AJC.
- In the 1920s and 30s, a plan to build a monument on the sites of Atlanta's major battles linked by parkways with memorials. The mansion-lined Peachtree Battle Avenue is a "vestige" of that initiative, Jones said.