Thirty-Five Years of Volunteer Service: The Ga. State Defense Force, 1985-2020

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Seventy men and six women swore into the newly organized Ga. State Defense Force during a ceremony at the Georgia National Guard headquarters in Atlanta, August 24, 1985. Major General Joseph W. Griffin, Adjutant General of Georgia, presided over the ceremony and addressed the new SDF volunteers.[1]

“I applaud each and every one of you as true patriots,” said Griffin. “Because you are volunteers, you are showing the true spirit and dedication to tradition first displayed in Lexington and Concord in 1775.”[2]

Volunteers of the Ga. State Guard in 1945. Georgia National Guard Archives.

During his remarks, Griffin noted that one of the main considerations in establishing the SDF was the anticipation of an increased role of the National Guard and Reserve as deployable forces to augment active service components. This concern echoed the events of 1940 when Governor E. D. Rivers established the State Defense Corps, forerunner of the SDF, in anticipation of the possible deployment of 5,100 Georgia National Guard Soldiers. Ryburn G. Clay was appointed to command the SDC on June 23, 1940.[3] Less than three months later, Georgia’s National Guard units activated into federal service and dispatched to training camps such as Fort Jackson and Camp Blanding.[4] Volunteers of the Ga. SDC, which was redesignated as the Ga. State Guard in 1942, trained for homeland defense, guarded Georgia’s coast and stood ready to respond to natural disasters. Thousands of volunteers passed through the ranks of the Ga. State Guards before it was disbanded in 1947.[5]

Sept 3, 2005 - Ga. SDF Volunteers assist medical evacuees from New Orleans following the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Since its establishment in 1985 under the command of Brig. Gen. John Gillette, the Ga. SDF has supported the Ga. DoD during state emergencies. Under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Tom Blackstock, the organization’s sixth and current commander, the Ga. SDF has performed an unprecedented variety of response missions.

Brigadier General John Gillette, first commander of the Ga. SDF and Brig. Gen. Tom Blackstock, current commander of the Ga. SDF.  Georgia Guard Archives.

“The great patriots of the Georgia State Defense Force have continued in the finest traditions of selfless service to the citizens of Georgia during the recent COVID-19 pandemic response missions,” said Blackstock. “These men and women have performed more volunteer hours in the last six months than they would typically perform in three to four years of domestic support missions. Their willingness to step up in the state's time of need is truly remarkable. I am proud to serve with so many great Georgians serving Georgians. True Patriots! Ready to Serve!”

Volunteers of the Ga. SDF distribute supplies at Second Harvest of South Georgia's point of distribution in Tifton, Ga. April 9, 2020. In a matter of hours,
more than 1,750 households received supplies through the POD operation. Photo by Sgt. Kerry Hatcher.

Like Blackstock, Maj. Gen. Tom Carden, Georgia’s Adjutant General has repeatedly praised the efforts of the Ga. SDF through the COVID-19 response.

“The Georgia State Defense Force has literally made history in their sustained response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Carden. “The men and women of the Ga. SDF worked tirelessly in food banks, hospitals, nursing home, and at COVID-19 sample points of collection to alleviate suffering and save lives. Members of our SDF are volunteers in the truest sense of the word. I am both inspired and honored to serve with them.”

[1] “New State Defense Force Will Respond if Guard Mobilizes.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, Oct-Dec 1985, 3.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Atlanta Constitution, June 23, 1940.

[4] General Orders Number 13, Military Department, State of Georgia, October 7, 1941

[5] “Thompson Ends State Guard.” Atlanta Constitution, April 20, 1947, 23.

 

Trailblazers of the 348th BSB Case Colors at Inactivation Ceremony

 By Maj. William Carraway 

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Crest of the 348th BSB
TIOH

The Georgia Army National Guard’s 348th Brigade Support Battalion a unit of the Columbus-based 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, was inactivated during a ceremony at the Clay National Guard Center in Marietta Saturday, Aug 22, 2020. Colonel Brian Ellis, commander of the 648th MEB was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

 

Col. Brian Ellis
Commander, 648th MEB
Photo by Maj. William Carraway

“Today is a somber day as we case the colors of the Trailblazer Battalion, even though it reflects the normal process of change the Army makes year in and year out,” said Ellis. “That is the mechanical and unsentimental process of the Army. Units, however, are more than capabilities and effects that can be achieved on the battlefield. This is especially true of units in the National Guard… Units in the National Guard not only reflect the people that make up the units but the cities, towns and states in which they are organized."

During the ceremony, the battalion command team of Lt. Col. Charles Newton and Command Sgt. Major William Scaggs cased the battalion colors. Captain April Johnson and 1st Sgt. Eric Yates cased the colors of Headquarters Company while the colors of Company A were cased by Capt. Reggie Corbett and 1st Sgt. Olivia Singleton. Each of the commanders addressed the ceremony.

 

“I don’t look at it as an inactivation, said Corbett. “To me, we are dispersing excellence throughout the state. We will be able to carry on what we learned here in the rest of the Georgia National Guard.”

 

Capt. Reggie Corbett and 1st Sgt. Olivia Singleton case the colors of Company A, 348th BSB. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

Charles Newton, the outgoing battalion commander, recognized the Soldiers of the Trailblazer Battalion in his remarks.

 

“I am immensely humbled to have been your commander,” Said Newton. “We come from a proud legacy. We have never dropped a mission; we have served on foreign soil and frequently in partnership with civil authorities. As we complete our last milestone and the Trailblazer colors fly for the last time, I encourage you to remember the experiences and relationships you developed in the 348th. Deliver the Strike.  Trailblazer Six signing off.”

 

Lt. Col. Charles Newton and Command Sgt. Major William Scaggs case the colors of the 348th BSB. To the right, Capt. April Johnson and 1st Sgt. Eric Yates
case the colors of Headquarters Company, 348th BSB. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

The 348th BSB served as the support element for the 648th MEB throughout its existence. In addition to a headquarters company, the 348th BSB was comprised of Company A, a distribution company and Company B, a maintenance Company.

Command Sgt. Major William Scaggs with the colors
of the 348th BSB. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

 The inactivation of the 348th is part of an Army-wide force restructuring and affects all maneuver enhancement brigades in the force. The 348th Brigade Support Battalion was constituted September 1, 2009 in the Georgia Army National Guard with headquarters in Cumming, Ga., Headquarters Company and Company A were federally recognized June 3, 2010 while Company B maintained federal recognition and the lineage and honors of the Liberty Independent Troop of Hinesville. One of the oldest units in the Ga. ARNG, this company carries on the lineage of the Liberty Independent Troop, which was formed in Hinesville, Ga. in 1788, fought in World War I, and served in the Pacific theater of World War II. Company B was reorganized as the 1788th Quartermaster Company October 10, 2019[1] and was transferred from the 348th BSB to the 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion April 15, 2020.[2]

 

Throughout its history, the 348th BSB has supported the 648th MEB in training exercises at home and overseas, traveling to Korea, Romania and the country of Georgia. The 348th provided critical assistance to the Macon-based 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team during its train-up for its 2018 Afghanistan deployment and has provided logistical support during hurricane responses in Georgia and Florida. In the final days before its activation, Soldiers of the 348th continued to support COVID-19 response operations.

 

The 648th MEB in formation in 2015 at the National History Museum, Fort Benning, Ga. Left to right are the 878th Engineer Battalion, 1-214th Field Artillery
and 348th Brigade Support Battalion. Photo by Capt. William Carraway

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[1] OA 366-19

[2] OA 090-003

Mildred Day: First Uniformed Servicewoman of the Ga. DoD

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 On January 24, 1945, Mildred Day of Atlanta became the first woman to serve in a component of the Ga. Department of Defense. Day enlisted in the Georgia State Guard and served in the headquarters section of the Atlanta-based 4^th Battalion.

Mildred Day is sworn into the Ga. State Guard by Lt. Col. Frank Fling, commander of the Atlanta-based
4th Battalion Jan 24, 1945. Day was the first uniformed servicewoman to serve in the Ga. State Guard
Georgia National Guard Archives.

Background

In September 1940, General Order 13 of the Military Department of Georgia brought the Georgia National Guard en masse into federal service.[1] To fulfill the domestic response role of the National Guard, the governor established the State Defense Corps, later the State Guard – forerunner of today’s Georgia State Defense Force as an all-volunteer force akin to the home guards established by the War Department in World War I.

The ranks of the newly formed State Guard filled swiftly until the Guard boasted 20 infantry battalions for home defense, and an air squadron. These formations were constituted to handle emergency responses, riot calls and to serve the role of coastal defense and observation.[2]

Atlanta Constitution Jan 12, 1945.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 brought additional gravity to the service of the State Guard. Under the command of Lt. Col. Frank Fling, the Atlanta-based 4^th Battalion responded to an ever-increasing mission demand while the recruitable population continued to funnel into the active services. The Battalion was assigned to provide security for vital installations and civil structures in the Atlanta area.

As 1944 drew to a close, the ranks of the State Guard required more able-bodied service members for the war effort in Europe and the Pacific. Faced with a literal manpower shortage, Col. R. W. Collins, commander of the State Guard, issued an appeal for volunteers to bolster the ranks. [3] On January 21, 1945, the Georgia State Guard received approval from the governor of Georgia to organize a women’s division with the mission to provide qualified administrative personnel to the various battalion headquarters across the state.[4]

Day in 1931. 
The Napsonian

Mildred Day was the first to respond to the January call for volunteers.[5] The 32-year-old Day was a 1931 graduate of North Atlanta Presbyterian School[6], which in 1951 became the Westminster School. The daughter of Lemuel and Laura Day, successful printing company owners, Day worked in department store sales and as a stenographer for the Atlanta Police Department before interviewing with Fling about opportunities at the 4^th Battalion. On January 24, Fling swore Day in as a member of the Georgia State Guard with the rank of technical sergeant, equivalent to sergeant 1^st class in today’s Army.

Day was the first of six women who would assist the fourth department headquarters. The women wore the uniform of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps with the Georgia State Guard Patch on their shoulder.[7]

Shoulder-sleeve insignia of the Ga.
State Guards. Ga. National Guard
Archives.

The January 1945 directive authorized the enlistment of women for the expressed, and purpose of assisting with clerical work. Despite this, Day and other servicewomen accompanied the 4^th Battalion on its April maneuvers at Camp Toccoa, where, in addition to their clerical duties, the women assisted on the firing range by tallying marksmanship scores.[8]

By the end of World War II, more than 100 women had volunteered to serve in the Georgia State Guards; however, the 1946, reorganization of the Georgia National Guard jeopardized the future of the Georgia State Guard and its female volunteers. Brig. Gen. Marvin Griffin, Georgia's Adjutant General, observed that, "Unless plans change, there will be no provision for women enlisting in the National Guard."

Helen Mankin, LOC.

Understandably, this did not sit well with Day’s fellow servicewoman, Tech 3 Edna Harbin, who wrote to her representative in Congress to advocate the position of women in the National Guard. Her congresswoman, Helen Mankin concurred. 

Mankin, the second congresswoman in Georgia’s history, had served as an ambulance driver in World War I. Among those testifying on behalf of Harbin and Day were their former battalion commander, Lt. Col Frank Fling, who noted that the women had performed exceptionally well during their tenure with the 4^th Battalion.[9]

The Georgia State Guard disbanded April 21, 1947, and with it, went the authorizations for female service members.[10] It would be nine years before uniformed female service members would rejoin the Ga. DoD, and another 28 years after that before the reestablishment of the Georgia State Guard as the State Defense Force.[11]

Very little is known about Day’s life after her service in the Ga. State Guard. Shortly after the end of the war she married Hencil Ring, vice president of the Roanoke City Mills in Virginia. Ring died in 1947 and Mildred never remarried. She died July 14, 1975 in Clearwater, Fla. and is buried in College Park Cemetery in Atlanta beside her parents.

Midred Evelyn Day-Ring rests beside her parents in College Park Cemetery. Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

 

[1] GO No. 13, Military Department, State of Georgia Oct 7, 1941.

[2] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[3] "Local State Guard Needs Recruits for Replacements." West Point News, April 13, 1944.

[4] "Women to Aid State Guard Under New Plan.” Atlanta Constitution, January 21, 1945, 20.

[5] "First Woman Volunteer Sworn into Guard." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, January 1945, 6.

[6] The Napsonian. Atlanta, GA: North Atlanta Presbyterian School, 1931, 7.

[7] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[8] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[9] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[10] “Thompson Ends State Guard.” Atlanta Constitution, April 20, 1947, 23.

[11] “New State Defense Force will respond to emergencies if Guard mobilized.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, August 1985, 3.

Georgia National Guard Activated for Drought Relief

by Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

In 1986, the southeastern United States was gripped by drought and extreme temperatures that withered crops and threatened livestock. By July, Governor Joe Frank Harris had declared a state of emergency[1]. Facing nearly $150 million in agricultural losses[2] with no relief in sight, the governor turned to the Georgia National Guard.

From July 30 to August 1 nearly 150 Georgia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen delivered more than 1,100 tons of hay to distribution points across the state to feed starving livestock.[3] The Guardsmen fanned out in 32 trucks to points selected by the Department of Agriculture. In north Georgia, the Atlanta-based 277^th Maintenance Company delivered hay to Calhoun and Gainesville. Soldiers of the Macon-based 48^th Infantry Brigade assisted in the delivery of hay to Macon and Eatonton in middle Georgia while South Georgia received assistance in Swainsboro and Cordele. Airmen of the 202nd Electronic Installation Squadron from Macon, the 224th Joint Communications Support Squadron of St. Simons Island, 116th Tactical Fighter Wing from Marietta, and the 165th Tactical Airlift Group of Savannah provided personnel and vehicles in support of the state-wide effort.

Hay from Illinois and Kentucky is transferred from rail cars to Georgia National Guard vehicles for distribution to Georgia farmers. Georgia Guard Archives.

The hay was transported by rail from Illinois and Kentucky. Over the course of three days, the hay was transferred from nearly 100 railcars to trucks for delivery to points across the state.[4] The Georgia Department of Transportation supplied equipment for the loading and unloading of the hay and the Department of Public Safety provided a Georgia State Patrol escort for each convoy. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency established its mobile command post as an operations center and Bell South Mobility donated cellular phones to facilitate communication between GEMA, the State Farmer’s Market, and other areas of operation.

In addition to the hay brough in by rail, nearly 60 tons tons of hay donated by Wisconsin and Illinois farmers were flown to Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta on Air Force Reserve C-130s July 31, 1986.[5] Seven Georgia National Guard trucks, escorted by Georgia State Patrol conveyed the hay to the Farmer’s Market in Forest Park for distribution.

To support the Georgia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen as they labored in the July heat, volunteers from the Salvation Army and Red Cross provided a ready supply of cold drinks and sandwiches. By the end of the operation, nearly 50,000 bales of hay had been delivered to Georgia’s farmers.[6]

Major General Joseph W. Griffin, Georgia’s Adjutant General, praised the Guardsmen and agency partners at the conclusion of the joint effort.

"A task force of selected equipment and compatible personnel representing every Guard element worked together steadily for three days of state active duty-and got the job done," said Griffin "It was truly a team effort by everyone involved… all of us worked for the common goal of bringing some relief to Georgia farmers."[7]

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[1] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 1986. Marietta, GA: 1987, 20.

[2] “Drought also takes toll on human spirit.” The Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1986. Reviewed July 28, 2020 at https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-23-mn-21515-story.html

[3] “Guard 'hayday' gives Ga. farmers a lift.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, August September 1986, 1.

[4] “95-car train hauls tons of hay to state,” The Atlanta Constitution, July 30, 1986, 9.

[5] “Area farmers hope for more donations.” Atlanta Constitution, July 31, 1986, 97.

[6] Guard 'hayday' gives Ga. farmers a lift.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, August September 1986, 1.

[7] Ibid.

The Struggles for Atlanta: Forgotten Losses of a Savage Campaign

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Imagine the contemporary monuments our nation might erect to commemorate the loss of 18,000 Soldiers. Such grievous losses defy our ability to fathom in modern combat, and yet, in 1864, two mighty armies were bled of 18,000 Soldiers while contending for the prize of Atlanta. Aside from the occasional sign or plaque, the Battle of Atlanta is commemorated more in asphalt and development than in obelisks and contemplation. In the shadow of skyscrapers three major battles were fought for control of a city, for control of the White House and for the future of the United States of America.

Federal troops open fire during a 2014 reenactment of the Atlanta Campaign. Photo by Capt. William Carraway

Federal Situation

Major General William Sherman had, through a series of flanking maneuvers, brought his three armies to the threshold of Atlanta. Despite his defeat at Kennesaw Mountain, Sherman had managed to again slip around the defenses of Confederate General Joseph Johnston. Now his 70,000 men drew nearer to the vital rail hub of Atlanta. It was July 10. The air was hot and thick with humidity. Already Sherman’s forces were crossing the Chattahoochee River after Federal cavalry secured ford sites.

Atlanta and Vicinity. McCarley, J. Britt, The Atlanta and Savannah Campaigns, 1864 Map 4. Washington DC: United States Army Center of Military History, 2014.

Sherman’s three armies were moving against Atlanta from the north and east. The stakes were high. In Virginia, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign had inflicted 100,000 casualties without delivering a decisive victory to the North. As Sherman was crossing the Chattahoochee, Grant and Lee were settling in for a war of attrition in the trenches surrounding Petersburg. 1864 was an election year, and for an electorate increasingly weary of war, the Democrat presidential candidate, George McClellan was gaining support. The former commander of the Army of the Potomac, “Little Mac” proposed suing for peace – a strategy Southern leaders desperately desired. Unless the Federal armies could produce a clear victory, the Lincoln administration would face a challenging reelection bid. With Grant bogged down in Virginia, Washington’s eyes turned to Sherman’s armies in hopes of a great victory that would convince voters that the war was indeed winnable.

Georgia Soldiers of Maj. Gen. William Walker's Division prepare to advance during a 2014 reenactment of the Atlanta Campaign. Photo by Capt. William Carraway

Confederate Situation

On July 13, 1864, Gen. Braxton Bragg, former commander of the Army of Tennessee arrived at Gen. Johnston’s Atlanta headquarters, on behalf of the Confederate government, to determine Johnston’s plans for defense of the city. In the two days that followed, Bragg determined to advise Confederate President Jefferson Davis to remove Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennessee. This was a risky decision, as Johnston was enormously popular with his men, but Johnston’s tactic of trading battle space for time had not endeared him to the Confederate leadership. While preserving his force of 40,000, Johnston seemed intent to fight a defensive (or timid) campaign.

Battle of Peachtree Creek. McCarley Map 5

On July 17, Davis relieved Johnston and replaced him with the fiery Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. Hood had built a reputation as an aggressive commander. His actions at the head of his Texas Brigade in 1862 earned him promotion to major general, and divisional command. At Gettysburg, his division, including two Georgia brigades, attacked the Little Round Top in some of the fiercest fighting of the battle’s second day. Hood was wounded in the left arm by a shell which rendered his arm useless. He returned to command in time to serve as a corps commander at Chickamauga where he was severely wounded and lost his right leg inches below the hip. Now, at the head of the Army of Tennessee, Hood determined to utilize the same methods of direct attack which had served him in Virginia.

The Battle of Peachtree Creek: July 20, 1864

Hood saw an opportunity to strike Sherman almost immediately after taking command. Two Federal armies were maneuvering east towards Decatur while Maj. Gen. George Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland was crossing Peachtree Creek north of Atlanta. With a gap thus formed, Hood ordered an attack on Thomas’s isolated force. 

The Confederate Army attacked north in a line roughly spanning the distance between present day I-75 and I-85. To the right, Georgians in the divisions of William Walker and William Bate struggled through thick terrain. Bate’s Division became entirely lost and was not engaged, but Walker’s Georgians attacked Federal positions near the present location of Piedmont Hospital. Brigadier General Clement Stevens, one of Walker’s brigade commanders, was killed in the attack that cost the Confederates 2,500 men and failed to dislodge the Federals from their positions.

Battle of Atlanta. McCarley, Map 6.

The Battle of Atlanta: July 22, 1864

Maj. Gen. James McPherson. LOC

Having failed in his attack against one half of Sherman’s forces, Hood next attempted to strike the second half composed of the armies of Maj. Gen. James McPherson and John Schofield. Having severed the railroad to Augusta, McPherson perceived his position to be isolated. His intuition was correct as Hood had massed two corps to strike his army. The corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham attacked from the west with his battle line positioned along modern-day Moreland Avenue. A second corps under Lt. Gen. William Hardee struck McPherson from the south moving parallel to modern-day Interstate 20. McPherson was riding to observe the actions when his party encountered the 5th Confederate, a veteran Irish regiment in Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s Division. Ordered to surrender, McPherson rendered a salute and spurred his horse to escape. He was shot from his horse mortally wounded. McPherson became one of the highest-ranking federal casualties of the war.

Maj. Gen. William Walker
LOC

Less than a mile from the spot where McPherson fell, Maj. Gen. William Walker was leading his veteran division of Georgians past the Terry Mill Pond near the present location of Interstate 20’s exit 61. As his men reformed on a ridge, Walker advanced and surveyed the federal line. Conspicuous by the glint of his sword and field glasses Walker was spotted by a Federal sharpshooter and shot through the head.

Fighting continued until nightfall with no net benefit to the Confederates who lost 5,500 men to the Federals 4,000.

Battle of Ezra Church: July 28, 1864

Battle of Ezra Church. McCarley, Map 7

On July 27, Sherman dispatched his Army of the Tennessee west of Atlanta. Their mission was to sever the Macon Railroad: the last remaining source of supply for Hood’s beleaguered army. Detecting Sherman’s intent, Hood dispatched a corps and two divisions to fix the Army of the Tennessee in place and then maneuver by flank to destroy it. Newly promoted corps commander Stephen Dill Lee established blocking positions as ordered, but instead of entrenching, Lee chose to attack. Unfortunately for Lee and his corps, the Federal commander, Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard (for whom Howard University is named) had anticipated the attack and had ordered his men to entrench and fortify defensive positions. Lee’s attack turned into a pitiful massacre. Three thousand Confederate Soldiers were killed or wounded while the Federals lost only 600.

Siege and Fall of Atlanta

Three times Hood had attacked and three times he had been thrown back with horrendous irreplaceable losses. Having bled his army of 25 percent of its strength without gaining a single advantage, Hood settled in for siege warfare. With Grant stalled in Virginia, Hood hoped he could hold Atlanta through the November election and possibly force a change of leadership in Washington.

Sherman, cognizant of the political urgency, resolved to make Atlanta untenable. In August he ordered the shelling of the city. Although civilians were killed by the bombardment, no military advantage was realized. More successful were Sherman’s efforts to sever rail lines supplying Atlanta. Having already cut rail lines to the north and east, Sherman set sights on the Macon Railroad south of Atlanta. By August 30, 1864, Sherman’s forces had slipped quietly away from the trenches opposing Atlanta and had marched on Jonesboro. Repulsing an attack by the Confederate corps of William Hardee, Sherman reached the Macon Railroad on August 31, 1864 – the same day the Democrat National Convention officially nominated George McClellan for President.

With his final supply line severed, Hood had little choice but to abandon Atlanta in hopes of preserving his army. On Sept. 2, 1864, Federal troops entered the city. The next day, Sherman telegraphed to Washington “Atlanta is ours and fairly won.”

According to the research of historian Michael Hitt, this image depicts Fort Hood looking southwest. Fort Hood was located on Marietta Street
approximately 1.5 miles northwest of the present location of Centennial Park. The troops in the fort are Federal. LOC

Aftermath

The effect was immediate. The fall of Atlanta demonstrated that the war could be won and was being effectively prosecuted. The South’s last-best hope for suing for peace under favorable terms evaporated with the fall of Atlanta, and the North was empowered with the will to see an end to the war; a war that was about to become all the more savage.