The Civil War at a Glance

The Western Theater, 1864

First posted 1998
Last update Apr 29, 2009

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Ulysses

S. Grant, promoted to lieutenant general and transferred East to command all Union armies, calls for a war of attrition against the Confederacy's two principal armies;

Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, and

Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee. Early in May , with Atlanta as his objective,

Sherman, Grant's successor in the West, attacks Johnston at Rocky Face Ridge west of Dalton. For the next eight weeks the two armies grapple their way south into central Georgia. On July 17, President

Jefferson Davis fires Johnston and replaces him with Gen.

John B. Hood. Hood abandons Johnston's defensive strategy and boldly sends his troops to attack Sherman in a series of costly battles that only serve to underscore the futility of such tactics.

On September 1, after a long siege by Sherman's soldiers, Atlanta is evacuated and Hood withdraws, regroups, and advances into Tennessee. Within three months his Army of Tennessee is virtually destroyed in battles at Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville. Meanwhile, in mid-November, Sherman burns Atlanta and begins his famous "March to the Sea." Elsewhere, the blockade continues to tighten as Union amphibious forces seize the forts guarding the entrance to Mobile Bay and Admiral Farragut's ocean-going squadron crushes a Confederate fleet.

Feb 3 - Mar 4 Meridian Expedition, Miss.

Feb 22 Battle of Okolona

Feb 20 Battle of Olustee (Ocean Pond), Fla.

Mar 12 - May 20 Red River and Camden Campaigns, La. - Ark.

Mar 23 - May 3 Camden Expedition, Ark.

Apr 8 Battle of Mansfield, La.

Apr 9 Battle of Pleasant Hill, La.

Apr 30 Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, Ark.

Apr 12 Fort Pillow "massacre," Tenn.

May 7 - Sep 2 Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, Ga.

May 13 - 15 Battle of Resaca

May 25 - 28 Battles of New Hope Church, Pickett's Mill, and Dallas

Jun 27 Battle of Kennesaw Mountain

Jul 20 Battle of Peachtree Creek

Jul 22 Battle of Atlanta

Jul 28 Battle of Ezra Church

Aug 31 - Sep 1 Battle of Jonesboro

Sep 2 Union troops occupy Atlanta

Jun 10 Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, Miss.

Jul 14 Battle of Tupelo, Miss.

Aug 5 Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala.

Aug 29 - Dec 21 Sherman's Savannah Campaign (March to the Sea), Ga.

Nov 22 Engagement at Grisworldville, Ga.

Nov 30 Engagement at Honey Hill, S.C.

Dec 13 Capture of Fort McAllister Ga.

Dec 21 Savannah, Ga. occupied

Nov 29 - Dec 27 Hood's Tennessee Campaign

Nov 29 Affair at Spring Hill

Nov 30 Battle of Franklin

Dec 15 - 16 Battle of Nashville

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1861	1862	1863	1864	1865
The Eastern Theater The Western Theater War at a Glance

Feb 3 - Mar 4 Meridian Expedition, Miss.
Feb 22	Battle of Okolona
Feb 20	Battle of Olustee (Ocean Pond), Fla.
Mar 12 - May 20 Red River and Camden Campaigns, La. - Ark.
Mar 23 - May 3	Camden Expedition, Ark.
Apr 8	Battle of Mansfield, La.
Apr 9	Battle of Pleasant Hill, La.
Apr 30	Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, Ark.
Apr 12	Fort Pillow "massacre," Tenn.
May 7 - Sep 2 Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, Ga.
May 13 - 15	Battle of Resaca
May 25 - 28	Battles of New Hope Church, Pickett's Mill, and Dallas
Jun 27	Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Jul 20	Battle of Peachtree Creek
Jul 22	Battle of Atlanta
Jul 28	Battle of Ezra Church
Aug 31 - Sep 1	Battle of Jonesboro
Sep 2	Union troops occupy Atlanta
Jun 10	Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, Miss.
Jul 14	Battle of Tupelo, Miss.
Aug 5	Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala.
Aug 29 - Dec 21 Sherman's Savannah Campaign (March to the Sea), Ga.
Nov 22	Engagement at Grisworldville, Ga.
Nov 30	Engagement at Honey Hill, S.C.
Dec 13	Capture of Fort McAllister Ga.
Dec 21	Savannah, Ga. occupied
Nov 29 - Dec 27 Hood's Tennessee Campaign
Nov 29	Affair at Spring Hill
Nov 30	Battle of Franklin
Dec 15 - 16	Battle of Nashville