1.
1862: "Slick Abe" Lincoln approves the Confiscation Act, which
declared that any slaves whose owners were in rebellion would be freed
when they came into contact with the Union army.
2. 1863: In NYC, Union troops *finally* bring to a close the Draft Riots begun by a truly pissed-off public back on 11 July.
3.
1864: Last, but by no means least: President Jefferson Davis
replaces General Joseph Johnston with John Bell Hood as commander of the
Army of Tennessee. This was a pivotal transition in the War of Norther
Aggression. Why? Read on:
President
Davis, with somber certitude, reads a telegram dated 16 July 1864 from
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, recounting the rape of Atlanta. For weeks Davis
had watched Johnston's operations in Georgia with mounting
dissatisfaction. Except for the campaign in Virginia between General
Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, the armies of
Union Major General William T. Sherman, against which Johnston
maneuvered, posed the most ominous threat to the Confederacy. President
Davis acknowledged that if the Yankees captured Atlanta, the CSA likely
faced defeat.
Since
the Georgia campaign's outset on 4 May, with the advance of Sherman's
100,000 troops, Johnston had adopted a defensive strategy. With his army
numbering less than 60,000, he adhered to that strategy while seeking
an opportunity to strike the enemy a severe blow with minimal losses and
risk. Clashes occurred at Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church, Marietta
and Kennesaw Mountain. Sherman used turning movements to force Johnston
to withdraw from one successive line to another. Johnston's "defensive
strategy" resulted, however, in a 100-mile retreat across northern
Georgia. On 10 July, the Yankees crossed the Chattahoochee River,
forcing the Rebels to abandon their works north of the stream. The
Chattahoochee was the last natural barrier between Sherman's troops and
Atlanta, which lay just 6 miles from the river.
Throughout
these weeks, Davis and Johnston exchanged numerous telegrams concerning
the conduct of the campaign. Neither man liked the other. Their
personal animosity dated from the fall of 1861, the result of a dispute
over Johnston's rank, and had continued to fester. It had been with
great reluctance that Davis appointed Johnston to command of the army
after General Braxton Bragg's failures at Chattanooga, TN, in November
1863. The campaign in Georgia -- until now -- had only deepened Davis'
suspicions about Johnston's deficiencies as a general.
President
Davis did not accept Johnston's constant assertions about the strength
of Sherman's force. Reports from other officers contradicted Johnston's
figures, and letters from Lt. Gens. John Bell Hood and William Hardee
claimed that Johnston had missed opportunities to assail the Yankeess.
Consequently, Davis had, for weeks, considered replacing Johnston but
had some trepidation about replacing a commanding officeer in the midst
of a campaign.
With
Sherman's troops south of the Chattahoochee, Davis sent Bragg, his
chief of staff, to Atlanta to investigate the military situation.
Arriving on July 13, Bragg conferred with Johnston and met with the
army's corps commanders. "I find but little encouraging," he informed
Davis. In another telegram, Bragg recommended Hood as a replacement for
Johnston, adding about Hood, "Do not understand me as proposing him as a
man of genius, or a great general, but as far better in the present
emergency than any one we have available."
President
Davis gave Johnston one final chance when he asked for the general's
plans. In his reply, the army commander reiterated the disparity in
numbers and a continuation of his defensive strategy. The next day, July
17, Davis removed Johnston and appointed Gen. John Bell Hood the
commander. When the message arrived, Hood, Hardee and Lt. Gen. Alexander
Stewart wired the president, asking him to suspend the order until the
fight for Atlanta had been decided. Davis refused.
The
army's rank and file reacted to the news with shock and disagreement.
Johnston had been a popular commander. He had attended to their needs,
and the men appreciated his unwillingness to sacrifice their lives in
futile assaults against the enemy. They believed that with Hood, whom
some of his men called "a butcher," the army would now assume the
offensive, charging Sherman's powerful ranks.
The
Confederates did not have long to wait. On 20 July, Hood hurled them
against the Union lines behind Peachtree Creek. The assaults failed at a
cost of about 2,500 CSA officers and men. Two days later, the Rebels
attacked again east of the city. The Confederate Army went in with their
customary valor and lost another 5,500 casualties.
The
Confederates valiantly held Atlanta for another 7 weeks. In a final
desperate attempt to secure a supply line, Hood attacked at Jonesboro on
31 August. Sadly, the Federals prevailed, and the Rebels withdrew from
Atlanta. Sherman wired Washington, "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won."
When
Hood succeeded Johnston, the Army of Tennessee and the struggle for
Atlanta passed a turning point. President Jefferson Davis expected
aggressive tactics, and Hood complied. The CSA followed a new road,
whose toll was measured in the bravery and sacrifice of Rebel souls who
bled to defend the South.
HI MY FRIEND, HAVE A FANTASTIC THURSDAY!! GOOD EVENING!! HUGS!! HECTOR!
