1864's Ruckus at Resaca - A Taste of the Atlanta Campaign

Nestled in the counties of Gordon and Whitfield, Georgia, on the 13th to 15th of May, 1864, the Battle of Resaca unfolded. One of the Atlanta Campaign's pivotal battles, this was no picnic. General William Tecumseh Sherman led the Union force, a veritable army of 110,000 troops, of which 99,000 were raring to go. Across the field, the Confederate Army of Tennessee, under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston, had set up camp at Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Face Ridge.

But when Sherman's Army of the Tennessee snagged Snake Creek Gap on May 8, Johnston was forced to skedaddle from Dalton. That left Resaca up for grabs. Johnston retreated to Resaca to regroup, but not for long before Sherman was on his heels once more, his troops hotfooting it through Snake Creek Gap with McPherson leading the charge. On May 14, Sherman found a way in west of Resaca, but his initial attacks on the defenses were fruitless. May 15 saw both Sherman's push to the north and a Confederate counter-push being brought to a standstill.

However, the Union managed to lay claim to a bridgehead on the south bank of the Oostanaula River. With his escape route now compromised, Johnston took off from Resaca that night and high-tailed it to Adairsville, where a scuffle broke out on May 17. The Battle of Resaca cost the Union about 3,000 soldiers, while the Confederates lost approximately 5,000.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons