Tag: Atlanta GA

Wikipedia says: Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. Atlanta is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia. Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Atlanta features unique topography that includes rolling hills and the most dense urban tree coverage in the United States.

Atlanta was originally founded as the terminus of a major state-sponsored railroad. With rapid expansion, however, it soon became the convergence point among multiple railroads, spurring its rapid growth. The city’s name derives from that of the Western and Atlantic Railroad’s local depot, signifying the town’s growing reputation as a transportation hub. Toward the end of the American Civil War, in November 1864, the city was almost entirely burned to the ground in General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. However, the city rose from its ashes and quickly became a national center of commerce and the unofficial capital of the “New South”.

Civil War

By 1860, Atlanta’s population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a strategic hub for the distribution of military supplies.

In 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. The region surrounding Atlanta was the location of several major army battles, culminating with the Battle of Atlanta and a four-month-long siege of the city by the Union Army under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to retreat from Atlanta, and he ordered the destruction of all public buildings and possible assets that could be of use to the Union Army. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, and on September 7, Sherman ordered the city’s civilian population to evacuate. On November 11, 1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Army’s March to the Sea by ordering the destruction of Atlanta’s remaining military assets.