Battle of Peachtree Creek

The battles of Peachtree Creek was held the July 20th 1864 with county of Fulton in Georgia during the American Civil War. The general Southerner John B. Hood faced there the general Yankee George H. Thomas.

Be a prelude to

On the instructions of Ulysses Grant, general-in-chief of the armies of the Union since March 1864, the general William Tecumseh Sherman was to invade the major South and to cause the most damage possible with the economy of war Southerner. To face the deployment of three armies adding up more 106 000 men, the president Jefferson Davis named Joseph Eggleston Jonhston with the head of the army of the Tennessee and his 48 000 men, to replace Braxton Bragg which had resigned following the defeat of Chattanooga in November 1863.

Objectives

Jonhston was to defend the access to the Georgia and to prevent the enemy from taking Atlanta. Having only 48.000 men to oppose to Sherman, it was obliged to move back unceasingly. Nevertheless, it skilfully did it and by inflicting serious defeats with the enemy on the occasion (Resaca, Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain). For Jonhston, the important thing was to keep its intact army more the possible for a long time in order to safeguard Atlanta at least until the elections of November. It had understood that if Abraham Lincoln did not profit from a bright victory before the poll, it was likely to be put in minority and the South hoped on a democratic victory to gain its independence. Only, Jefferson Davis did not hear it this ear and wanted some with Jonhston to move back at the point to deliver all the north of the Georgia to the depredations of the enemy. When Sherman arrived on other side of the Chatahoochee River, with a few kilometers only of Atlanta, he dismissed it and replaced it by the general John Bell Hood, one of old the lieutenant of Robert Lee which had known to show a gifted and aggressive combatant. He hoped thus that the new general would undertake an action aiming at driving out the Yankees of the ground géorgien. He was not disappointed. Named the July 17th 1864, Hood passed to the offensive three days later.

The battle

The July 20th 1864, it benefitted from what the army of the Cumberland crosses the river of Peach Tree to try to destroy it. Sherman had sent the army of George Henry Thomas to the east of Atlanta to cut the railway connecting this city and Richmond. He thus hoped to insulate the géorgienne city and to prevent any attempt at Lee to send helps to him from Virginia. However, while crossing the Peach Tree Creek, Thomas exposed his side dangerously and temporarily cut support of the two other armies. Hood sent the army corps of William J. Hardee and of Stewart to destroy the Northerners. Each division was to proceed to an attack in level. I.e. when a Division had engaged the enemy and to attract his reinforcements, the following one entered in action and so on, obliging the adversary to redeploy unceasingly to face new constant threats. The orders of Hood were badly carried out and the commanders of division reflect as well time to deploy their men as invaluable hours were lost, just like the effect of surprise. The battle began finally with 14:45 on a misunderstanding. When one of the brigades of Hardee saw another Brigade redeploying, it took this action for an engagement and charged the lines with the Union. The remainder of the troops Southerners thus followed this example and successful, initially, to gain ground. But, the resistance of the 33e regiment of the New Jersey made it possible to slow down the attack Southerner and gave time to the remainder of the army of George Thomas to be cut off and carry out against attacks which took again the lost ground. The battle continued until 18:00 and showed the retirement of the forces confederated.

Assessment

If Hood lost the battle, it was of course because of savage northerner resistance but especially because it does not succeed in implying all its troops (divisions of French, Bates and especially of Clebunre, the best men of the Armée with Tennessee, were not committed). As it had remained with Atlanta and had delegated the command to Hardee, it could not correct this error which cost him the best chance than he have never to destroy one of the armies enemy. The losses Southerners protested with 2.500 men against 1.750 for the men of Thomas. However, just like Lee vis-a-vis Grant in Virginia, Hood could not be allowed to lose so many men (for if few profits) vis-a-vis an enemy three times more than him. Hood had just inaugurated a series of battles known as of Atlanta which was going to bleed its army and to oblige it to give up the city after an ultimate effort with Jonesboro on September 1st, giving to Lincoln the victory which it needed so much to remain at the White House and to finish the war that its election had started.

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