June 27, 1864
In late November 1863, Union forces commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant successfully lifted Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Union victories at Lookout Mountain (November 24) and Missionary Ridge (November 25) forced Johnston to withdraw thirty miles south to near Dalton, Georgia.
In late November 1863, Union forces commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant successfully lifted Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Union victories at Lookout Mountain (November 24) and Missionary Ridge (November 25) forced Johnston to withdraw thirty miles south to near Dalton, Georgia.
After the Federal breakout from Chattanooga, Grant was promoted to the special rank of Lieutenant General and placed in command of all Union armies. Grant moved his headquarters to Washington, DC,; leaving his trusted subordinate, Major General William T. Sherman, in command of Federal operations in the Western Theater. Grant's primary military strategy was a coordinated effort to attack and defeat the two main Confederate armies in the field, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in the east, and Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee in the west. On May 5, 1864, Grant launched his Overland Campaign against Lee in Virginia. Two days later, Sherman led three armies, the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Major General James B. McPherson; the Army of the Ohio, commanded by Major General John M. Schofield; and the Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Major General George H. Thomas, out of Tennessee in pursuit of Johnston's army in northern Georgia.
Throughout the summer of 1864, the Confederate and Union armies engaged in a series of battles between Dalton and Atlanta in northern Georgia. Most of the fighting occurred at places on or near the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which connected Chattanooga and Atlanta. Both sides depended on the railway for supplies throughout the campaign. In a pattern that was often repeated, Sherman employed flanking movements that threatened the railway to Johnston's rear, forcing the Confederate commander to retreat south in order to protect his supply lines.
By June 19, 1864, Johnston had withdrawn the Army of Tennessee to a defensive position astride Kennesaw Mountain near Marietta, Georgia. Initially, Sherman decided that Johnston's new line was too strong to risk a frontal attack. Instead, he attempted to extend the Union line west and turn Johnston's left flank. Anticipating Sherman's plan, Johnston countered by sending reinforcements to bolster his left flank. On June 22, Sherman's troops defeated the Rebel defenders at the Battle of Kolb's Farm, but they were unsuccessful in achieving their objective of turning the Confederate flank.
After the Battle of Kolb's Farm, Sherman was convinced that Johnston's center was vulnerable, believing that the Confederate commander had stretched his line too thin by committing too many soldiers to protect his left flank. Thus, Sherman ordered a major frontal assault on Johnston's army on June 27. Following an artillery barrage, the Army of the Tennessee attacked Johnston's right flank while the Army of the Cumberland attacked the center and the Army of the Ohio attacked the left. All of the attacks against the well-entrenched Confederates proved futile and resulted in heavy Yankee losses.
Ohio units that participated in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain included:
Infantry units:
1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
2nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
5th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
6th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
10th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
13th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
15th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
19th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
20th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
21st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
27th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
29th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
30th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
33rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
32nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
37th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
39th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
40th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
41st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
43rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
45th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
46th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
47th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
49th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
50th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
51st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
52nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
53rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
54th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
55th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
57th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
59th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
61st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
63rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
64th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
66th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
68th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
70th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
71st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
73rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
74th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
76th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
78th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
79th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
81st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
82nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
90th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
93rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
94th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
97th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
98th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
99th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
100th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
101st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
103rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
104th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
108th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
111th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
113th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
118th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
121st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
124th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
125th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Artillery units:
Battery A, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment
Battery C, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment
Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment
Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Regiment
3rd Ohio Artillery Battery
4th Ohio Light Artillery Battery
6th Ohio Light Artillery Battery
10th Ohio Light Artillery Battery
14th Ohio Light Artillery Battery
15th Ohio Light Artillery Battery
19th Ohio Light Artillery Battery
Cavalry units:
1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
3rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
4th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
10th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was a resounding Confederate tactical victory. Sherman's armies suffered about 3,000 casualties (killed, wounded, and captured/missing), compared to just 1,000 for the Confederates. Strategically, however, Sherman still maintained the upper hand. Schofield's attack exposed weaknesses on the left flank of the Confederate line. Faced with the prospect of being out-maneuvered once more, Johnston withdrew farther south to the outskirts of Atlanta.