May 25-26, 1864
The Battle of New Hope Church was an encounter between Union forces commanded by Major General William T. Sherman and Confederate forces commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The engagement took place in Paulding County, Georgia on May 25 and 26, 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.
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, 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 May 20, Johnston had established new defensive lines at Allatoona Pass, about thirty miles north of Atlanta. Wishing to avoid a costly frontal attack, Sherman decided to march his forces around the Confederate left flank to Dallas, Georgia, at Johnston's rear. Deducing Sherman's intentions, Johnston shifted his army into the Federal path at New Hope Church. Unaware of Johnston's movement, Sherman ordered three divisions commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker to attack what he believed to be a token Rebel force on May 25. Instead of the small Confederate force he expected, Hooker found himself engaged with the Army of Tennessee. In the ensuing battle, Hooker suffered 1,665 casualties, including over 700 killed, compared to 350 Confederate casualties. On May 26, both armies entrenched, and Sherman continued to search for a way around the Confederate army.
Ohio units that participated in the Battle of New Hope Church 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
- 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
- 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 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
