May 13-15, 1864
The Battle of Resaca was the second encounter between Union forces commanded by Major General William T. Sherman and Confederate forces commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston during the Atlanta Campaign. The engagement took place in Gordon and Whitfield counties, Georgia, near the town of Resaca, from May 13 through May 15, 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, 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.
Between May 7 and 13, 1864, Sherman's forces engaged the Army of Tennessee in the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge near Dalton, Georgia. Although the fighting was inconclusive, Sherman outflanked the Confederate defenders, forcing Johnston to pull back approximately thirteen miles to near Resaca, Georgia.
At Resaca, Johnston established a defensive line facing the west that was four miles long, stretching between the Connasauga and Oostanaula rivers. On May 13, Sherman began testing the Rebel position. The next day he ordered an ill-fated assault on the entire Rebel front. The Confederates easily repulsed the Union attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the Federals. Despite heavy losses, Sherman resumed the assault the next day. However, he also sent Brigadier Geneneral Thomas Sweeny, commanding part of the Army of the Tennessee, south across the Oostanaula River, threatening Johnston's rear. Once again, Johnston was forced to withdraw; this time moving his army twenty miles farther south to; near Adairsville.
Ohio units that participated in the Battle of Resaca 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
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