Kennesaw Mountain · Chickamauga · Stones River · Nashville — Splitting the Confederacy
The Plan
The Western Theater determined control of the South's vital rail lines and river valleys. While the East grabbed headlines, it was here — from the mountains of Georgia to the plains of Tennessee — that the Confederacy was slowly split in two.
Starting point. Head southeast across New Mexico and Texas toward Georgia.
June 1864 — one of the key engagements of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. The Confederate line here temporarily stopped Sherman's advance, but the Union ultimately flanked around it. Today a 2,965-acre park with the mountain summit open to hikers.
July 1864 — after flanking around Kennesaw Mountain, Sherman besieged Atlanta. The Battle of Atlanta (July 22) and Battle of Ezra Church were bitter Confederate counterattacks. The city fell September 2, 1864. The Atlanta History Center houses the famous Cyclorama — a 358-foot panoramic painting of the battle.
America's first national military park — a massive complex spanning two states. Chickamauga (September 1863) was the second-bloodiest battle of the war. Lookout Mountain's Battle Above the Clouds and Missionary Ridge completed the Union's Chattanooga campaign.
New Year's Eve 1862 — one of the war's bloodiest engagements with over 23,000 casualties. The Union victory here gave Lincoln another political boost and secured Middle Tennessee. Home to the oldest Civil War monument in the country.
Nashville fell to Union forces early in the war and served as a key logistics hub. The 1864 Battle of Nashville was the most decisive Union victory of the war. Today the area includes Franklin's Carter House and Carnton Plantation — haunting ground of the bloodiest afternoon of the war.