For
some weeks each army tried ineffectual methods to seize the other's
railroad communications. But toward the end of August, Sherman's flank
movements gained such a hold of the Macon railroad at Jonesboro,
twenty-five miles south of Atlanta, as to endanger Hood's security; and
when, in addition, a detachment sent to dislodge Sherman was defeated,
Hood had no alternative but to order an evacuation. On September 3,
Sherman telegraphed to Washington:
"Atlanta is ours, and fairly won.... Since May 5 we have been in one
constant battle or skirmish, and need rest."
The fall of Atlanta was a heavy blow to the Confederates. They had,
during the war, transformed it into a city of mills, foundries, and
workshops, from which they drew supplies, ammunition, and equipments,
and upon which they depended largely for the manufacture and repair of
arms. But perhaps even more important than the military damage to the
South resulting from its capture, was its effect upon Northern politics.
Until then the presidential campaign in progress throughout the free
States was thought by many to involve fluctuating chances under the
heavy losses and apparently slow progress of both eastern and western
armies. But the capture of Atlanta instantly infused new zeal and
confidence among the Union voters, and from that time onward, the
reelection of Mr.
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