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Sherman’s HQ at Tunnel Hill

On Saturday, May 7th 1864, General Sherman’s Armies began their advance on Dalton in the opening moves of the Atlanta Campaign.

On Saturday, May 7th 1864, General Sherman’s Armies began their advance on Dalton in the opening moves of the Atlanta Campaign.  Very little in the way of resistance was offered by the Confederates as the Federal Armies advanced toward Rocky Face Ridge.  The only notable resistance was from a detachment of Wheeler’s Cavalry at Tunnel Hill.  Here, Howard’s IV Corps and Palmer’s XIV Corps were able to easily drive the Confederate Cavalry from the field and back to Mill Creek Gap at Rocky Face Ridge.  General Sherman soon established his Headquarters at the Clisby-Austin house along the railroad and only a short distance from the tunnel at Tunnel Hill.

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The Clisby-Austin House, Sherman’s HQ May 7 – May 12, 1864
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Living Room of the Clisby-Austin House.  Sherman used this space an office while his HQ was here.
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The house also use as a field hospital on more than one occasion.  The bench to the left is from the Old Stone Church near Ringold, Ga. and still has blood stains from its use as a makeshift bed.
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After the Battle of Chickamauga in September of 1863, General Hood was brought here from a field hospital to recover for a short time before taking a train to Richmond in order to dispel rumors of his death on the battlefield.  This is the room where he stayed to recover.
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The tunnel that Tunnel Hill is named for.  This railroad tunnel was the main supply route for General Sherman’s armies as they advanced on Atlanta.  Had the Confederates blown up the tunnel, the Atlanta Campaign would have faced significant delays and quite possibly could have failed.

Moving Forward

I am planning to move forward on the production of this project and will be hopefully be posting images soon as I edit them.  I have decided to edit in the images following the same time line as General Sherman’s advance through Georgia.  The goal being that I will have some images to display on the anniversary of each event, occupation, etc.  I apologize for the delays, but this is a totally self funded project and I only work on it when I do not have paying shoot and projects.  More Battle of Atlanta Images