Kennesaw Mountain: Sherman, Johnston, and the Atlanta Campaign

by Earl J. Hess

Overview

While fighting his way toward Atlanta, William T. Sherman encountered his biggest roadblock at Kennesaw Mountain, where Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee held a heavily fortified position. The opposing armies confronted each other from June 19 to July 3, 1864, and Sherman initially tried to outflank the Confederates. His men endured heavy rains, artillery duels, sniping, and a fierce battle at Kolb's Farm before Sherman decided to directly attack Johnston's position on June 27. Kennesaw Mountain tells the story of an important phase of the Atlanta campaign. Historian Earl J. Hess explains how this battle, with its combination of maneuver and combat, severely tried the patience and endurance of the common soldier and why Johnston's strategy might have been the Confederates' best chance to halt the Federal drive toward Atlanta. He gives special attention to the engagement at Kolb's Farm on June 22 and Sherman's assault on June 27. A final section explores the Confederate earthworks preserved within the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469629889
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	08/01/2016
Series:	Civil War America
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Earl J. Hess is Stewart W. McClelland Chair in history at Lincoln Memorial University and has written many books, including The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain is one of the most important as yet unexamined subjects in Civil War military history. Earl Hess's thoroughness, precision, and clear and insightful analysis assure that this will be the definitive account of the battle.—Steven E. Woodworth, Texas Christian University



The 1864 battles around Kennesaw Mountain have long merited greater attention from students of the Civil War. In Kennesaw Mountain: Sherman, Johnston, and the Atlanta Campaign, the amazingly prolific Earl J. Hess offers an authoritative and exhaustively researched account of these operations that will appeal to scholars and general readers alike.—Ethan S. Rafuse, author of McClellan's War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union and Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865

Editorial Reviews

Readers will be engrossed by the personal story of these soldiers. . . . [A] gripping account.—Publishers Weekly



Earl J. Hess has demonstrated the artistry of narrative military history perhaps better than any scholarly writer of history over the past several years.—Journal of American History



Reads like a staff ride organized by an officer intimately familiar with the area's topography. . . . Deftly interweaving his own insightful analysis with battle accounts, as recorded in the diaries and letters of combatants, Hess makes a convincing case for the importance of this still unappreciated battle.—Civil War Times



Hess is one of the most prolific quality authors of Civil War books going today. . . . Anyone interested in the Atlanta Campaign will find [his book] to be the centerpiece of their collection.—Civil War Book Review



Hess's understanding of the Atlanta campaign, his skillful use of primary sources, his extensive knowledge of tactics, and his familiarity with the landscape result in a first-rate study.—Journal of Southern History



A must read.—North Carolina Historical Review



A superbly researched account of the specifics of the battle that will appeal to scholars and general readers alike.—McCormick Messenger



Demonstrating exhaustive research, abundant visual aids, and unusually thoughtful approaches to operational and tactical discussion and analysis, Kennesaw Mountain is everything serious Civil War military history readers want from modern battle studies. . . . This book bridges a significant gap in the Atlanta Campaign historiography [which] makes it all the more indispensable to the Civil War library.—cwba.blogspot.com



An excellent analysis of the most critical engagements of Sherman's Atlanta campaign.—Army Magazine



Although other books and articles have described the battle at Kennesaw, this is the first major stand-alone study, thoroughly researched and written in the fascinating and colorful detail readers have come to expect from Earl J. Hess.—Journal of America's Military Past

From the Publisher

Hess (The Civil War in the West) relates in exacting detail a grueling stop along General Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War. The book focuses on the Kennesaw Mountain area, beginning with a battle at Kolb’s Farm, through a harrowing day of fighting on June 27, 1864, and on to a flanking maneuver that finally convinced Sherman and General Johnston, the Rebel commander, to step back from what seemed like a two-week-long stalemate. Hess supports his assertion that the earthworks of Johnston’s Rebel forces were instrumental in slowing Sherman down, and while it couldn’t be called a victory for either side (the Union counted 3,000 “killed, wounded, and missing,” and the Confederates tallied 700 casualties), the superior works of the Rebels were impressive—even Union commanders acknowledged it. The Kennesaw engagement can be seen as a textbook example of the importance of earthworks, and Hess describes the whole scenario in enough detail that it’s easy to see why they were so vital. With plenty of maps and primary sources—including diaries, letters, and dispatches—readers will be engrossed by the personal story of these soldiers. Civil War buffs and those interested in military history will take to this gripping account. 25 illus., 21 maps, 1 table. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly