Saturday - Nov. 5, 1864
The Burning of Cassville
First Hand Account."Sherman's motives seemed to be the pleasure he derived from torturing women and children. There could be no other motive, for the town was two miles from the railroad and contained no buildings of importance, and he well knew every circumstance connected with that little town. How he must have rejoiced that dismal, sleety November night, when he thought of the helpless women and children who were spending it under a sky as pitiless as himself!"
Tribune News Article From 1939
Sherman Terrorizes the Women at Kingston.
Wednesday - Nov. 9, 1864
General William Tecumseh Sherman issues the first orders (Special Orders No. 120), from Kingston, Georgia, Bartow County directly related to his "March to the Sea." Over the next few days the city of Rome will be destroyed and track from Atlanta to Chattanooga will be torn up, some transported to Tennessee for later use, some twisted into Sherman's hairpins or Sherman's neckties and left by the side of the railroad.
Thursday - Nov. 10, 1864
The Burning of Rome. General John Corse orders infrastructure in Rome, GA destroyed if it could be used for war. Among the buildings burned were two depots, warehouses, and a grist mill. Corse requests permission to destroy the towns of Cedartown, Van Wert and Buchanan, south of Rome. Sherman tells Corse to wait, effectively sparing the towns.
Mrs. Hutchinson's Story
Saturday - Nov. 12, 1864
Etowah and Stegall Station - Major James L. Orr of the 42nd Indiana Regiment in his diary reported: Cartersville, Ga. Nov. 12 - 1864.
This day about 11 o'clock the last train north on the Georgia R. R. left for Chattanooga and R. R. connection with U. S. was thus severed. The telegraph operator took out his instruments & left early in the a.m. At 12 Gen. Sherman arrived -- hitched on his pocket instrument & probably that may be the last link binding us to the north. We are now adrift for a great raid. But whither? Quien sabe? Fair.
The Ghost Town of Etowah
Sunday - Nov.13, 1864
Confederate Cavalry commander Joseph "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler arrives in Jonesboro, Georgia
Downtown Marietta destroyed by Union Cavalry General Judson Kilpatrick
Federal troops destroy Acworth, Georgia
Ruins of Marietta Paper Mill at Sope Creek
Sewell Mill, Marietta
Monday - Nov. 14, 1864
Sherman arrives at his Atlanta headquarters with some 45,000 troops. Some 15,000 more join him in the city.
The Men Who Burned Atlanta
Tuesday - Nov. 15, 1864
Right Wing of Sherman's Army leaves East Point, heading to the southeast towards Stockbridge, where they spend the night. Sweeping the front of the Right Wing, Judson Kilpatrick skirmishes with men under Joseph Wheeler in Jonesboro. Wheeler pulls back to Griffin.
The Burning of Atlanta
City of Atlanta burned under orders from General Sherman. A special battering ram was used to destroy the stone and brick railroad depot. Because of the city's size, it took the Union Cavalry nearly a day to complete the task, beginning this evening and completing the task the following afternoon.
Wednesday - Nov. 16, 1864
Right Wing spends the night in McDonough.
Sherman leaves Atlanta having reorganized his men into two "wings" of two corps apiece. The Left Wing is commanded by Henry Slocum, the Right Wing by O. O. Howard. Sherman's strategic plan is for the Left Wing to make a feint on Augusta while the Right Wing makes a feint at Macon, forcing the remaining Confederate troops to be split between the two towns.
Thursday - Nov. 17, 1864
Kilpatrick engages Wheeler near Forsyth ahead of the Right Wing of Sherman's Army. Right Wing spends the night in Jackson and Indian Springs, Georgia.
Lithonia's railroad depot, track, and some homes are destroyed by the Left Wing
Friday - Nov. 18, 1864
Joseph Wheeler arrives to defend Macon. Along with Howell Cobb, William Hardee and G. P. T. Beauregard, the city had about 10,000 men to defend it.
Forward elements of the Left Wing reach Social Circle.
Union troops pass through Covington, Georgia
Saturday - Nov. 19, 1864
Left Wing arrives in Rutledge. General John Geary is detached from the main column and ordered to make a feint on Augusta. He encounters resistance at Buckhead and burns bridges over the Oconee River and destroys a rail depot in the town.
Investigating the lack of a Union attack, Joseph Wheeler heads northeast of Macon into the Right Wing of Sherman's army. The army had bypassed Macon.
Henry Slocum spares Madison, Georgia (Morgan County). Joshua Hill, who knew Sherman's brother John, was the last Confederate senator to leave Washington D. C., and had met Sherman during the Atlanta Campaign, rode out to meet Slocum and ask that the town be spared destruction. Slocum granted the request, ordering the town be spared. In spite of the order the town was heavily looted.
Monday - Nov. 21, 1864
William Hardee orders militia from Macon under the command of P. J. Phillips to advance to Augusta to assist in defending the arsonal there.
Battle of Griswoldville. General P. J. Phillips advances into the Right Wing of Sherman's Army and attacks the battle-hardened veterans with militia. The result is a disasterous, pointless loss for the Confederates.
Wednesday - Nov. 23, 1864
Union troops arrive in Milledgeville early in the morning, having spent the previous night on the outskirts to the north of the state capital.
Friday - Nov. 25, 1864
Confederate Cavalry under "Fighting Joe" Wheeler attack a Union Cavalry detachment in Sandersville (Washington County).
Warehouses and Tennille railroad depot (Washington County) burned.
Saturday - Nov. 26, 1864
Washington County Courthouse burned by Union soldiers.
Atlanta reoccupied by Confederate forces
Monday - Nov. 28, 1864
Battle of Buckhead Creek
Saturday - Dec. 3, 1864
Sherman's Left Wing attempts to liberate the prisoner of war compound, Camp Lawton, north of Millen, Georgia, only to find it empty. Its 10,229 prisoners had been moved to temporary quarters in Thomasville (Thomas County) and Blackshear (Pierce County). Sherman orders the depot and a nearby hotel in Millen burned. Today the site is part of Magnolia Springs State Park.
Sunday - Dec. 4, 1864
Statesboro, Georgia, is the first major town visited by the Right Wing of Sherman's Army in almost two weeks.
Battle of Waynesborough
Wednesday - Dec. 7, 1864
Mayor James Calhoun reports the Atlanta City treasury holds $1.64
Saturday - Dec. 10, 1864
The Daily Intelligencer returns to Atlanta from Macon
Tuesday - Dec. 13, 1864
Sherman captures Fort McAllister. Two miles east of the fort his men make contact with the waiting Union fleet marking the end of the March to the Sea.
Wednesday - Dec. 21, 1864
Sherman captures Savannah, GA
