BATTLE OF JONESBOROUGH NEAR ATLANTA

Battle of Jonesborough near Atlanta

As the Atlanta Campaign ground on, Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman sought to cut the last Confederate railroad lifelines into the city. Near Jonesborough, south of Atlanta, Union troops attacked positions guarding the Macon and Western Railroad, one of the remaining supply routes. The fighting extended over two days, but the crucial blows fell on September 1st, when Union assaults broke through parts of the Confederate line. With their rail connection severed and their positions compromised, Confederate leaders concluded they could no longer hold Atlanta without risking encirclement. That night they began evacuating the city, destroying stores they could not carry away. Jonesborough thus served as the immediate tactical trigger for the loss of Atlanta, translating months of maneuver and hard fighting into a decisive break in the Confederate defense.