Overview
The Battle of Brown’s Mill took place during General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. By July 1864, Sherman had forced General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee into Atlanta. Sherman hoped to avoid a long siege by cutting the railroads that supplied the city from the south.
On July 27, 1864, Sherman sent cavalry columns under General George Stoneman and General Edward M. McCook around Atlanta. McCook’s 2,400 cavalrymen cut the Atlanta & West Point Railroad, burned more than 1,000 Confederate wagons at Fayetteville and reached Lovejoy’s Station, where they damaged the Macon & Western Railroad.
Stoneman failed to meet McCook after Confederate cavalry defeated and captured much of his force. McCook canceled the planned meeting and moved north toward the main Union army. Confederate cavalry under General Joseph Wheeler repeatedly attacked his rear guard.
On July 30, Wheeler’s cavalry blocked McCook’s escape near Brown’s Mill. McCook considered surrendering, but his officers refused and attempted to break through the Confederate line. The effort failed. Union forces suffered about 100 killed and wounded, while nearly 1,300 were captured. The Confederate victory kept Atlanta’s southern supply routes open and forced Sherman to continue operations against the city until Hood abandoned it in early September 1864.
Essential Facts
- Date: July 30, 1864.
- Location: Coweta County, Georgia.
- Participants: United States of America (USA), Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Edward M. McCook.
- CSA Commanders: Joseph Wheeler.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won the Battle of Brown’s Mill.
- Campaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864).
- Era: Civil War, 1864, May–August, Civil War.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: Union forces suffered an estimated 1,385 casualties, including about 100 killed or wounded and 1,285 captured or missing.
- Forces Engaged: The 1st Cavalry Division of the Army of the Cumberland.
- Troop Strength: Approximately 2,400 cavalrymen.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Confederate forces suffered an estimated 50 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: The Cavalry Corps of the Army of Tennessee.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Significance
The Battle of Brown’s Mill is important to American History because the Confederate victory prolonged the Atlanta Campaign and disrupted General William T. Sherman’s attempt to isolate Atlanta. Sherman sent Union cavalry south of the city to destroy Confederate railroads, cut supply routes, and free Union prisoners at Andersonville. Confederate cavalry defeated General George Stoneman’s column and then surrounded General Edward M. McCook’s retreating force. General Joseph Wheeler captured nearly 1,300 Union soldiers and freed about 300 Confederate prisoners. Because the raid failed, supplies continued to reach Atlanta from the south, forcing Sherman to continue his operations until General John Bell Hood abandoned the city in early September 1864.
History
Following the federal breakout from Chattanooga in November 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln promoted Major General Ulysses S. Grant to the special rank of lieutenant general and placed him in command of all Union armies. Grant temporarily moved his headquarters to Washington, DC, leaving his trusted subordinate, Major General William T. Sherman, in command of federal operations in the western theater. Upon arriving in Washington, Grant’s primary military strategy was a coordinated effort to attack and defeat the two main Confederate armies in the field, Robert E. Lee‘s Army of Northern Virginia in the east and Joseph E. Johnston‘s Army of Tennessee in the west. On May 5, 1864, Grant launched his Overland Campaign against Lee in Virginia. Two days later, Sherman launched his Atlanta Campaign in the West.
Sherman Surrounds Atlanta
Using a series of flanking maneuvers, Sherman persistently drove the Army of Tennessee south toward Atlanta. On July 17, 1864, Confederate President Jefferson Davis relieved Johnston of his command and placed General John Bell Hood in charge of the Army of Tennessee. Hood proved more willing to fight than Johnston, but the results were the same. By July, Sherman had bottled up Hood’s army in Atlanta. On July 20, Sherman ordered his artillery to bombard Hood’s lines and the city, which still harbored approximately 3,000 civilians.
Hoping to avoid a prolonged siege, on July 27, 1864, Sherman ordered two columns of federal cavalry to move south of Atlanta to cut supply lines leading into the city. Major General George Stoneman‘s cavalry from the Army of the Ohio circled around Atlanta to the southeast. Brigadier General Edward M. McCook’s cavalry from the Army of the Cumberland circled around the city to the southwest. Sherman ordered each column to sever the rail lines that supplied Atlanta and then link up south of the city at Lovejoy’s Station. From there the combined force was to liberate the 32,000 Union prisoners the Confederates held at Andersonville, Georgia.
The raid went well for McCook’s 2,400 troopers initially. They cut the Atlanta & West Point Railroad at Palmetto, captured and burned over 1,000 Confederate wagons at Fayetteville on July 28, and reached Lovejoy’s Station on July 29, where they set about destroying the Macon & Western Railroad.
Stoneman Captured and Imprisoned
Events did not go as well for Stoneman, who met heavy resistance on July 28, 1864, after he swung out toward Covington en route to Macon on his own accord. Major General Joseph Wheeler, commanding the cavalry forces around Atlanta, sent Brigadier General Alfred Iverson’s brigade after Stoneman. On July 29, Iverson’s 1,300 cavalrymen defeated approximately 2,300 of Stoneman’s troopers near Macon, taking roughly 200 prisoners. Two days later, Iverson’s men captured another 500 Union soldiers, including Stoneman, at Sunshine Church near Clinton, Georgia. Ironically, the Confederates imprisoned Stoneman and his captured troopers at Andersonville.
Confederates Block McCook’s Retreat
When Stoneman failed to appear on July 29, 1864, as planned, McCook called off the rendezvous and reversed his course to return to the main army. As McCook tried to make his way back, parts of General Joseph Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry led by Brigadier Generals William H. “Red” Jackson and Lawrence “Sul” Ross repeatedly attacked the Union rearguard. On July 30, as the hard-pressed and exhausted federal horsemen tried to make their way north, McCook found his escape route blocked by more of Wheeler’s cavalry near Brown’s Mill.
Union Forces Refuse to Yield
Believing a superior force surrounded him, McCook met with his subordinate officers and proposed surrendering. Led by Colonel James P. Brownlow of the 1st Tennessee Cavalry, who stated, “you can all surrender and be damned. I’m going out with my regiment,” McCook’s officers refused to yield. Instead, they attempted to cut their way through the Confederate line.
Aftermath
The result was a disaster for McCook’s command. The Union lost roughly 100 killed and wounded men, compared with approximately 50 casualties for the Confederates. In addition, Wheeler captured nearly 1,300 Federals (many of them ended up at Andersonville), and he freed roughly 300 Confederate soldiers that McCook had previously captured.
The Union loss at the Battle of Brown’s Mill undoubtedly prolonged the Atlanta Campaign. Unable to stem the flow of supplies into Atlanta from the south, Sherman had to extend his siege of Atlanta until early September when Hood’s army abandoned the city.
Timeline
- 1863, November — Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant lifted the Confederate Siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- Union forces won the Battle of Lookout Mountain (November 24)
- Union forces won the Battle of Missionary Ridge (November 25).
- Confederate forces marched southward to Dalton, Georgia.
- 1864, February 22–27 — Confederate forces won the First Battle of Dalton.
- 1864, February 25 — Union and Confederate forces engaged in the inconclusive Battle of Crow Valley, near Dalton.
- 1864, February 29 — President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to the special rank of Lieutenant General and placed him in command of all Union armies.
- 1864, May 5 — Grant launched the Overland Campaign against Robert E. Lee in Virginia.
- 1864, May 7 — William T. Sherman led three Union armies out of Tennessee in pursuit of Joseph E. Johnston’s army in northern Georgia, starting the Atlanta Campaign.
- 1864, May 7–13 — Union forces won the Battle of Buzzard’s Roost and the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge.
- 1864, May 13–15 — Sherman’s forces engaged the Army of Tennessee at the Battle of Resaca near Resaca, Georgia, and won.
- 1864, May 17 — Union forces won the Battle of Adairsville.
- 1864, May 20 — Johnston established new defensive lines at Allatoona Pass, about 30 miles north of Atlanta.
- 1864, May 25 — Confederate forces won the Battle of New Hope Church.
- 1864, May 26
- Confederate and Union forces entrenched near Dallas, Georgia.
- Johnston reinforced the Confederate right flank at Pickett’s Mill with soldiers led by Patrick R. Cleburne.
- 1864, May 27 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Pickett’s Mill.
- 1864, June 9 — Johnston withdrew the Army of Tennessee to a fortified position around Marietta, Georgia.
- 1864, June 14–15 — Union forces won the Battle of Pine Mountain.
- 1864, June 15–16 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Gilgal Church.
- 1864, June 19 — Johnston withdrew the Army of Tennessee to a defensive position near Kennesaw Mountain.
- 1864, June 22 — Union forces won the Battle of Kolb’s Farm.
- 1864, June 27 — Union forces won the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Johnston withdrew to the Chattahoochee River, ending the Marietta Operations.
- 1864, July 17 — Confederate President Jefferson Davis relieved Johnston of command and replaced him with John Bell Hood.
- 1864, July, 20 — Union forces won the Battle of Peachtree Creek.
- 1864, July, 22 — Union forces won the Battle of Atlanta and initiated a siege.
- 1864, July 25-27 — Sherman moved the Army of the Tennessee to the west side of Atlanta.
- 1864, July 27 — Sherman ordered cavalry columns under General George Stoneman and Edward M. McCook to cut the railroads south of Atlanta.
- 1864, July 28
- McCook’s cavalry captured and burned more than 1,000 Confederate wagons at Fayetteville.
- Stoneman met heavy Confederate resistance after moving toward Covington and Macon.
- 1864, July 29
- McCook reached Lovejoy’s Station and damaged the Macon & Western Railroad.
- Alfred Iverson’s Confederate cavalry defeated Stoneman’s force near Macon and captured about 200 Union soldiers.
- McCook canceled the planned meeting with Stoneman and turned north toward the main Union army.
- 1864, July 30 — Confederate cavalry blocked McCook’s retreat near Brown’s Mill and defeated his command.
- 1864, July 31 — Iverson’s cavalry captured Stoneman and about 500 Union soldiers at Sunshine Church.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Brown’s Mill (1864) — The Battle of Brown’s Mill was a Confederate cavalry victory fought in Coweta County, Georgia, on July 30, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign. General Edward M. McCook’s Union cavalry destroyed railroad tracks and Confederate wagons south of Atlanta, but General George Stoneman failed to join him. Confederate cavalry repeatedly attacked McCook’s retreating force, blocked its escape near Brown’s Mill and captured nearly 1,300 Union soldiers. The defeat allowed supplies to continue reaching Atlanta and prolonged the campaign.
Alignment
The Battle of Brown’s Mill is part of the following AP US History sections:
