Overview
The Battle of Gilgal Church took place in Cobb County, Georgia, from June 15 to 16, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign’s Marietta Operations. The battle followed General William T. Sherman’s advance into Northern Georgia, where Union and Confederate forces fought a series of engagements between Dalton and Atlanta. Much of the fighting occurred near the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which connected Chattanooga and Atlanta and served as an important supply line for both armies.
By June 9, 1864, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn the Army of Tennessee to defensive positions near Marietta. Sherman continued to pressure Johnston over the next three weeks, including at Gilgal Church on June 15. During the battle, General Daniel Butterfield’s 3rd Division of General Joseph Hooker’s 20th Corps encountered a Confederate Division commanded by General Patrick Cleburne.
Cleburne’s men withdrew to Gilgal Church, where they dismantled the building and used its boards and pews to build defensive works. The Confederates drove the Union forces from the battlefield, inflicting about 200 casualties while suffering only a few themselves. Although the engagement was a Union military setback, Sherman continued to pressure Johnston and forced him to withdraw from the area by July 3.
Essential Facts
- Date: June 15–16, 1864.
- Location: Cobb County, Georgia.
- Participants: United States of America (USA), Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Joseph Hooker and Daniel Butterfield.
- CSA Commanders: Patrick Cleburne.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won a tactical victory.
- Campaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864), Marietta Operations (1864).
- Era: Civil War, 1864, May–August, Civil War.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: 200 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: 3rd Division of the 20th Corps, Army of the Cumberland, and 8 regiments from the Army of the Ohio.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Unreported.
- Forces Engaged: Cleburne’s Division, Army of Tennessee.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Significance
The Battle of Gilgal Church is important to American History because of the role it played in William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, as Sherman pressed General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee in northern Georgia. Although Confederate forces under General Patrick Cleburne drove the Union troops from the battlefield, the outcome did not stop Sherman’s larger movements. Sherman continued to pressure Johnston near Marietta through several other engagements. By July 3, he forced Johnston to withdraw from the area, continuing the Union advance toward Atlanta.
History
In late November 1863, Union forces commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant successfully lifted Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Union victories at Lookout Mountain (November 24) and Missionary Ridge (November 25) forced Johnston to withdraw thirty miles south to near Dalton, Georgia.
Grant Promoted
After the Federal breakout from Chattanooga, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to the special rank of Lieutenant General and placed him in command of all Union armies. Grant moved his headquarters to Washington, DC, leaving his trusted subordinate, Major General William T. Sherman, in command of federal operations in the Western Theater. 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.
Sherman Moves into Georgia
On May 5, 1864, Grant launched his Overland Campaign against Lee in Virginia. Two days later, Sherman led three armies, the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Major General James B. McPherson; the Army of the Ohio, commanded by Major General John M. Schofield; and the Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Major General George H. Thomas, out of Tennessee in pursuit of Johnston’s army in northern Georgia.
Throughout the summer of 1864, the Confederate and Union armies engaged in a series of battles between Dalton and Atlanta in northern Georgia. Most of the fighting occurred at places on or near the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which connected Chattanooga and Atlanta. Both sides depended on the railway for supplies throughout the campaign. In a pattern he often repeated, Sherman used flanking movements that threatened the railway to Johnston’s rear, forcing the Confederate commander to retreat south to protect his supply lines.
Sherman Presses Johnston
By June 9, 1864, Johnston had withdrawn the Army of Tennessee to an entrenched position near Marietta in Cobb County, Georgia. Over the next three weeks, Sherman continued to press Johnston, engaging his army at various locations near Marietta, including at the Battle of Gilgal Church on June 15.
Fighting at Gilgal Church
In this battle, Major General Daniel Butterfield’s 3rd Division of Major General Joseph Hooker’s 20th Corps encountered a Confederate division, commanded by General Patrick Cleburne. Cleburne’s men quickly withdrew to Gilgal Church, where the Southerners dismantled the church to use the boards and pews for defensive works. Cleburne’s men drove the Northerners from the battlefield, inflicting approximately 200 casualties while suffering only a few themselves.
Aftermath
While this engagement was a loss for the Union military, after the Battle of Gilgal Church and several other engagements, Sherman forced Johnston to withdraw from the area by July 3.
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
- Daniel Butterfield’s Union forces encountered Patrick Cleburne’s Confederates near Gilgal Church.
- The Confederates dismantled Gilgal Church and used boards and pews to build defensive works.
- Cleburne’s men drove the Union forces from the battlefield and caused about 200 Union casualties.
- 1864, July 3 — Sherman forced Johnston to withdraw from the Marietta area after several other small engagements.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Gilgal Church (1864) — The Battle of Gilgal Church was fought in Cobb County, Georgia, from June 15 to 16, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign’s Marietta Operations. General Daniel Butterfield’s 3rd Division of General Joseph Hooker’s 20th Corps encountered General Patrick Cleburne’s Confederate Division. Cleburne’s men withdrew to Gilgal Church, built defensive works, and drove the Union forces from the field. The battle ended in a tactical victory for the Confederates but also shaped Sherman’s plans against Johnston near Marietta.
Alignment
The Battle of Gilgal Church is part of the following AP US History sections:
