Overview
The Battle of Lovejoy’s Station took place on August 20, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign. The battle developed after General William T. Sherman placed Atlanta under siege in late July, following General John Bell Hood’s costly attacks at the Battle of Peachtree Creek and the Battle of Atlanta. Desperate to break the siege, Hood sent General Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry into northern Georgia to damage Sherman’s supply lines. With Wheeler absent, Sherman targeted Hood’s supply routes south of Atlanta.
On August 18, General Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry raided the Atlanta and West Point Railroad and destroyed small sections of track. The next day, Kilpatrick’s men burned a large store of Confederate supplies at the Jonesborough supply depot on the Macon and Western Railroad.
On August 20, Kilpatrick’s men continued to Lovejoy’s Station, where they resumed destroying railroad property. Confederate infantry from General Patrick Cleburne’s Division arrived, and the two sides fought into the night. Kilpatrick retreated to avoid being surrounded. Although Union forces destroyed some track and supplies, Confederate troops repaired the railroad within two days. The battle ended as a Confederate victory.
Essential Facts
- Date: August 20, 1864.
- Location: Clayton County, Georgia, at Lovejoy’s Station on the Macon and Western Railroad.
- Participants: United States of America (USA), Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Judson Kilpatrick.
- CSA Commanders: William H. Jackson and Patrick Cleburne.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won the Battle of Lovejoy’s Station.
- Campaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864).
- Era: Civil War, 1864, May–August, Civil War.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: 237 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: 240 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: William H. Jackson’s Cavalry Division and Patrick Cleburne’s Infantry Division of the Army of Tennessee.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Significance
The Battle of Lovejoy’s Station is important to American History because of the role it played in William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. Sherman sought to cut John Bell Hood’s supply lines after direct attacks failed to capture Atlanta. Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry damaged railroad track and burned Confederate supplies, but the raid did not permanently break the Macon and Western Railroad. Confederate forces stopped the Union raid, forced Kilpatrick to retreat, and repaired the railroad within two days, extending the Siege of Atlanta.
History
Federal Breakout from Chattanooga
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’s Umbrella Strategy
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.
Fighting Along the Western and Atlantic Railroad
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 that 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.
Hood Replaces Johnston
By mid-July, Sherman had driven Johnston’s army to the outskirts of Atlanta. Many Southerners, including President Jefferson Davis, had grown weary of Johnston’s strategy of retreat. On July 17, 1864, Davis relieved Johnston of his command, replacing him with General John Bell Hood. Known as an aggressive fighter, Hood was a veteran officer with a reputation for personal bravery who had suffered severe wounds at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) and the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863). General Hood wasted little time responding to Southerners’ calls for action.
Atlanta Under Siege
Hood launched costly attacks against Sherman’s armies on July 20 (Battle of Peachtree Creek) and July 22 (Battle of Atlanta) that produced high Confederate casualties (over 13,000 men killed, wounded, captured, and missing. Despite his high losses, Hood prevented Sherman from penetrating Atlanta from the north and from the east. Foiled in his efforts to capture the city by force, Sherman besieged Atlanta in late July.
Race to Destroy Supply Lines
Desperate to break the siege, Hood sent Major General Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry to northern Georgia to destroy railroad tracks and disrupt Sherman’s supply lines. With Wheeler’s cavalry absent, Sherman set about trying to destroy Hood’s supply lines.
Federals Destroy Supplies at Jonesborough
On August 18, 1864, Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry raided the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, destroying small sections of track. The next day, Kilpatrick’s troopers burned a large cache of Confederate supplies at the Jonesborough supply depot on the Macon and Western Railroad.
Clash at Lovejoy’s Station
On August 20, Kilpatrick’s men continued on to Lovejoy’s Station, where they continued their destruction until Confederate infantry from the division of Major General Patrick Cleburne arrived. The two sides clashed into the night when Kilpatrick retreated to avoid being surrounded.
Outcome
Casualties were about even at the Battle of Lovejoy’s Station. The Confederacy suffered about 237 casualties (killed, wounded, captured/missing), and the Union lost roughly 240 soldiers (killed, wounded, captured/missing). Although Kilpatrick’s men destroyed some track and supplies, the Confederates repaired the damage to the line and had the railroad operational within two days.
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 28 — Union forces won the Battle of Ezra Church.
- 1864, July 30 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Brown’s Mill.
- 1864, August 5–7 — The two armies fought the Battle of Utoy Creek, which was inconclusive.
- 1864, August 14–15 — Union forces won the Second Battle of Dalton.
- 1864, August 18 — Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry raided the Atlanta and West Point Railroad.
- 1864, August 19 — Kilpatrick’s men burned a large store of Confederate supplies at Jonesborough.
- 1864, August 20 — Union and Confederate forces fought at the Battle of Lovejoy’s Station. The Confederates won the battle, repaired the railroad, and restored service within two days.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Lovejoy’s Station (1864) — The Battle of Lovejoy’s Station was fought on August 20, 1864, in Clayton County, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign. General Judson Kilpatrick led Union cavalry against Confederate forces connected to General William H. Jackson’s Cavalry Division and General Patrick Cleburne’s Infantry Division. The battle followed Kilpatrick’s raid on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, the burning of Confederate supplies at Jonesborough, and Union efforts to damage the Macon and Western Railroad. Kilpatrick retreated to avoid being surrounded, and the Confederates repaired the railroad within two days.
Alignment
The Battle of Lovejoy’s Station is part of the following AP US History sections:
