Overview
The Battle of Utoy Creek took place from August 5 to 7, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign. Union forces under General John M. Schofield fought Confederate forces under General John B. Hood in Fulton County, southwest of Atlanta, Georgia.
The battle developed after General William T. Sherman failed to cut the Atlanta and West Point Railroad at the Battle of Ezra Church on July 28, 1864. Because the railroad carried supplies into Atlanta from the southwest, Sherman moved Schofield’s Army of the Ohio from the Union left flank to the right flank in early August.
On August 4, the Army of the Ohio, supported by one corps from the Army of the Cumberland, crossed Utoy Creek and moved toward the railroad. Union forces advanced with some success on August 5, but Schofield stopped to regroup. This delay gave Confederate forces time to strengthen their defenses.
At 10 a.m. on August 6, Schofield ordered a full assault, but the Confederates repulsed it. A second Union attack also failed. On August 7, Union troops entrenched in front of the Confederate defenses and remained there until late August. The result of the battle was inconclusive, but the Confederates were able to stop Union forces from cutting a critical supply line into Atlanta.
Essential Facts
- Date: August 5–7, 1864.
- Location: Fulton County, southwest of Atlanta, Georgia.
- Participants: United States of America (USA), Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: William T. Sherman and John M. Schofield.
- CSA Commanders: John B. Hood.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won the Battle of Utoy Creek.
- Campaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864).
- Era: Civil War, 1864, May–August, Civil War.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: Estimates range from about 300 to about 2,000 killed, wounded, captured, and missing.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Ohio, supported by the 14th Corps of the Army of the Cumberland.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Estimates range from about 20 to about 250 killed, wounded, captured, and missing.
- Forces Engaged: Army of Tennessee.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Significance
The Battle of Utoy Creek is important to American History because of the role it played in the Atlanta Campaign and William T. Sherman’s effort to capture Atlanta. Sherman tried to cut the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, a critical supply line that entered the city from the southwest. John Schofield’s attack failed after Confederate forces reinforced their defenses and repulsed Union assaults on August 6. The Confederate defense stopped Union forces from cutting the railroad and convinced Sherman to abandon frontal attacks.
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 the Battle of Lookout Mountain (November 24) and the Battle of Missionary Ridge (November 25) forced Johnston to withdraw thirty miles south 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, 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 and the Army of Northern Virginia in the east, and Joseph E. Johnston and the 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.
Sherman Repositions His Forces
To prevent supplies from entering Atlanta, Sherman needed to sever the Atlanta and West Railroad, which entered the city from the southwest. His first attempt to do so failed at the Battle of Ezra Church on July 28, 1864. In early August, Sherman began transferring Schofield’s Army of the Ohio from his left flank to his right flank, southwest of Atlanta. On August 4, the Army of the Ohio, supported by one corps from the Army of the Cumberland, crossed Utoy Creek to move toward the railroad.
August 5–7, 1864 — Clash Near Utoy Creek
On August 5, the Federals advanced with some success before Schofield stopped to regroup his army. The delay enabled the Confederates to reinforce their defenses. At 10:00 a.m., on August 6, Schofield ordered an all-out attack against the highly outnumbered Confederates, which failed. Following another assault, which the Confederates also repulsed, Schofield called it a day. On August 7, the Union troops entrenched in front of the Confederate defenses, where they remained until late August.
Aftermath
The Battle of Utoy Creek was not a major engagement in terms of casualties. Estimates of Union losses vary from about 300 to about 2,000 men killed, wounded, captured, and missing. Estimates of Confederate losses range from about 20 to about 250 men killed, wounded, captured, and missing.
Still, the battle was important because the Confederates prevented the Federals from severing a critical supply line into Atlanta and because the Confederate victory convinced Union commander William T. Sherman to abandon frontal attacks on Atlanta’s Confederate defenders.
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 4 — The Army of the Ohio crossed Utoy Creek with support from one corps of the Army of the Cumberland.
- 1864, August 5 — Union forces advanced before John Schofield stopped to regroup.
- 1864, August 6 — Schofield ordered attacks against Confederate defenses, but Confederate forces repulsed them.
- 1864, August 7 — Union troops entrenched in front of the Confederate defenses and remained there until late August.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Utoy Creek (1864) — The Battle of Utoy Creek was fought from August 5 to 7, 1864, in Fulton County, southwest of Atlanta, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign. General John M. Schofield led Union forces against Confederate forces commanded by General John B. Hood. The battle followed the Union’s failed attempt to cut the Atlanta and West Point Railroad at Ezra Church. Schofield crossed Utoy Creek, delayed his attack to regroup, and then launched failed assaults against reinforced Confederate defenses. The Confederates stopped the Union forces from cutting a critical supply line. The Federals did not withdraw; instead, they entrenched across from the Confederate lines.
Alignment
The Battle of Utoy Creek is part of the following AP US History sections:
