N-Georgia.com N-Georgia Georgia's Recreation & Travel Guide Contact Us

Georgia Civil War Battles

Browse Georgia

Twenty-seven Civil War battles are recorded in Georgia by the National Park Service’s Civil War Sites Advisory Commission. Most were fought in 1864, during William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign and his March to the Sea, but the war came to the coast in 1862 and to Chickamauga in 1863. This guide summarizes every one, with dates, commanders, results and casualty estimates, and tells you which battlefields, forts and markers you can visit today.

All 27 Battles at a Glance

DateBattleCountyResult
April 10-11, 1862Fort PulaskiChatham CountyUnion victory
March 3, 1863Fort McAllister (first attack)Bryan CountyConfederate victory
September 10-11, 1863Davis’ Cross RoadsDade and Walker countiesConfederate victory
September 18-20, 1863ChickamaugaCatoosa, Dade and Walker countiesConfederate victory
November 27, 1863Ringgold GapCatoosa CountyConfederate victory
February 22-27, 1864Dalton IWhitfield CountyConfederate victory
May 7-13, 1864Rocky Face RidgeWhitfield CountyUnion victory
May 13-15, 1864ResacaGordon County and Whitfield CountyInconclusive
May 17, 1864AdairsvilleBartow CountyInconclusive
May 25-26, 1864New Hope ChurchPaulding CountyConfederate victory
May 26 to June 1, 1864DallasPaulding CountyUnion victory
May 27, 1864Pickett’s MillPaulding CountyConfederate victory
June 9 to July 3, 1864MariettaCobb CountyUnion victory
June 22, 1864Kolb’s FarmCobb CountyUnion victory
June 27, 1864Kennesaw MountainCobb CountyConfederate victory
July 20, 1864Peachtree CreekFulton CountyUnion victory
July 22, 1864AtlantaFulton and DeKalb countiesUnion victory
July 28, 1864Ezra ChurchFulton CountyUnion victory
August 5-7, 1864Utoy CreekFulton CountyInconclusive
August 14-15, 1864Dalton IIWhitfield CountyUnion victory
August 20, 1864Lovejoy’s StationClayton CountyConfederate victory
August 31-September 1, 1864JonesboroClayton CountyUnion victory
October 5, 1864AllatoonaBartow CountyUnion victory
November 22, 1864GriswoldvilleJones County and Twiggs CountyUnion victory
November 28, 1864Buck Head CreekJenkins CountyConfederate victory
December 4, 1864WaynesboroBurke CountyUnion victory
December 13, 1864Fort McAllister (capture)Bryan CountyUnion victory

Battles linked to their own pages have full guides; the rest are covered in detail below.

1862: Fort Pulaski

Union forces seized the Georgia coast early, and new rifled cannon made short work of brick forts.

Fort Pulaski

Cannon-scarred brick wall at Fort Pulaski National Monument, Georgia
Photo: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0

Fort Pulaski, built by the U.S. Army before the war, is located near the mouth of the Savannah River, blocking upriver access to Savannah. Fortifications such as Pulaski, called third system forts, were considered invincible, but the new technology of rifled artillery changed that. On February 19, 1862, Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Sherman ordered Captain Quincy A. Gillmore, an engineer officer, to take charge of the investment force and begin the bombardment and capture of the fort. Gillmore emplaced artillery on the mainland southeast of the fort and began the bombardment on April 10 after Colonel Charles H. Olmstead refused to surrender the fort. Within hours, Gillmore’s rifled artillery had breached the southeast scarp of the fort, and he continued to exploit it. Some of his shells began to damage the traverse shielding the magazine in the northwest bastion. Realizing that if the magazine exploded the fort would be seriously damaged and the garrison would suffer severe casualties, Olmstead surrendered after 2:00 pm on April 11.

Visiting today: The fall of Fort Pulaski in April 1862 stunned military engineers worldwide: it proved that rifled artillery had made brick fortifications obsolete almost overnight. The fort is preserved today as Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, and the cannon-scarred walls Gillmore's guns breached are still visible to visitors.

1863: Chickamauga and the Fight for Chattanooga

The war reached North Georgia in September 1863, when the Confederate Army of Tennessee won its biggest victory at Chickamauga, then lost Chattanooga that November.

Fort McAllister (first attack)

The preserved earthworks at Fort McAllister State Park, Georgia
Photo: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0

Rear Adm. Samuel F. Du Pont (US) ordered three ironclads, Patapsco, Passaic, and Nahant, to test their guns and mechanical appliances. They also practiced artillery firing by attacking Fort McAllister, then a small three-gun earthwork battery. On March 3, 1863, the three ironclads conducted an eight-hour bombardment. The bombardment did not destroy the battery but did some damage, while the three ironclads received some scratches and dents. The tests were helpful for knowledge and experience gained, but the fort did not fall, showing that the ironclads’ firepower could not destroy an earthen fort.

Visiting today: This first, inconclusive round at Fort McAllister proved that Union ironclads alone couldn't reduce a well-built earthen fort, a lesson the Navy carried into later operations elsewhere on the coast. The fort's earthworks survive today at Fort McAllister State Park near Richmond Hill.

Ringgold Gap

1864 sketch of the fighting at Ringgold Gap, Georgia
Photo: Alfred R. Waud, public domain

Following the Union victory at Missionary Ridge and the Rebel retreat, Yankee troops set out in pursuit. Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s command fell back to Ringgold Gap where the Western & Atlantic Railroad passed through Taylor’s Ridge. Maj. Gen. Joseph B. Hooker sent his force forward to seize the ridge, which it failed to do after five hours of heavy fighting.

Visiting today: Ringgold's small Depot Park and several historical markers downtown mark the site of Cleburne's rearguard stand, which bought Bragg's retreating army the time it needed to reach safety. The victory earned Patrick Cleburne a rare Confederate Congressional Thanks and cemented his reputation as one of the war's best defensive tacticians.

Full guides for this period: Davis’ Cross Roads (September 10-11, 1863), Chickamauga (September 18-20, 1863).

1864: The Atlanta Campaign

From May to September 1864, Sherman pushed south along the Western & Atlantic Railroad, flanking Confederate positions one after another until Atlanta fell on September 2.

Dalton I

1864 field sketch of the Confederate fortifications near Dalton, Georgia
Photo: public domain, Library of Congress

From Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sherman launched a campaign to take the important railroad center at Meridian. And, if the situation was favorable, to push on to Selma and threaten Mobile, in order to prevent the shipment of Confederate men and supplies. To counter the threat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered troops into the area. While these operations unfolded, Thomas determined to probe Gen. Johnston’s army in the hope that Johnston’s loss of two divisions, sent to reinforce Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk as he withdrew from Meridian to Demopolis, Alabama, would make him vulnerable. Skirmishing and intense fighting occurred throughout the demonstration. At Crow Valley on the 25th, Union troops almost turned the Rebel right flank, but ultimately it held. On the 27th, Thomas’s army withdrew, realizing that Johnston was ready and able to counter any assault.

Visiting today: This February 1864 demonstration was a probing action rather than a full battle, meant to test Confederate strength before the main Atlanta Campaign opened that spring. Whitfield County carries more Civil War historical markers than any other county in Georgia, and several near Dug Gap and Crow Valley still mark the ground fought over here.

Rocky Face Ridge

The Mill Creek Gap historical marker at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia
Photo: public domain

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had entrenched his army on the long, high mountain of Rocky Face Ridge and eastward across Crow Valley. As Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman approached, he decided to demonstrate against the position with two columns while he sent a third one through Snake Creek Gap, to the right, to hit the Western & Atlantic Railroad at Resaca. The two columns engaged the enemy at Buzzard Roost (Mill Creek Gap) and at Dug Gap. In the meantime, the third column, under Maj. Gen. James Birdseye McPherson, passed through Snake Creek Gap and on the 9th advanced to the outskirts of Resaca where it found Confederates entrenched. Fearing defeat, McPherson pulled his column back to Snake Creek Gap. On the 10th, Sherman decided to take most of his men and join McPherson to take Resaca. Thenext morning, Sherman’ s army withdrew from in front of Rocky Face Ridge. Discovering Sherman’s movement, Johnston retired south towards Resaca on the 12th.

Visiting today: Sherman's flanking move through Snake Creek Gap at Rocky Face Ridge opened the Atlanta Campaign and set the template Sherman would use again and again: threaten a flank rather than attack Johnston's strong defensive lines head-on. A historical marker at Mill Creek Gap, along US 41 north of Dalton, marks part of the battlefield today.

Resaca

Georgia historical marker for the Battle of Resaca alongside the old rail line
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 4.0

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca Georgia. On the 13th, the Union troops tested the Rebel lines to pinpoint their whereabouts. The next day full scale fighting occurred, and the Union troops were generally repulsed except on the Rebel right flank where Sherman did not fully exploit his advantage. On the 15th, the battle continued with no advantage to either side until Sherman sent a force across the Oostanula River, at Lay’s Ferry, towards Johnston’s railroad supply line. Unable to halt this Union movement, Johnston was forced to retire.

Visiting today: Resaca Confederate Cemetery, established shortly after the war by local women, and the Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site preserve parts of the ground fought over here. Though the battle itself was inconclusive, Sherman's flanking move across the Oostanaula River forced Johnston into the pattern of fight-and-withdraw that defined the rest of the campaign.

New Hope Church

Memorial at the New Hope Church battlefield in Paulding County, Georgia
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 4.0

After Johnston retreated to Allatoona Pass on May 19-20, Sherman decided that he would most likely pay dearly for attacking Johnston there. Johnston anticipated Sherman’s move and met the Union forces at New Hope Church. Sherman mistakenly surmised that Johnston had a token force and ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s corps to attack. This corps was severely mauled. On the 26th, both sides en-trenched, and skirmishing continued throughout the day. Actions the next day in this area are discussed under Pickett’s Mills.

Visiting today: New Hope Church earned the nickname "the Hell Hole" from soldiers on both sides for the ferocity of the fighting in the thick woods here. A memorial and historical marker stand today near the church's original site in Paulding County, part of the same broad battlefield that includes Pickett's Mill.

Kennesaw Mountain

Preserved Civil War earthworks in the woods at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
Photo: Muhranoff, CC BY-SA 4.0

On the night of June 18-19, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, fearing envelopment, withdrew his army to a new, previously selected position astride Kennesaw Mountain. This entrenched arc-shaped line, to the north and west of Marietta, protected the Western & Atlantic Railroad, the supply link to Atlanta. Having defeated General John B. Hood troops at Kolb’s Farm on the 22nd, Sherman was sure that Johnston had stretched his line too thin and, therefore, decided on a frontal attack with some diversions on the flanks. On the morning of June 27, Sherman sent his troops forward after an artillery bombardment. At first, they made some headway overrunning Confederate pickets south of the Burnt Hickory Road, but attacking an enemy that was dug in was futile. The fighting ended by noon, and Sherman suffered high casualties.

Visiting today: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, run by the National Park Service, preserves the mountain and miles of the original entrenchments today, with hiking trails leading up to the summit earthworks and a visitor center near the base. Despite the costly Union defeat here, Sherman's flanking maneuvers soon forced Johnston to abandon the position anyway.

Peachtree Creek

The Peachtree Creek battlefield near Atlanta, photographed in 1864
Photo: George N. Barnard, public domain

Under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, the Army of Tennessee had retired south of Peachtree Creek, an east to west flowing stream, about three miles north of Atlanta. Sherman split his army into three columns for the assault on Atlanta with George H. Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland moving from the north. Johnston had decided to attack Thomas, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis relieved him of command and appointed John B. Hood to take his place. Hood attacked Thomas after his army crossed Peachtree Creek. The determined assault threatened to overrun the Union troops at various locations. Ultimately, though, the Yankees held, and the Rebels fell back.

Visiting today: Peachtree Creek was John Bell Hood's first battle as army commander, launched just three days after he replaced the more cautious Joseph Johnston, and its failure set the tone for the costly attacks that followed at Atlanta and Ezra Church. Tanyard Creek Park in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood preserves part of the battlefield today, with interpretive markers along its walking trails.

Ezra Church

1864 Harper's Weekly engraving of the Battle of Ezra Church
Photo: Theodore R. Davis, public domain

Earlier, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's forces had approached Atlanta from the east and north. Hood had not defeated them, but he had kept them away from the city. Sherman now decided to attack from the west. He ordered the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, to move from the left wing to the right and cut Hood’s last railroad supply line between East Point and Atlanta Georgia. Hood foresaw such a maneuver and determined to send the two corps of Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee and Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart to intercept and destroy the Union force. Thus, on the afternoon of July 28, the Rebels assaulted Howard at Ezra Church. Howard had anticipated such a thrust, entrenched one of his corps in the Confederates’ path, and repulsed the determined attack, inflicting numerous casualties. Howard, however, failed to cut the railroad.

Visiting today: Ezra Church is remembered today mainly by a Georgia Historical Society marker near the site, since the church itself and much of the battlefield were absorbed into what is now Atlanta's Westview Cemetery and surrounding neighborhoods. It was the third major Confederate attack Hood launched in two weeks trying to break Sherman's siege of Atlanta, and the third to fail.

Utoy Creek

National Register documentation photo of the Utoy Creek battlefield, Atlanta, Georgia
Photo: American Battlefield Protection Program, public domain

After failing to envelop Hood's left flank at Ezra Church, Sherman still wanted to extend his right flank to hit the railroad between East Point and Atlanta. He transferred John M. Schofield’ s Army of the Ohio from his left to his right flank and sent him to the north bank of Utoy Creek. Although Schofield’s troops were at Utoy Creek on August 2, they, along with the XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, did not cross until the 4th. Schofield’s force began its movement to exploit this situation on the morning of the 5th, which was initially successful. Schofield then had to regroup his forces, which took the rest of the day. The delay allowed the Rebels to strengthen their defenses with abatis, which slowed the Union attack when it restarted on the morning of the 6th. The Federals were repulsed with heavy losses by Bate’s Division and failed in an attempt to break the railroad. On the 7th, the Union troops moved toward the Confederate main line and entrenched. Here they remained until late August.

Visiting today: Utoy Creek was one of the last attempts by Sherman to take Atlanta by direct assault before he shifted to cutting off the city's supply lines instead. A historical marker at the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve in southwest Atlanta, dedicated in 2016, now marks the battlefield.

Dalton II

1864 field sketch of the Confederate fortifications near Dalton, Georgia
Photo: public domain, Library of Congress

Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his cavalry raided into North Georgia to destroy railroad tracks and supplies. They approached Dalton in the late afternoon of August 14 and demanded the surrender of the garrison. The Union commander, Col. Bernard Laibolt, refused to surrender and fighting ensued. Greatly outnumbered, the Union garrison retired to fortifications on a hill outside the town where they successfully held out, although the attack continued until after midnight. Skirmishing continued throughout the night. Around 5 am, on the 15th, Wheeler retired and became engaged with relieving infantry and cavalry under Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman’s command. Eventually, Wheeler withdrew. The contending forces’ reports vary greatly in describing the fighting, the casualties, and the amount of track and supplies captured and destroyed. This engagement was inconclusive, but since the Confederates withdrew, it may be termed a Union victory.

Visiting today: This second, smaller action came months after the main Atlanta Campaign had moved on, when Confederate cavalry under Joseph Wheeler tried and failed to retake the rail junction at Dalton. The town's rail depot, the actual target of the raid, still stands in downtown Dalton today.

Jonesboro

1864 Currier and Ives print of the Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia
Photo: Currier & Ives, public domain

Sherman had successfully cut Hood's supply lines in the past by sending out detachments, but the Confederates quickly repaired the damage. In late August, Sherman determined that if he could cut Hood’s supply lines, the Macon & Western and the Atlanta & West Point Railroads, the Rebels would have to evacuate Atlanta. Sherman, therefore, decided to move six of his seven infantry corps against the supply lines. The army began pulling out of its positions on August 25 to hit the Macon & Western Railroad between Rough and Ready and Jonesborough. To counter the move, Hood sent Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee with two corps to halt and possibly rout the Union troops, not realizing Sherman’s army was there in force. On August 31, Hardee attacked two Union corps west of Jonesborough but was easily repulsed. Fearing an attack on Atlanta, Hood withdrew one corps from Hardee’s force that night. The next day, a Union corps broke through Hardee’ s troops which retreated to Lovejoy’s Station, and on the night of September 1, Hood evacuated Atlanta. Sherman did cut Hood’s supply line but failed to destroy Hardee’s command.

Visiting today: The Union victory at Jonesboro cut the last rail line supplying Atlanta and forced Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood to evacuate the city the next night, ending the Atlanta Campaign. The Patrick R. Cleburne Confederate Cemetery and several historical markers in downtown Jonesboro preserve the memory of the battle today.

Full guides for this period: Adairsville (May 17, 1864), Dallas (May 26 to June 1, 1864), Pickett’s Mill (May 27, 1864), Kolb’s Farm (June 22, 1864), Marietta (June 9 to July 3, 1864), Atlanta (July 22, 1864), Lovejoy’s Station (August 20, 1864).

Fall 1864: Hood Strikes North

After losing Atlanta, Gen. John B. Hood moved north against Sherman’s railroad supply line before marching into Tennessee.

Allatoona

Allatoona Pass, Georgia, looking south, 1864
Photo: public domain, Library of Congress

After the fall of Atlanta, Hood moved northward to threaten the Western & Atlantic Railroad, Sherman's supply line. He attacked a number of minor garrisons and damaged track during October 2-4. Sherman sent reinforcements, John M. Corse’s brigade, to Allatoona just before the Rebels attacked there. Maj. Gen. Samuel G. French’s Confederate division arrived near Allatoona at sunrise on the 5th. After demanding a surrender and receiving a negative reply, French attacked. The Union outer line survived a sustained two and a half hour attack, but then fell back and regrouped in an earthen “Star” fort of Allatoona Pass. French repeatedly attacked, but the fort held. The Rebels began to run out of ammunition, and reports of arriving Union reinforcements influenced them to move off and rejoin Hood’s force.

Visiting today: The battlefield is preserved today as part of the Corps of Engineers' Allatoona Pass Trailhead, where visitors can still walk the cut through Allatoona Mountain and see the earthen Star Fort that held against repeated Confederate assaults. The signal message relayed to the Union garrison, "hold the fort, I am coming," later inspired a popular 19th-century hymn.

November and December 1864: The March to the Sea

Sherman cut loose from his supply lines and marched about 60,000 men across Georgia to Savannah, which surrendered on December 21, 1864.

Griswoldville

Georgia historical marker describing the Battle of Griswoldville
Photo: Dsdugan, CC0

Brig. Gen. Charles Walcutt was ordered to make a demonstration, with the six infantry regiments and one battery. He set out on the morning of November 22, and after a short march he ran into some of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry and drove them beyond Griswoldville. Having accomplished his mission, Walcutt retired to a position at Duncan’s Farm and fortified it with logs and rails to meet an expected Rebel attack force composed of three brigades of Georgia State Militia. The Georgia Militia had been ordered from Macon to Augusta, thinking the latter was Sherman’s next objective, and accidentally collided with Walcutt’s force. The Union force withstood three determined charges before receiving reinforcements of one regiment of infantry and two regiments of cavalry. The Rebels did not attack again and soon retired.

Visiting today: Griswoldville was the only real pitched infantry battle of Sherman's March to the Sea, and a tragic one: most of the Confederate force were old men and boys of the Georgia Militia, attacking veteran Union troops with predictable results. A state historical marker and a small preserved section of the battlefield mark the site in Jones County today.

Waynesboro

Georgia historical marker for the cavalry actions of Sherman's March near Waynesboro and Buckhead Creek
Photo: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 4.0

As Sherman's infantry marched southeast through Georgia, his cavalry under Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick rode northeastward. He set out on the morning of December 4 to attack Waynesborough and destroy Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry command. That morning Kilpatrick’s men advanced, driving the Rebel skirmishers in front of them. The Union force then came up against a defensive line of barricades which they eventually overran. As the Union advance continued, they met more barricades which required time to overcome. Finally, the Confederates fell back to a final line of barricades within the town. After furious fighting, the Union troops broke through and Wheeler’s force ran.

Visiting today: The Union victory at Waynesboro drove off Wheeler's cavalry and opened the road for Sherman's armies to converge on Savannah, the final objective of the March to the Sea. Georgia Historical Society markers in Waynesboro and near Buckhead Church in neighboring Jenkins County trace the cavalry's path today.

Fort McAllister (capture)

A cannon on the earthworks at Fort McAllister State Park, Georgia
Photo: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0

As Sherman's troops approached Savannah they sorely required supplies. Sherman determined that if he could take Fort McAllister, supply ships could reach him. Thus, he ordered Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, commander of his right wing, to take the fort. Howard chose Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen to accomplish the task. Hazen, in the afternoon of December 13, had his men in line for the attack. Upon giving the order to attack, his men rushed forward through the various obstacles prepared for them, entered the fort, and captured it. With his supply line open, Sherman could now prepare for the siege and capture of Savannah.

Visiting today: Capturing Fort McAllister in December 1864 opened a supply line to Sherman's army and effectively sealed Savannah's fate, leading to the city's surrender less than two weeks later. The fort's earthworks and the ditch its attackers crossed are preserved today at Fort McAllister State Park, one of the best-preserved Confederate earthworks in the South.

Full guides for this period: Buck Head Creek (November 28, 1864).

Planning a Civil War Trip

The biggest preserved battlefields are Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. On the coast, Fort Pulaski National Monument near Tybee Island and Fort McAllister State Park near Richmond Hill show how forts fared against Union guns and infantry. Pair them with our Georgia Civil War sites itinerary, the Georgia Civil War sites directory, Pickett’s Mill Battlefield and Tunnel Hill.

Sources we checked

Facts in this guide were checked in October 2026 against the agencies and operators that run these places:

Spot something out of date? Email Contact@n-georgia.com and we’ll check it against the official source. Read how we research our guides.

We use cookies to run this site and, with your consent, to measure traffic and site performance. Read our cookie policy.