THE ROAD PAST KENNESAW THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN OF 1864 _RICHARD M. McMURRY_ _Foreword by Bell I. Wiley_ Office of Publications National Park Service U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Washington, D. C. 1972 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402—Price $1.70 Stock No. 024-005-00288-O/Catalog No. I 29.2:K39 The author: _Richard M. McMurry, a long-time student of the Army of Tennessee and the Atlanta Campaign, is associate professor of history at Valdosta State College, Valdosta, Ga._ NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORY SERIES Publication of this volume was made possible by a grant from the Kennesaw Mountain Historical Association. This publication is one of a series of booklets describing the significance of historical and archeological areas in the National Park System administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. It is printed by the Government Printing Office and can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC 20402. Price $1.70. Stock Number 024-005-00288-O Catalog Number I 29.2:K 39 FOREWORD The turning point of the Civil War is a perennial matter of dispute among historians. Some specify the Henry-Donelson-Shiloh operation of early 1862 as the pivotal campaign; others insist that Antietam was the key event; still others are equally sure that Gettysburg and Vicksburg marked the watershed of military activities. Regardless of when the tide turned, there can be little doubt that the Federal drive on Atlanta, launched in May 1864, was the beginning of the end for the Southern Confederacy. And Sherman’s combination assault-flanking operation of June 27 at Kennesaw Mountain may very well be considered the decisive maneuver in the thrust toward Atlanta. For when Joseph E. Johnston found it necessary to pull his forces back across the Chattahoochee, the fate of the city was sealed.