Timeline 1864
Date
Event
Causalities
Summary
March 9
Grant appointed Commander-in-Chief
President Lincoln appointed Grant General in Chief of the North. Grant then appointed General William T. Sherman to command the Western armies, while General George G. Meade remained the command of the armies of the East.
May
Sherman's March to the Sea
12,140 in Atlanta
William T. Sherman left Tennessee with 100,000 troops. He marched to Atlanta, Georgia. He then marched from Atlanta to the Atlantic Ocean. During this 300 mile march Sherman's soldiers burned and destroyed everything in a width of 60 miles.
May 5 - 6
Battle of the Wilderness
Union: 18,000 Confederate: 7,500
This was the first in a series of battles that took place in the woods near Chancellorsville, Virginia. The first Union attack was made in an area about 50 miles from Richmond. Fires trapped both Confederate and Union soldiers in the blazing woods. The Union gained little and lost much in casualties. (Some consider battle this a draw.)
May 8 - 12
Spotsylvania
14,000 in Union troops
Grant ignored the losses in the Battle of the Wilderness and ordered Meade to move on toward Spotsylvania Court House.
May 31
Cold Harbor
15,500
Grant kept moving toward Lee's army after Spotsylvania. They fought the Southern army at Cold Harbor in an advancement upon Richmond. After many casualties the Union army called off the attack.
June 20
Siege of Petersburg
104,000
After leaving Cold Harbor Grant headed for Petersburg, 20 miles south of Richmond, the Confederate capital. The Union delayed attacking long enough for Lee to gather reinforcements. This was the beginning of a nine month siege with Grant's men surrounding Lee's army. Petersburg did not fall until the end of the war.
August 5
Mobile Bay
1,822
Farragut won the Battle of Mobile Bay. This closed the last Confederate Gulf port.
September 2
Atlanta
12,140
Northern troops under Sherman captured Atlanta after a forty-day siege of the city. Atlanta was an important victory because it was one of the most important railroad junctions in the Confederacy. Sherman burned much of the city on November 15 before leaving to begin his march to the sea.
October 19
Shenandoah Valley
Sheridan led his troops on a rampage of destruction in the Shenandoah Valley.
November 8
Election of Lincoln
Lincoln was reelected President for a second term.
November 30
Battle of Franklin
8,587
Schofield's Union forces inflicted heavy losses on Hood in the Battle of Franklin.
December 15-16
Nashville
6,602
The Battle of Nashville smashed Hood's army.
December 21
Savannah
Sherman's troops occupied Savannah, Georgia.
Key:
No Victory or NA [no color]
Confederate Victory [gray]
Union Victory [blue]