USA HISTORY

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR(1861 1865)

END OF THE CIVIL WAR

[SOURCES]
What was the first Confederate city General Sherman captured in 1864?

(A) ** Atlanta

(B) Austin

(C) Anapolis

(D) Aurora

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -The destruction of Southern rail lines devastated the Confederacy. On November 15, 1864, U.S. forces led by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman burned nearly all of the captured city of Atlanta, Georgia.

Concept note-2: -General Sherman’s troops captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864. This was an important triumph, because Atlanta was a railroad hub and the industrial center of the Confederacy: It had munitions factories, foundries and warehouses that kept the Confederate army supplied with food, weapons and other goods.

Concept note-3: -Joseph E. Johnston’s army. Johnston was charged with defending Atlanta, the largest industrial, logistical, and administrative center outside of Richmond. Atlanta was at the junction of four railroads that connected all remaining Confederate-held territory east of the Mississippi River.

Concept note-4: -On August 28, 1864, Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman lays siege to Atlanta, Georgia, a critical Confederate hub, shelling civilians and cutting off supply lines. The Confederates retreated, destroying the city’s munitions as they went.

Concept note-5: -Sherman’s goal was to destroy the Army of the Tennessee, capture Atlanta and cut off vital Confederate supply lines. While Sherman failed to destroy his enemy, he was able to force the surrender of Atlanta in September 1864, boosting Northern morale and greatly improving President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election bid.