Resaca, a small village along the Western and Atlantic Railroad where the railroad crosses the Oostanaula River, was named to honor the U.S. victory at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma during the Mexican-American War. Resaca again became associated with warfare when the first large-scale battle of the Atlanta Campaign, the Battle of Resaca, occurred here on May 14-15, 1864.
On May 9, 1864, Major General James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee made a flanking maneuver through Ship’s Gap, Villanow, and the Sanke Creek Gap. This was an attempt to get behind General Joseph E. Johnston’s army in Dalton to block an escape route and cut the railroad supply line, thus opening a clear, unimpeded path to Atlanta. Major General William T. Sherman, who ordered the movement, stressed its importance to McPherson. “Strike hard as it may save us what we have most reason to apprehend, and a slow pursuit, in which he gains strength as we lose it.” It would have been a brilliant movement had it been executed as ordered.
Near the present intersection of I-75 and Lafayette Road/State Highway 136, a force of approximately 4000 Confederate, a combination of two Confederate brigades and a handful of Georgia Military Institute cadets, were stationed at Fort Wayne and surrounding hills to guard the railroad in Johnston’s rear. They were all that stood between the Federal army and Confederate defeat. McPherson could have easily taken their position and gained the advantageous plateau of Fort Wayne, a hilltop earthwork controlling the railroad. Furthermore, the Snake Creek Gap should never have been left undefended, an oversight that could have cost the Confederates the campaign. McPherson, plagued by indecision and a lack of reconnaissance, chose to do nothing when, with aggressive leadership, he could have exploited a great advantage. When Johnston’s army withdrew from Dalton to march the short distance to Resaca and meet the threat, the Federal opportunity was lost.
On May 12, Lt. General Leonidas Polk’s Army of Mississippi arrived in north Georgia, which addeded considerable strength to the Army of Tennessee for the coming campaign, Johnston designated them Polk’s Corps. The combination of forces now under Johnston’s command totaled approximately 66,000 men. The Confederate line surrounding Resaca’s hilly country could easily accommodate this number. The left end of their line was anchored on the Oostanaula River near the present-day intersection of I-75 and Highway 136. The right end, Lt. General John B. Hood’s corps, was anchored northeast by the Conasauga River.
Skirmishing began on May 13, two miles to the west of Resaca. A cavalry fight between Major General Joseph Wheeler and Federal Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick resulted in the Confederates giving ground while Kilpatrick received a severe thigh wound. The Federal Army of the Tennessee passed the now stationary cavalry. It occupied a small range of hills (visible today, looking west from the I-75 off-ramp at Highway 136), giving them an advantageous view of the Confederate positions. The Army of the Cumberland was stationed on McPherson’s left, thus holding the center, while the Army of the Ohio held the far left, partially encircling the village of Resaca.
Realizing his position’s precariousness, Johnston moved the rest of his army from Dalton to Resaca on the wagon road he had improved during the preceding weeks for just such a maneuver. With the arrival of the entire Confederate army, the two forces occupied opposing lines on generally high ground, facing each other across the Camp Creek Valley.
The Battle of Resaca began in earnest on May 14, 1864, with fighting breaking out over much of the line. The heaviest combat occurred between McPherson’s and Polk’s forces on the southern end of the field and between Major General John Schofield’s and Lt. General William Hardee’s forces farther to the north. Brutal combat also occurred at a salient held by the renowned Kentucky Orphan Brigade. Constant Federal assaults eventually forced the Confederates out of the hilltop redoubt, giving the Federal artillery a position within the range that could threaten Fort Wayne and the Western and Atlantic Railroad bridge over the Oostanaula River. Artillery fire drove the Confederates to erect a temporary bridge about a mile upriver, out of gun range. While this was occurring, Hood’s corps on the right was ordered to attack a gap between the divisions of Federal generals David S. Stanley and Thomas J. Wood. The movement got underway too late and was not well coordinated. Part of the line made contact with elements of Major General Stanley’s troops but could not break through and ground to a halt as darkness intervened.
On May 15, 1864, the second day of fighting, Federal Brigadier General Thomas W. Sweeny’s division crossed the Oostanaula River on a pontoon bridge near Lay’s Ferry. Sweeny attempted to move around the Confederate army’s left flank since a direct frontal assault could not break Johnston’s line. While Sweeny was crossing the river to the southwest, bitter fighting was taking place to the north, where the Federal brigades of Colonel David Ireland and Brigadier General William T. Ward were assaulting the Confederate four-gun battery of Captain Maxillian Van Den Corput’s Cherokee Artillery. The attackers, led by Colonel Benjamin Harrison, who replaced Ward in command after the latter was wounded during the attack, managed to overrun the battery, driving away the gunners. The costly attack accomplished nothing beyond forcing the battery to cease its destructive fire. That evening, the Federals dug through the battery’s earthen wall and, using ropes, captured Van Den Corput’s guns. Harrison would later gain fame as the 23rd president of the United States.
Sweeny had gained a firm bridgehead on the south bank of the Oostanaula at Lay’s Ferry below Johnston’s army, putting the Confederates in a perilous position with the river at their backs. Because Sweeny could easily cut the railroad near Calhoun and since McPherson threatened the railroad bridge at Resaca, Johnston was forced to withdraw his army and move south. The Confederates retreated from Resaca to Cassville, a distance of 30 miles, and took up strong positions north of the Etowah River. Sherman’s army followed in close pursuit.
The entire force of both armies was practically present during the fighting in and around Resaca, entrenched in parallel fishhook-shaped lines. The casualties were almost equal, with the Federals suffering 2747 and the Confederates losing 2800. Though the Confederates were not defeated in combat, technically, the battle was a Federal victory. The Union army was left in control of the field due to its flanking movement while the Southern army retreated. The ferociousness of the fighting indicated the combat to come during the Atlanta Campaign, which later became known as the Hundred Days Battle.
From 1997 to 2000, the Georgia Civil War Commission and the Friends of Resaca Preservation Group spearheaded an effort to acquire the well-preserved Resaca Battlefield. With donations and help from numerous private organizations, 506 acres were purchased to make the site a state battlefield park. As of this writing, the plans for a park have not yet been realized.