HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil War

Battle of Jonesboro: The First Day

Clayton County, Clayton County, Georgia

Marker Inscription

Battle of Jonesboro The First Day. Aug. 31, 1864. This immediate area was occupied by the Army of the Tenn. [US], commanded by Gen. O. O. Howard. These troops Logan's 15th, Ransom's 16th & Blair's 17th corps, marched to this position from Fairburn the previous day; the 15th & 17th cast up intrenched lines on this side of Flint River, the 16th, W. of it. S. D. Lee's A. C. [CS], moving from lines W. of the town, attacked 15th & 17th A. C. fronts while Hardee's corps assailed the refused flank of the 15th & part of the 16th (which had been shifted E. of the river)-- a drawn battle that awaited final conclusion until the next day. 031-26 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1958

Erected by Georgia Historical Commission

The Story

On August 31, 1864, the opening day of the Battle of Jonesboro, Gen. O.O. Howard's Army of the Tennessee entrenched along the Flint River after marching up from Fairburn. Confederate corps under S.D. Lee and Hardee attacked the Union lines but could not break them, leaving the contest drawn and unresolved until the following day.

Why it matters

Jonesboro was fought over the last railroad supplying Atlanta, and this first day's stalemate set the stage for the decisive blow that forced the city's evacuation.

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Related people

  • · O.O. Howard
  • · John A. Logan
  • · S.D. Lee
  • · William J. Hardee

Related events

  • · Battle of Jonesboro
  • · Atlanta Campaign

Themes & tags

Civil WarBattlefield

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Attack by Lee's Corps

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When Gen. John Bell Hood tried to protect Atlanta's last open railroad, the fighting at Jonesboro on August 31 and September 1, 1864, decided the city's fate. On August 31, the corps of Hardee and S.D. Lee attacked the entrenched Federal 15th Corps between the town and the Flint River. Lee's three divisions struck the Union line at the river but, lacking support on their left, were driven back.

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Battlefield Landmark

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The deep gully south of this marker — the bed of a small stream running to the Flint River — was one of the few natural landmarks of the fighting here on August 31, 1864. Along and north of it, Union divisions of the 15th and 16th Corps formed a refused line bent back to the river. When Hardee's Confederate divisions attacked from south of the gully, the ravine became a fatal obstacle, breaking up their assault against the entrenched Federal infantry and artillery near Jonesboro.

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Battle of Jonesboro: The Second Day

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On September 1, 1864, the final pitched battle of the Atlanta Campaign was fought around Jonesboro. Hardee's Confederate corps, posted in a salient near the Warren house, was assaulted late in the day by three divisions of Davis's 14th Corps, aided by Stanley's 4th Corps advancing down the railroad. With nightfall Hardee withdrew south to Lovejoy's Station.

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