Battle of Resaca
Gordon County, Gordon County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Battle of Resaca. May 13, 1864, McPherson's 15th & 16th A.C. [USA] moving from Snake Creek Gap reached this cross-roads where his forces were deployed for advance toward Camp Cr. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's Cav. Div. [USA] led advance; during a sharp engagement he was wounded by skirmishers of Polk's Corp [CSA]. Night found the 20th, 14th & 23d Corps [USA] N. on Dalton - Calhoun road, & by noon May 14th, Federal forces W. of Resaca were deployed on ridges parallel to & overlooking Camp Creek. The battle began 2.5 mi. N. by attacks on left of Hood's & right of Hardee's lines. 064-9 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1953
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
On May 13, 1864, Union Gen. McPherson's corps emerged from Snake Creek Gap to open the Battle of Resaca, with Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry leading the advance until he was wounded by Confederate skirmishers. Over the next day Federal forces deployed along ridges overlooking Camp Creek as the battle opened in earnest against Hood's and Hardee's lines.
Why it matters
Resaca was the first major engagement of the Atlanta Campaign, marking the start of Sherman's long, methodical drive toward the city.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
By May 1864, the war in the West had reached a decisive turn. After securing Chattanooga the previous autumn, Union forces under William T. Sherman pushed south into Georgia with Atlanta as the prize — a city whose railroads and workshops made it indispensable to the Confederate war effort. Everything that followed that spring flowed from that single objective.
The first serious test came in the rugged country near the little rail town of Resaca, close to the Oostanaula River. This was hilly, wooded ground cut by creeks, where a defending army could anchor its lines on ridges and a railroad running through the valley was both a lifeline and a target. Control of that rail corridor was the whole point of the fighting.
The Confederate army had been maneuvered out of its strong position near Dalton when Sherman sent a column through Snake Creek Gap to threaten the railroad in its rear. That flanking move set the stage: the armies converged near Resaca in mid-May 1864 for the campaign's opening major clash.
People & events
On May 13, 1864, Union troops under James B. McPherson advanced out of Snake Creek Gap and reached the crossroads near here, deploying for a push toward Camp Creek. Leading the advance was the cavalry division of Judson Kilpatrick — an aggressive, hard-driving horseman whose troopers screened the movement forward.
During a sharp skirmish, Kilpatrick was wounded by Confederate skirmishers from the corps of Leonidas Polk, an early reminder of how quickly a probing advance could turn dangerous. The loss of a division commander so early underscored that this was no mere reconnaissance; the two armies were feeling for each other's lines in earnest.
Through that night and into the next day, additional Union corps came up along the roads to the north, and by midday on May 14 the Federal forces west of Resaca had deployed on ridges overlooking Camp Creek. From there the battle opened in force a couple of miles to the north, striking against the lines held by the commands of John Bell Hood and William J. Hardee. What had begun as a march through a mountain gap had become a full-scale battle.
Its place in the American story
Resaca matters because it was the first major engagement of the Atlanta Campaign — the opening blow in a months-long drive that would shape the outcome of the war in 1864. Everything that came after, across the long summer of fighting toward Atlanta, began with the armies grappling on this ground.
The battle also set the campaign's essential character. Sherman preferred to maneuver: rather than simply hammer a fortified line head-on, he used gaps and flanking columns like the one through Snake Creek Gap to pry the enemy loose from strong positions. Resaca showed both the promise and the friction of that approach, as bold movement met determined resistance on difficult ground.
Atlanta's eventual capture later that year would send tremors through the whole country, hardening Northern resolve at a critical moment. Resaca is where that consequential campaign first turned violent — the starting line of a march whose end would be felt far beyond Georgia.
If you visit
Standing near this crossroads, picture it as a place of movement — columns emerging from a mountain gap, cavalry pressing ahead, and infantry filing into position along the ridges toward Camp Creek. This was ground soldiers passed through and deployed across, and reading the lay of the land helps you sense the flow of an army finding its footing before a fight.
Because Resaca was fought across ridges and creek valleys with a railroad running through them, it helps to notice the higher ground and the direction the land falls away. The Federal lines took shape on ridges overlooking the creek, and the battle opened to the north — orienting yourself that way turns the inscription into a scene.
As a road-trip stop, this site sits at the very beginning of the Atlanta Campaign story, which makes it a natural place to start a longer drive southward. Let it set the stage: from this quiet crossroads, the long contest for Atlanta was just beginning.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · James B. McPherson
- · Judson Kilpatrick
- · Leonidas Polk
- · John Bell Hood
- · William J. Hardee
Related events
- · Battle of Resaca
- · Atlanta Campaign
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Battle of Resaca
Gordon County, GA
During the Battle of Resaca on May 13–14, 1864, Union corps deployed along ridges west of Camp Creek opposite Leonidas Polk's Confederate corps. On May 14 the Federals drove Polk's men across the creek and, by evening, carried and held his new position on the hills beyond, forcing Polk to fall back toward the Dalton–Resaca road.
Battle of Resaca
Resaca, GA
On May 16, 1864, Gen. Johnston's Confederate army slipped across the Oostanaula River on pontoon and railroad bridges, ending the Battle of Resaca. Union forces rebuilt the burned bridges and pursued southward while other columns fanned out toward Rome and the Coosawattee crossings, and the Army of the Tennessee forded the river downstream at Lay's Ferry.
Atlanta Campaign: Resaca
Gordon County, GA
On May 13–15, 1864, the opening major clash of the Atlanta Campaign unfolded near Resaca, where Confederate lines north and west of town held firm against Federal attacks. Unable to break the position by assault, Sherman executed a flanking movement to the west and south that rendered Johnston's line untenable. The Confederates were compelled to fall back deeper into Georgia, setting the campaign's pattern.
Battles of Tilton
Whitfield County, GA
In 1864 the rail towns of northwest Georgia became a battleground during Sherman's drive on Atlanta. This spot saw a May delaying action as Confederates withdrew toward Resaca, and an October assault in which part of French's Division shelled a blockhouse held by some 300 men of the 17th Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, forcing their surrender after a fight of several hours.