The Union Occupation of the Etowah River Valley, Georgia May to November, 1864

Abstract

This thesis considers the events which occurred during the occupation of the Etowah River Valley in Georgia from May 18, 1864 until November 12, 1864. Special emphasis is given to the burning of Cassville, Georgia, on November 5, 1864 by members of the 5th Ohio Cavalry under the direct command of Major General, William Tecumseh Sherman. The burning of the city occurred in part because the forty thousand man Confederate Army under the command of Major General John Bell Hood, travelled north on September 28, 1864, on a mission to destroy the railroad. The mission was intended to distrupt Sherman's supply line from the north to Atlanta. The Confederate action unnecessarily drew Sherman's forces back into the Etowah Valley for one and a half months, resulting in far more destruction and suffering than would have occurred had the Confederates left the railroad alone. This thesis summarizes the military operations during the period, the reasons that Cassville was burned by the U.S. Army, and it also covers the suffering and recovery of the residents of the river valley. For this thesis, I used primary and secondary sources, including newspaper articles from the time, and the wartime diaries of area residents and soldiers who lived and fought during the military action. I used as well, memoirs written by commanders in both sides. In addition, I made use of government publications, such as war records and census data. I have utilized online resources at the University of Michigan. I have also spent a great deal of time in public and university libraries in the Etowah Valley, Georgia, as well as having interviewed and work with local historians. The thesis is written in narrative form, in chronological order.