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Georgia was seen as the "heart" or keystone of the Confederate States. The bustling new city of Atlanta was not yet Georgia's capital, but it was a busy railhead and an important supply depot and industrial center. Taking Georgia would sever the Atlantic portion of the Confederacy from the Gulf states, and make it virtually impossible to transport food and materiel between the two regions.

Grant and Sherman had a careful strategy in going after Georgia. In March 1864 they planned that Sherman would first conquer the Confederate forces around Chattanooga and Atlanta (Army of the Tennessee), then swing north through the Carolinas and meet Grant and Meade's people in Virginia. This was approximately what happened over the next year, although Lee surrendered at Appomattox while Sherman was still a few hundred miles to the south.

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12y ago

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