The Battle of Ezra Church and the Struggle for Atlanta

by Earl J. Hess

Overview

Fought on July 28, 1864, the Battle of Ezra Church was a dramatic engagement during the Civil War's Atlanta campaign. Confederate forces under John Bell Hood desperately fought to stop William T. Sherman's advancing armies as they tried to cut the last Confederate supply line into the city. Confederates under General Stephen D. Lee nearly overwhelmed the Union right flank, but Federals under General Oliver O. Howard decisively repelled every attack. After five hours of struggle, 5,000 Confederates lay dead and wounded, while only 632 Federals were lost. The result was another major step in Sherman's long effort to take Atlanta.

Hess's compelling study is the first book-length account of the fighting at Ezra Church. Detailing Lee's tactical missteps and Howard's vigilant leadership, he challenges many common misconceptions about the battle. Richly narrated and drawn from an array of unpublished manuscripts and firsthand accounts, Hess's work sheds new light on the complexities and significance of this important engagement, both on and off the battlefield.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469642260
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	02/01/2018
Series:	Civil War America
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Earl J. Hess is Stewart W. McClelland Chair of history at Lincoln Memorial University and is the author of many books on the Civil War, including Kennesaw Mountain and The Civil War in the West.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Exploring a pivotal but often overlooked battle in the Civil War, The Battle of Ezra Church and the Struggle for Atlanta is the first book-length examination of the battle of Ezra Church. Well written and well researched, this book offers invaluable descriptions of troop movements and battle actions, as well as keen analysis of strategy and how individual battles fit into the larger context of the Atlanta campaign. In his account of this bloody conflict, Earl Hess reminds us that he is one of the finest Civil War historians writing today.—Keith S. Bohannon, University of West Georgia



This excellent study builds on Earl Hess's earlier work on Sherman's Atlanta campaign, providing a gripping treatment of the last in a series of bloody engagements near the city in July 1864. The narrative reflects the author's sure grasp of sources, keen eye for biographical detail, and ability to evoke the drama and complexity of major military events. Anyone interested in the campaign that brought a sea change in both Union and Confederate national morale in 1864 will read this book with profit.—Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Union War

Keith S. Bohannon University of West Georgia

Exploring a pivotal but often overlooked battle in the Civil War, The Battle of Ezra Church is the first book-length examination of the battle of Ezra Church. Well written and well researched, this book offers invaluable descriptions of troop movements and battle actions, as well as keen analysis of strategy and how individual battles fit into the larger context of the Atlanta Campaign. In his account of this bloody conflict, Earl Hess reminds us that he is one of the finest Civil War historians writing today.

Gary W. Gallagher

This excellent study builds on Earl Hess's earlier work on Sherman's Atlanta campaign, providing a gripping treatment of the last in a series of bloody engagements near the city in July 1864. The narrative reflects the author's sure grasp of sources, keen eye for biographical detail, and ability to evoke the drama and complexity of major military events. Anyone interested in the campaign that brought a sea change in both Union and Confederate national morale in 1864 will read this book with profit.

Editorial Reviews

A detailed and fascinating analytical narrative. . . . A model of well-written Civil War History.—Library Journal



Brilliantly written . . . [a] ground breaking contribution to the campaign's assemblage of canonical works from Earl Hess."—Civil War Books and Authors



Lays out an engaging narrative and cross-examines misconceptions.... A welcome addition to Atlanta Campaign scholarship.—America's Civil War



A powerful history of a neglected battle in the Atlanta campaign.—Journal of Southern History



Earl Hess has once again proved his skill in writing meticulous battle narratives that will instruct and captivate his readers.—Michigan War Studies Review



Hess is of that rare breed of author who manages to be prolific while maintaining a uniformly high standard of scholarship.—Army History

From the Publisher

05/01/2015
Civil War scholar Hess (history, Lincoln Memorial Univ.; The Union Soldier in Battle) presents a detailed revisionist history of the Battle of Ezra Church, one of three key confrontations for control of Atlanta that prefaced Union general William Tecumseh Sherman's famous March to the Sea in 1864. This first book-length study of the battle challenges a longstanding contention, based on comparative casualty figures, that Confederate soldiers had little chance to prevail in their offensive against the lines of Union general Oliver Otis Howard. With a detailed and fascinating analytical narrative, Hess demonstrates that the real battle was staged at the tactical level. From that point of view, Gen. Stephen D. Lee's Confederates effectively challenged Howard's Northern troops. Hess, author of many other volumes on the Civil War and the Atlanta Campaign, successfully places Ezra Church in the context of the broader strategic conflict of which it was a part. Additionally, this work helps readers understand the struggle as experienced by the soldiers who fought it at close range with little weaponry other than what was in their hands. VERDICT Based on extensive archival and library research, this work is a model of well-written Civil War history. Recommended for regional collections in the South as well as libraries with significant focus on military history, especially of the Civil War.—Charles K. Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato

Library Journal