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The Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought in Georgia on July 20, 1864, as part of the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War. It was the first major attack by Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood since taking command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The attack was against Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Union army which was perched on the doorstep of Atlanta. The main armies in the conflict were the Union Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas, and two corps of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Lt. Gen. John B. Hood. The battle of Peachtree Creek was the first battle fought by Hood as commander of the Army of Tennessee. ==Background== Sherman had launched his grand offensive against the Army of Tennessee early May. For more than two months, Sherman's forces, which consisted of the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio sparred with the Confederate Army of Tennessee, then under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston. Although the Southerners gained tactical successes at the Battle of New Hope Church, the Battle of Pickett's Mill, and the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, they were unable to counter Sherman's superior numbers. Gradually, the Union forces flanked the Confederates out of every defensive position they attempted to hold. On July 8, Union forces crossed the Chattahoochee River, the last major natural barrier between Sherman and Atlanta.〔The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I, Volume XXXVIII; Part 2 – Reports; Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, U. S. Army, commanding Third Division (O.R. 351 page 753 )〕 Retreating from Sherman's advancing armies, General Johnston withdrew across Peachtree Creek, just north of Atlanta, and laid plans for an attack on part of the Army of the Cumberland as it crossed Peachtree Creek. On July 17, he received a telegram from Confederate President Jefferson Davis relieving him from command. The political leadership of the Confederacy was unhappy with Johnston's lack of aggressiveness and replaced him with Hood.〔The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I, Volume XXXVIII; Part 5 – Union and Confederate Correspondence, etc. (Special Orders No. 168 page 891 )〕 In contrast to Johnston's conservative tactics and conservation of manpower, Hood had a reputation for aggressive tactics and personal bravery on the battlefield (he had already been maimed in battle twice). Hood took command and launched the attempted counter-offensive. On July 19, Hood learned that Sherman had split his army; Thomas's Army of the Cumberland was to advance directly towards Atlanta, while the Army of the Ohio (under the command of Major General John M. Schofield) and the Army of the Tennessee (under the command of Major General James B. McPherson) moved several miles east, apparently an early premonition of Sherman's general strategy of cutting Confederate supply lines by destroying railroads to the east. Thomas would have to cross Peachtree Creek at several locations and would be vulnerable both while crossing and immediately after, before they could construct breastworks. Hood hoped to attack Thomas while his army was still in the process of crossing Peachtree Creek. By so doing, the Southerners hoped to fight with rough numerical parity and catch the Northern forces by surprise. Hood thus hoped to drive Thomas west, further and further away from Schofield and McPherson. This would force Sherman to divert his forces away from Atlanta. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Peachtree Creek」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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