Click it, Part 3: Battle of Ezra Church

Here is the final portion I'm posting from the Georgia DOT's centennial map remembering the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. As you can see, I-20 had not been completed when this map was made.

The Battle of Ezra Church was yet another Confederate setback, this time on July 28. • Click here for a pop-up. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces had approached Atlanta from the east and north. Sherman now decided to attack from the west.

He ordered the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, to move from the left wing to the right and cut Hood’s last railroad supply line between East Point and Atlanta. Hood foresaw such a maneuver.

The Rebels assaulted Howard at Ezra Church, thinking he would be surprised.

Howard was prepared and repulsed the determined attack, Confederates accounted for about 3,000 of the 3,562 casualties. Howard, however, failed to cut the railroad. 

The DOT map is a moment in time, and newer names project a more contemporary image.

Interstate 20, shown in dashes, was still under construction on the west side of downtown Atlanta. Gordon Street, named for a Confederate general, is now called Ralph David Abernathy in memory of the civil rights activist.

Hunter Road, named for a slave owner, was renamed Marlin Luther King Jr. Drive. Bankhead Highway (U.S. 78-278) crosses the top edge of the map.

 • See 1964 Georgia Department Transportation map superimposing the Battle of Atlanta over streets and highways.