After consulting privately with both Confederate Generals Hood and Hood’s top field commander, General Hardee, over the abandonment of Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate President Jefferson Davis realized that each general blamed the other for Atlanta’s loss. In fact, Hardee demanded a transfer from Hood who clearly blamed Atlanta’s fall on Hardee. Therefore, on September 28, 1864 Davis replaced Hardee with Benjamin Cheatham, while offering Hardee command of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Davis also raised the possibility of putting General Pierre Beauregard in charge of an over-all Western Department which would include Alabama and Mississippi, together with major parts of Georgia, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Davis was clearly interested in rekindling the Southern war effort, regardless of which of his generals he had to control, including both Hood and Hardee.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.