Battle of Jonesborough 140 Years Later

Yankees return to the grounds of Stately Oaks Plantation

Soldiers in blue and gray will fill the air with the sound of gunfire and the smell of black powder at the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Jonesborough, when reenactors bring history to life the weekend of August 28.

More than a century ago Jonesboro was soaked with the blood of over 5,000 men, from the North and South, who lost their lives on the same ground many Clayton County residents call home. Although this battle has been reenacted for years, the date was changed this year to bring it closer to the original two-day fight that took place Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 1864.

Mistakes were made during that fateful week that paved the way for Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman to enter Atlanta. For weeks, Lt. Gen. John B. Hood’s Army of Tennessee prevented federals from severing Atlanta’s last lifeline, the Macon & Western railroad. Sherman broke the stalemate by concentrating most of his forces to the west of the Atlanta and swinging them on a wide arc southward toward the Macon & Western.

Hood lost contact with Sherman’s army for several days. By the time Hood’s scouts found Sherman again, Union troops under the command of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard were across the Flint River, less than two miles from Jonesboro. Hood reacted quickly, sending forces to Jonesboro with orders to attack Howard and drive him back across the river. On August 31, the Confederates assaulted the federal bridgehead, but were repulsed and withdrew to the western edge of Jonesboro and dug in. Although the Yankees were in strength near Jonesboro, Hood believed their presence there was merely a diversion. After a federal column cut the Macon & Western between Atlanta and Jonesboro, Hood perceived that the main threat was an attack on Atlanta. He pulled nearly half of his troops out of Jonesboro, leaving Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee’s corps to defend the town.

On September 1, Sherman struck Hardee’s Corps with overwhelming odds, and nearly broke through the Confederate lines. As darkness fell, the Union forces withdrew and the Confederates held their position until ordered to retreat to Lovejoy Station. Following the battle, Hood ordered a general evacuation of Atlanta. Sherman’s army entered the city on September 2.

“Jonesboro was by no means the largest of the battles fought in the Atlanta campaign, but it was one of the most vicious, especially in terms of hand-to-hand combat,” explains Richard Peterson, a McDonough resident and reenactor with the Co. C, 7th Georgia Volunteers, Georgia Division Reenactors’ Association.

“Tactically, the two-day battle was a draw Ð the Confederates held their positions and later withdrew in good order. However, the strategic impact of Jonesboro is most significant. The loss of the Macon & Western railroad spelled doom for Atlanta,” Peterson added.

There are several reenactment units in Georgia, filled with men who cannot seem to let history fade away in tattered books with yellowed pages that collect dust on abandoned bookshelves. Instead they keep reliving it for a variety of reasons.

“It’s a way of getting out with the public so they can see what living history is about,” says Capt. Louis Rice, commander of the 30th Georgia, Co. E, the oldest reenactment unit in the state. “It’s also a reminder Ð we wouldn’t want to see Americans fight Americans again.”

On the Union side, members of the 10th Kentucky and 104th Illinois units will also participate in the Battle of Jonesborough. Soldiers from the 10th Kentucky will camp close to the plantation house, similar to what occurred at Stately Oaks in 1864 when Federal troops, although mostly cordial, helped themselves to the McCord family’s food and other supplies.

Battle weekend at Stately Oaks begins Saturday with a 9 a.m. parade from the Jonesboro courthouse on N. McDonough St. to Stately Oaks, 100 Carriage Lane. The grounds at Stately Oaks will be filled with living history demonstrations, sutler stores, soldier camps, and old-fashioned cooking. Un-Reconstructed, a period band that performed at the funeral service for the crewmen of the CSS Hunley, will provide musical entertainment.

Victorian mourning tours will be conducted inside the house on the hour all weekend. Saturday, after the 2 p.m. battle, guests are invited to join the barbecue at 5 p.m. and a street dance at 7:30 p.m. at the Clayton County History Center/Old Jail, 125 King St. Sunday morning, the public is encouraged to attend a memorial service at the Jonesboro Cemetery on the corner of N. McDonough and Johnson streets at 9 a.m. The battle reenactment will also be held at 2 p.m. Sunday. Gates will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.