Battle of Ezra Church

Description: Earlier, Maj.

Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces had approached Atlanta from the east and north. Hood had not defeated them, but he had kept them away from the city. 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 and determined to send the two corps of Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee and Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart to intercept and destroy the Union force. Thus, on the afternoon of July 28, the Rebels assaulted Howard at Ezra Church. Howard had anticipated such a thrust, entrenched one of his corps in the Confederates’ path, and repulsed the determined attack, inflicting numerous casualties. Howard, however, failed to cut the railroad.

The Battle of Ezra Church, also known as the Battle of the Poor House, was fought on July 28, 1864, in Fulton County, Georgia, during the American Civil War. The battle was part of the Atlanta Campaign, which featured Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Union Army of the Tennessee against the Army of Tennessee, commanded by Lt. Gen. John B. Hood, which was defending the Confederate stronghold of Atlanta, Georgia.