Dancers in the Red Clay Minuet - Resaca, GA - Georgia Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Putting Resaca into proper perspective requires an understanding of the strategies of two opposing generals — Union General William T. Sherman and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston — and the momentum of the Civil War. Georgia historian William R. Scaife summed it up by saying:
Union victories at Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Chattanooga in 1863 had changed the momentum of the Civil War and left the Confederates with little hope of overcoming the superior manpower and resources of their northern opponents. But in the Spring of 1864, there was still a chance they might retain their independence through a negotiated peace. The people of the North were tired of the seemingly endless struggle, with its mounting casualties and heavy drain on the national treasury. General George B. McClellan, whom Lincoln had sacked earlier in the war, had announced his intention to oppose President Lincoln in the November elections, running on a peace ticket. Should he defeat Lincoln, a peace might be negotiated which would allow the Confederacy to exist as an independent nation. The Confederates therefore did not have to defeat their opponents, but had merely to avoid the destruction of their armies in the field and to drag out the costly and unpopular war until election time.
Understanding the stage upon which they were dancing, Sherman and Johnston each devised a strategy to reach their respective goal. Sherman wanted to force Johnston into a climactic battle that would defeat his army and allow Sherman's forces to join Grant's army in Virginia. This combined army could then defeat General Lee's forces, thereby ending the war. Johnston on the other hand wanted to avoid a major battle with Sherman and instead desired to draw Union forces further into Georgia. Johnston would then employ General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry forces to cut Sherman's supply line — mainly the Western & Atlantic Railway. Johnston hoped to fight Sherman only after establishing strong fortified positions that gave his outnumbered forces the advantage.

Thus, the Battle of Resaca became the first major engagement of the Atlanta Campaign — “the Red Clay Minuet.”

Of these two leaders, Union Major Gen. Jacob D. Cox paid the following tribute:
Johnston was an officer who, by the common consent of the military men of both sides, was second only to Lee … He practiced a lynx-eyed watchfulness of his adversary, tempting him constantly to assault his entrenchments, holding his fortified positions to the last moment so well as to save nearly every gun and wagon in the final withdrawal. … he constantly neutralized the superiority of force his opponent wielded, and made his campaign from Dalton to the Chattahoochee a model of defensive warfare. It is Sherman's glory that, with a totally different temperament, he accepted his adversary's game, and played it with a skill that was finally successful.

A Mutual Regard:
After the war ended, Sherman and Johnston reconciled and became good friends. On 14 February 1891, William T. Sherman died of pneumonia in New York City. Five days later, at Sherman's New York funeral procession, Johnston served as an honorary pall bearer. On this cold, rainy, miserable day, Johnston removed his hat as did the other mourners. A friend urged him to the hat back on so as to avoid the wet and cold. Johnston replied, “If I were in his place and he standing here in mine he would not put on his hat.” Joseph E. Johnston developed a serious cold and pneumonia and died only a few weeks later on 21 March.

General Joseph E. Johnston
Born: February 3, 1807, Farmville, Virginia
Died: March 21, 1891, Washington, D.C. (aged 84) Buried, Baltimore, Maryland
Education: United States Military Academy
Served: United States Army, 1829-37, 1838-61
Rank: Brigadier General, USA; General, CSA

General William T. Sherman
Born: February 8, 1820, Lancaster, Ohio
Died: February 14, 1891, New York City (aged 71) Buried, St. Louis, Missouri
Education: United States Military Academy
Served: United States Army 1840-53, 1861-84
Rank: Major General (Civil War), General of the Army of the United States (postbellum)

Type of Marker: Other Sponsor: Georgia Department of Natural Resources - State Parks and Historic Sites Marker #: Not listed Date: Not listed

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