Federal camp outside of City Hall, Atlanta, Georgia. General William Sherman took Atlanta on September 2, 1864. He wired President Lincoln to say, "Atlanta is ours; fairly won." He then forced the entire city to evacuate.

The city of Atlanta, Georgia, was an important rail and commercial center during the American Civil War. Although relatively small in population, the city became a critical point of contention during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864 when a powerful Union army approached from union-held Tennessee. The fall of Atlanta was a critical point in the Civil War, giving the North more confidence, and (along with the victories at Mobile Bay and Winchester) leading to the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln and the eventual surrender of the Confederacy. The capture of the "Gate City of the South" was especially important for Abraham Lincoln as he was in a contentious election campaign against the Democratic opponent George B. McClellan.

On September 2, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered the city. Sherman sent a telegram to Washington reading, "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won" and he established his headquarters there on September 7, where he stayed for two months. That same day, Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate. Sherman's army destroyed the railway infrastructure and thing else they deamed might help the South's war efforts.

After a plea by Father Thomas O'Reilly of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Sherman did not burn the city's churches or hospitals. However, the remaining war resources were then destroyed in the aftermath and in Sherman's March to the Sea. These included Edward A. Vincent's railroad depot, built in 1853.

Father O'Reilly Rail Depot

- Federal Camp ~ City Hall, Atlanta, Ga. ~ September 1864 -

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