On This Date in 1864: A Letter from a Union Soldier
In this installment of “Voices of 1864,” we hear excerpts from a letter penned 150 years ago today by a Union soldier fighting under General William T. Sherman, in what would later come to be known as the Battle of Atlanta, a major turning point of the Civil War.
Alonzo Miller was a Private in the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and 25 years old. He wrote this letter to his family two days after the battle.
Broadcast version of story that aired Thursday, July 24, 2014
This week marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta.
By July 1864, Confederate forces had been pushed back nearly to the borders of Atlanta, and many citizens here believed the eventual surrender of the city to be inevitable. It was at this point that Southern General Joseph Johnston was fired, and replaced with John B. Hood—who promised to attack Sherman and save the city for the Confederacy.
This set the stage for the battle that took place this week. Sherman’s forces were 80,000 strong, compared to Confederate General John B. Hood’s 50,000. The South’s losses in Atlanta all but ensured President Lincoln’s re-election and the defeat of the Confederacy.
After the war, Alonzo Miller moved back to Wisconsin, where he married and had one child. He died in 1917.
This excerpt was read by Jon Wierenga. The series is produced by WABE’s Kate Sweeney. Special thanks to the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, which provided historical content.
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