The Burning and Destruction of Atlanta

The Burning and Destruction of Atlanta is a Georgia historical marker in Fulton County, dedicated 2011.

At the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Central Avenue in Atlanta.

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After capturing Atlanta in September 1864 during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, before leaving Atlanta on the March to the Sea, ordered the destruction of all railroads, factories, and commercial buildings of possible use to the Confederacy. On Nov. 11, 1864, Chief Engineer Orlando M. Poe directed the demolition of stone and brick buildings using specially made battering rams. On Nov. 15, Poe's troops burned the wooden buildings in the downtown business district around the site of this marker. Though houses and churches were not targeted, some were burned nonetheless. Many houses had already been dismantled by both armies to make way for fortifications. Contrary to popular myth only forty percent of Atlanta was left in ruins.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1856 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1866 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1874 · Military Operations of the Atlanta Campaign. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
Historical map (Stanford Libraries)

Military Operations of the Atlanta Campaign, 1874, covering the location of The Burning and Destruction of Atlanta, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Military Operations of the Atlanta Campaign, 1874, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

The Burning and Destruction of Atlanta

Historical maps covering this location

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