Chicago CWRT Meeting June 2025: David Power on "The Atlanta Campaign: Missed Opportunities

About this episode

David Power discusses the missed opportunities during the Atlanta Campaign in the Civil War.

Chicago CWRT Meeting June 2025 David Power on "The Atlanta Campaign: Missed Opportunities For more info: www.chicagocwrt.org I've got Joe Johnston Dead!" Or so Sherman is said to have exclaimed upon hearing that James B. McPherson had seized Resaca. Famously, that turned out not to be true, one of the great "lost opportunities" of the entire war. But in fact, there were other such turning points in the first month of the campaign, each perhaps more significant than Resaca. On May 16, Sherman's armies stumbled crossing the Oostenaula River, offering Johnston a chance to damage one or more of the Federal corps; and at Dallas, McPherson hesitated again when facing just a single small Confederate division. What would have happened if either of these moments had gone differently? David A. Powell is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (1983) with a BA in history. He has published numerous articles in various magazines, and more than fifteen historical simulations of different battles. For many years, David's focus was on the epic battle of Chickamauga, and he is nationally recognized for his tours of that important battlefield. The result of that study are…

People in this episode

Host: Marc Kunis

Guest: David Power

Topics covered

• Atlanta Campaign
• Civil War
• Military History
• Turning Points
• Historical Analysis

Keywords

• Atlanta Campaign
• Civil War
• missed opportunities
• David Power
• historical analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Virginia Military Institute

Books & works: The 2 Chickamauga Campaign: Barren Victory, Battle Above the Clouds, Decisions at Chickamauga

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