A Confederate defensive victory that kept open supply lines to besieged Savannah by preventing Union forces from destroying the Altamaha River railroad bridge.
Key Facts
- Date
- December 19, 1864
- Location
- Wayne County, Georgia
- Confederate commander
- Brig. Gen. Henry Kent McCay
- Union attacker
- Col. Smith D. Atkins, under Maj. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick
- Confederate artillery
- Two 32-pounder rifled guns at Doctortown
- Outcome
- Confederate victory; bridge held, Union forces withdrew
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
General Sherman, halted outside Savannah during his March to the Sea, sought to sever Confederate supply lines into the city on December 16, 1864. He ordered Union troops to destroy the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad from the Ogeechee River to the Altamaha River bridge, a vital Confederate logistical link.
A Union cavalry brigade under Col. Smith D. Atkins attacked the Confederate-defended Altamaha River railroad bridge on December 19, 1864. Confederate militia under Brig. Gen. Henry Kent McCay, supported by earthworks and artillery at Doctortown, repelled the assault. Union forces destroyed a trestlework near Morgan's Lake but failed to capture the bridge or the Confederate battery.
The Confederate defense preserved the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad bridge, keeping supply lines into besieged Savannah open. The Union cavalry withdrew to the Ogeechee River without achieving its objective, leaving Sherman's effort to isolate Savannah by rail destruction incomplete on that front.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Col. Smith D. Atkins, Maj. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick.
Side B
1 belligerent
Brig. Gen. Henry Kent McCay.