Also Within this year in history

Sep

01

Civil War

Confederate forces abandon Atlanta

On September 1, 1864, as Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman tightened the noose on Atlanta, Georgia, shelling civilians and cutting off supply lines, General John Bell Hood commanded his Confederates forces to retreat. Atlanta, the Confederacy's second-most important hub after the capital Richmond, surrendered to Union forces the next day. Sherman had been strategically moving to capture the city since May.

World War II began on September 1 when Germany invaded Poland. Along with this event, there were many other historical events that occurred on September 1 that Russ Mitchell recaps in this video clip from This Day In History. Also on this day, Bobby Fisher became the first American to win the World Chess Championship, and Mark McGwire hit his 56th and 57th homeruns in a season. William T. Sherman siege Atlanta setting it on fire, which made the Confederates retreat.

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