Battle of Altamaha Bridge

Battle of Altamaha Bridge
	Part of the American Civil War
	; Historical marker
Date	December 19, 1864
Location	Doctortown, Georgia
Result	Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
Colonel Smith D. Atkins	Gen. Henry Kent McCay
Strength
2,000	1,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Altamaha Bridge, also known as the Battle for the Doctortown Railroad Trestle, was an

William T. Sherman's siege of Savannah

, keeping open Confederate supply lines to the city.

On December 1, 1864, the Fourth Brigade Georgia Militia under

Atlantic and Gulf Railroad bridge over the Altamaha River. The Confederates built earthworks on the north bank of Morgan's Lake, which was bisected by the railroad and located just north of the river. On the southern side of the river, two 32-pounder rifled guns were mounted at Doctortown (also spelled Doctor Town), to sweep the bridge if attacked. A light gun mounted on an engine supported two companies of Confederate militia

at Morgan's Lake.

On December 16, General Sherman, stalled outside Savannah, sent

Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry under Col. Smith D. Atkins

attacked the bridge and destroyed a trestlework past Morgan's Lake, but was unable to capture the bridge or seize the Confederate battery at Doctortown on December 19. The Federals withdrew to the Ogeechee River.

References

^ "December 17, Colonel Atkins, with upward of 2,000 men of my command, moved, in conjunction with a division of infantry under General Mower, to destroy a portion of the Gulf railroad, and, if possible, the railroad bridge over the Altamaha." Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 44, page 366.
^ "About 1,000 men, composed of Colonel Hood's cavalry and a portion of the militia, under General McKay, were at the Altamaha bridge, on the Savannah and Gulf Railroad, at my last advices, on the 19th instant." Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 44, page 989.

U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the
Official Records
of the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

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[1] "December 17, Colonel Atkins, with upward of 2,000 men of my command, moved, in conjunction with a division of infantry under General Mower, to destroy a portion of the Gulf railroad, and, if possible, the railroad bridge over the Altamaha." Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 44, page 366.

[2] "About 1,000 men, composed of Colonel Hood's cavalry and a portion of the militia, under General McKay, were at the Altamaha bridge, on the Savannah and Gulf Railroad, at my last advices, on the 19th instant." Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 44, page 989.

[1]

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v t e Georgia in the American Civil War
1861	Georgia Constitutional Convention of 1861
1862	Great Locomotive Chase Siege of Fort Pulaski
1863	First Battle of Fort McAllister Battle of Chickamauga Battle of Davis' Cross Roads Battle of Ringgold Gap
1864	First Battle of Dalton Atlanta campaign Battle of Rocky Face Ridge Battle of Resaca First Battle of Tilton Battle of Adairsville Battle of New Hope Church Battle of Dallas Battle of Pickett's Mill Battle of Marietta Battle of Kolb's Farm Battle of Kennesaw Mountain Battle of Pace's Ferry Battle of Peachtree Creek Battle of Atlanta Battle of Ezra Church Battle of Brown's Mill Battle of Utoy Creek Second Battle of Dalton Battle of Lovejoy's Station Battle of Jonesborough Battle of Allatoona Second Battle of Tilton Sherman's March to the Sea Battle of Griswoldville Battle of Buck Head Creek Second Battle of Fort McAllister Battle of Altamaha Bridge
1865	Special Field Orders No. 15 Battle of West Point Battle of Columbus
Units	Confederate Union
Places	Atlanta
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