Ezra Church Civil War Battle

1864 Harper's Weekly engraving of the Battle of Ezra Church
Photo: Theodore R. Davis, public domain
Earlier, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's forces had approached Atlanta from the east and north.
Continued Battle Description and Results
Hood had not defeated them, but he had kept them away from the city.

Sherman now decided to attack from the west. He ordered the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, to move from the left wing to the right and cut Hood’s last railroad supply line between East Point and Atlanta Georgia.

Hood foresaw such a maneuver and determined to send the two corps of Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee and Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart to intercept and destroy the Union force. Thus, on the afternoon of July 28, the Rebels assaulted Howard at Ezra Church.

Howard had anticipated such a thrust, entrenched one of his corps in the Confederates’ path, and repulsed the determined attack, inflicting numerous casualties. Howard, however, failed to cut the railroad.

Results: Union victory
General Information
BulletOther Names: Battle of the Poor House
BulletLocation:
Fulton County
BulletCampaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864)
BulletDate: July 28, 1864
BulletPrincipal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard [US]; Gen. John B. Hood [CS]
BulletForces Engaged: Army of the Tennessee [US]; two corps of Army of Tennessee [CS]
BulletEstimated Casualties: 3,562 total (US 562; CS 3,000)
Visiting the Site Today
Ezra Church is remembered today mainly by a Georgia Historical Society marker near the site, since the church itself and much of the battlefield were absorbed into what is now Atlanta's Westview Cemetery and surrounding neighborhoods. It was the third major Confederate attack Hood launched in two weeks trying to break Sherman's siege of Atlanta, and the third to fail.

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