Brief History of the Civil War in
Paulding County
Paulding County played a vital role in General William T. Sherman's 1864 campaign to capture Atlanta, the last major industrial center and railroad hub of the Confederate States of America. Being familiar with the geography of the area, General Sherman knew that a frontal assault on Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's fortifications at Allatoona Pass would be nothing short of suicide. To avoid this, he left the Western and Atlantic Railroad for the only time during the Atlanta Campaign with twenty days' rations and supplies with the intent of circling Johnston's position by marching first to Dallas and then to Marietta, finally positioning his force of nearly 100,000 men behind Johnston and back on the railroad.
Upon learning of General Sherman's plan, General Johnston pulled the Confederate Army of Tennessee (62,000 strong) out of their works at Allatoona Pass and headed towards Dallas. The two armies met first at New Hope Church on May 25th, 1864. The fighting was furious with the Confederates repulsing a Union attack and inflicting heavy casualties when a thunderstorm in the late afternoon ended the battle. The two armies clashed again at Pickett's Mill on May 27th (also a Confederate triumph and the site of General Patrick Cleburne's famous night assault) and Dallas on the 28th (a slight Federal victory). Sporadic fighting in the area continued until June 5th, with many skirmishes falling just short of erupting into a major battle. Due to the dense forestry and undergrowth in this area that greatly limited the ability of both sides to see each other, Sherman referred to this period as "A Big Indian War" in his memoirs. In History books, these engagements are together commonly known as "The Dallas-New Hope Line" and also, in the words of some Union soldiers, the "Hell Hole".