' 324 The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War

the operations of the latter, before we go on to thedecisive part that was finally played within thelimits of the Mississippi valley.

When Grant was made general-in-ehief of thearmies of the United States , Sherman succeededhim in the chief command at the West, and underSherman were three armies with three superb com-manders : the Army of the Tennessee, under Mc-Pherson ; the Army of the Cumberland, underThomas ; and the Army of the Ohio, formerlyunder Burnside, but now commanded by Schofield.At the beginning of May, 1864, this triple army„ covered a line about twenty miles in

The armies of .

Sherman and length, a little south of Chattanooga :Johnston . McPherson on the right, with 25,000men, Thomas in the centre, with 60,000, andSchofield on the left, with 15,000 ; in all 100,000men, with 260 guns. Opposed to this force was aConfederate army of 65,000 men strongly fortifiedat Dalton, under command of Joseph Johnston ,who among the southern generals ranked next inability to Lee. Johnston had superseded Braxton Bragg , whom Mr. Davis had called to Richmondto be chief of his general staff.

It was generally understood by the public thatSherman’s grand object in this campaign was thecapture of Atlanta , the principal city of Georgia