Bragg reported that Johnston was arranging to abandon Atlanta without a
battle and the President promptly removed him from command and appointed
Hood in his place.
When Hood assumed command of the disgruntled army, it was too late to
save Atlanta. Had Johnston delivered battle with his full force at
Dalton, Sherman might have been crushed as Rosecrans was overwhelmed at
Chickamauga.
Hood's army was driven back into their trenches. Sherman threw his hosts
under cover of night on a wide flanking movement and Atlanta fell.
Under the mighty impulse of this news Lincoln was reelected, the peace
party of the North defeated and the doom of the Confederacy sealed.
CHAPTER XLI
THE FALL OF RICHMOND
The conspirators who had complained most bitterly of Davis for the
appointment of Lee to the command of the army before Richmond when
McClellan was thundering at its gates, now succeeded in passing through
the Confederate Congress a bill to create a military dictatorship which
they offered to the man for whose promotion they had condemned the
President.
Lee treated this attempt to strike the Confederate Chieftain over his
head with the contempt it deserved. Davis laughed at his enemies by the
most complete acceptance of their plans.
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