Johnston's River Defense Line, Atlanta-- Part 3: Francis A. Shoup's Plan

From the beginning of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta Campaign in May 1864, he had continually outflanked Confederate General Johnston's army forcing them to fall back to a defensive position at Kennesaw Mountain in late July.  Johnston saw the nearby Chattahoochee River as a major  boundary between him and the city of Atlanta.  He had already sent a hundred men to guard the railroad bridge over the river at Bolton.

Johnston feared he would lose thousands of men captured should he have to cross the river if he were to be driven back and decided there should be a defensive line on his side of the river.

On June 18, 1864, roughly a week before the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Johnston was approached by his artillery commander, Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup, about constructing a defensive line  atop a ridge along the northwest bank of the river (on the opposite side from Atlanta).  The Confederate Army could withdraw to this place should Sherman continue outflanking maneuvers

Shoup's design for the fortifications was such that it would only take a small fraction of Johnston's forces to defend them while, if necessary, the rest of the army would have time to get across the river.

Johnston approved Shoup's plan and work on it began the next day.

--Old Secesh