Battle of Waynesboro, Georgia, 4 December 1864

Background. Sherman's March to the Sea began on November 15, 1864, following the Atlanta campaign. Union forces moved through Georgia toward Savannah. In late November, elements of Kilpatrick's cavalry reached a railroad bridge north of Waynesboro, partially burning it before being driven off by Confederate troops dispatched from the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Tennessee.

Commanders. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War, achieving the rank of major general. Nicknamed "Kilcavalry" (or "Kill-Cavalry") for tactics that recklessly disregarded his soldiers' lives, he was both praised for his victories and despised by Southerners whose homes he devastated. Sherman said of him in 1864: "I know that Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry on this expedition." Joseph Wheeler led the Confederate cavalry opposing Kilpatrick's forces in Georgia.

Engagement. The battle took place on December 4, 1864, in eastern Georgia. Kilpatrick's forces defeated Wheeler's troops, opening the way for Sherman's army. This action prevented Confederate interference with the Union campaign of destruction.