Sherman's men, at the conclusion of his…

Sherman's men, at the conclusion of his successful Atlanta Campaign, enter the city on September 2 and he telegraphs President Lincoln, "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won."

For almost a month, the normally aggressive Sherman takes little action while his men sit about idly, and many leave the army at the end of their enlistments.

Casualties for the campaign are roughly equal in absolute numbers: 31,687 Union (4,423 killed, 22,822 wounded, 4,442 missing/captured) and 34,979 Confederate (3,044 killed, 18,952 wounded, 12,983 missing/captured), but this represents a much higher Confederate proportional loss.

Hood's army leaves the area with approximately thirty thousand men, whereas Sherman retains eighty-one thousand.

Sherman's victory is qualified because it has not fulfilled the original mission of the campaign—to destroy the Army of Tennessee—and Sherman will be criticized for allowing his opponent to escape.

However, the capture of Atlanta makes an enormous contribution to Northern morale and is arguably one of the key factors enabling Lincoln's reelection in November.

The Atlanta Campaign will be followed by Federal initiatives in two directions: almost immediately, to the northwest, the pursuit of Hood in the Franklin–Nashville Campaign; and after the presidential election of 1864, to the east in Sherman's March to the Sea.