The Confederate government had granted General Joseph…

The Confederate government had granted General Joseph E. Johnston's request for reinforcements to his camps around Dalton, Georgia, in early May 1864.

As the brigade of Brigadier General James Cantey had started to move through the city on May 7, cavalry scouts had alerted Johnston that a large number of Union troops were moving towards Rome, Georgia, on roads that led through Resaca.

During the remainder of May 7 and the day of May 8 Cantey's brigade has had time to entrench and set up defenses.

On May 9, the Army of the Tennessee, under the command of James B. McPherson, had moved out of Snake Creek Gap and immediately run into a Confederate cavalry brigade ordered to scout the area the day before under the command of Colonel Warren Grigsby.

After a fierce battle, Brigadier General Thomas W. Sweeny had formed a defensive line, driving the Confederates back to Resaca, several miles to the east.

Sherman's plan, as written in his memoirs, is to hold the railroad and telegraph lines south of Dalton, so that Johnston will either evacuate his position at Dalton or detach a section of his army to fight Sherman on a ground that has more of an advantage to Sherman.

He has devoted the Army of the Tennessee to this mission, while the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Ohio, commanded by George H. Thomas and John M. Schofield, respectively, will feign attacks in the Confederates' front.

As McPherson's two Corps leave the woods, they skirmish with Confederate cavalry for a while until the cavalry id able to withdraw to a line of fortifications on the outer edge of the city, where they are reinforced by the 37th Mississippi, a regiment in James Cantey's brigade.

In the evening, Sherman sends his only cavalry, the 9th Illinois Mounted Infantry, northeast to scout out the best route to the Western & Atlantic Railroad.

Meanwhile, skirmishers in Major General Grenville Dodge's XVI Corps move to attack a line of fortifications along Camp Creek, held by Confederate cavalry, the remainders of Cantey's brigade, two twelve pound Napoleonic-era batteries and a fresh brigade under Confederate brigadier general Daniel H. Reynolds, which is the lead of the column of twenty thousand men sent out from Atlanta by John Bell Hood.

Johnston had withdrawn his forces from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca.

On May 13, the Union troops had tested the Rebel lines to pinpoint their whereabouts.

The next day, full scale fighting had occurred, and the Union troops had been generally repulsed except on the Rebel right flank, where Sherman had not fully exploited his advantage.

On May 15, the battle continues with no advantage to either side until Sherman sends a force across the Oostanaula River, at Lay's Ferry, using newly delivered Cumberland pontoon bridges and advances towards Johnston's railroad supply line.