The Day Dixie Died: The Battle of AtlantaOne of the most dramatic and important battles ever to be waged on American soil, the Battle of Atlanta changed the course of the Civil War and helped decide a presidential election. In the North, a growing peace movement and increasing criticism of President Abraham Lincoln's conduct of the war threatened to halt U. S. war efforts to save the Union. On the morning of July 22, 1864, Confederate forces under the command of General John Bell Hood