They Held The Field

The Battle of Lovejoy’s Station was fought in the Clayton County, Georgia area August 20^th 1864 and was a part of the Atlanta Campaign.

Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry was making raids in North Georgia and Tennessee, when Union Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick made a raid on the Confederate supply lines.  Beginning on August 18^th 1864 the Union cavalry hit the Atlanta & West Point Railroad taking out a section of track.  Kilpatrick then moved through Jonesborough where they hit the supply depot on the Macon & Western Railroad burning supplies.

The Union cavalry reached Lovejoy’s Station on August 20^th 1864, and began destroying track and supplies.   Confederate Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne’s division marched into town engaging Kilpatrick’s cavalry.  The battle went on into the night, before the Union cavalry had to retreat to prevent being surrounded.  Each side lost about 250 men, but Lovejoy is thought to be a Confederate victory as they held the field when the fighting ended and had the railroad back running in two days.