Sherman left southern Tennessee in May 1864 and almost immediately ran into Joseph Johnston and about sixty thousand Confederate defenders. Johnston was the most experienced officer in the Confederate army at this point, but his critics accurately pointed out that he hardly ever won anything: his career seemed to be based on the principle of retreat.

Sherman was all too happy to oblige. He, too, preferred the advance and retreat of flanking maneuvers to brutal, head-on confrontations. Knowing he had the numerical advantage, Sherman could afford to maneuver almost indefinitely.