On Friday, August 19, 1864, 4,400 Federal cavalrymen under General H. Brigadier Judson Kilpatrick entered Jonesborough, brushed aside light Confederate opposition, tore up rails on the vital Macon & Western Railroad, and burned the Jonesborough Depot, but heavy rain prevented them from heating and twisting the rails, so Confederates quickly repaired the damage and trains resumed deliveries to Atlanta within two days. On Tuesday, August 23rd, Union Major General William T. Sherman concluded that only a large infantry force could break the railroad at Jonesborough and decided to march most of his three armies around Atlanta’s western flank to the town. By Tuesday, August 30th, Union Major General Oliver O. Howard’s Army of the Tennessee had begun crossing the Flint River and entrenching along a ridge one mile west of Jonesborough, while Confederate General John B. Hood realized that the Macon & Western Railroad was Sherman’s objective and planned an attack there. The next morning, two Confederate corps under Lieutenant General William J. Hardee and Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee aligned along Fayetteville Road facing west, but delays left them unready until mid-afternoon and gave the Federals more time to fortify. Major General Patrick R. Cleburne’s troops intended a wheeling assault against the Federal 16th Corps while Lee opposed the Federal 15th Corps, but the attack failed from the outset when Cleburne’s left lost alignment and Lee attacked Major General John A. Logan prematurely and was quickly repulsed. The Confederates suffered over 1,700 casualties while Federal losses totaled 179, and other Federal armies under Major Generals John M. Schofield and George H. Thomas then severed the railroad at several points between Jonesborough and Atlanta, setting the stage for the next day’s final battle for Atlanta.