When Did Atlanta Burn Down? The Real Story Behind the City’s Famous Fire

If you live in Atlanta, you’ve probably heard the phrase “the city that rose from the ashes.” That isn’t just marketing—it comes from a very real event in local history: the burning of Atlanta during the Civil War.

Here’s what actually happened, when Atlanta burned down, and how you can still see traces of that history across the city today.

The Short Answer: When Did Atlanta Burn?

Atlanta was largely destroyed during the Civil War in November 1864.

• Date of major destruction:
  • Evacuation and planned destruction begin: early November 1864
  • Most famous burning of the city:November 15–16, 1864
• Who was involved: Union forces under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman
• What burned: Mostly railroads, industrial sites, depots, and military supply areas, but many surrounding buildings and homes were caught in the fires.

Atlanta did not burn down in a single night the way movies sometimes show it, but mid-November 1864 is the key point when much of the city was destroyed or damaged.

Why Was Atlanta Burned in the First Place?

In the 1860s, Atlanta was a strategic railroad and supply hub for the Confederacy. Multiple rail lines met here, making the city critical for moving troops, weapons, and food.

From a military perspective at the time:

• Destroying railroads and depots in Atlanta would disrupt Confederate supply lines.
• Burning factories and warehouses meant fewer resources for the Confederate armies.
• The goal was to make Atlanta useless as a military base, not simply to punish the city.

Union forces captured Atlanta in early September 1864. In November, as Sherman prepared to leave Atlanta and march toward Savannah (the famous “March to the Sea”), his troops destroyed many of the city’s military and industrial facilities—fire was the fastest way to do it.

Key Dates and Events: Atlanta’s Burning at a Glance

Here’s a simple overview you can refer to if you’re trying to place the burning of Atlanta in a timeline:

How Much of Atlanta Actually Burned?

A common myth is that every part of Atlanta burned to the ground. The reality was more complex:

• Union troops targeted:

  • Rail lines and roundhouses
  • Armories, factories, and supply warehouses
  • Rail depots and storage facilities

• But the fires:

  • Spread to civilian buildings near the targets
  • Damaged or destroyed many homes and businesses
  • Left large sections of the city heavily damaged or in ruins

Many buildings were lost, but some structures did survive, and a small amount of pre-war Atlanta architecture can still be seen today.

Where Can You See “Burned Atlanta” History Today?

If you live in metro Atlanta or you’re visiting, you can still see and experience the story of 1864 in several places around the city.

Atlanta History Center (Buckhead)

Atlanta History Center
130 West Paces Ferry Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30305
Phone: (404) 814-4000

What you’ll find related to the burning of Atlanta:

• Civil War exhibitions with artifacts, maps, and context about Sherman’s campaign
• The famous “Cyclorama” painting, which depicts the Battle of Atlanta (July 1864), an important step toward the city’s eventual burning
• Clear explanations of how and why Atlanta was targeted and what happened afterward

This is one of the best starting points if you want a deep, visual understanding of how Atlanta went from battlefield to burned city to modern metropolis.

Oakland Cemetery (Grant Park Area)

Oakland Cemetery
248 Oakland Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
Phone: (404) 688-2107

Oakland Cemetery is one of the oldest remaining landmarks that connects directly to pre-1864 Atlanta:

• Civil War-era graves for both Union and Confederate soldiers
• Historic plots for Atlantans who lived through the burning and reconstruction
• A powerful sense of what the city looked and felt like in the mid-19th century

Walking through Oakland can give you a grounded, personal perspective on the people who experienced the burning of Atlanta firsthand.

Downtown and Surrounding Neighborhoods

While most of the original buildings from the 1860s are gone, some areas still reveal patterns shaped by the burning and rebuilding:

• Downtown rail corridors:
  Near Five Points, Gulch areas, and the old freight yards, you’re standing in the region where railroads once defined the city—and where much of the intentional destruction in 1864 was concentrated.

• Grant Park, Inman Park, and Midtown neighborhoods:
  These developed heavily in the post-war era as Atlanta rebuilt and expanded. The city’s layout and rail-adjacent neighborhoods reflect its rebirth after the fires.

You won’t see charred ruins, but the way Atlanta is organized around rail lines, roads, and hills still ties back to the Civil War era and the rebuilding that followed.

Did Atlanta Burn Again After 1864?

The 1864 burning is the most famous, but Atlanta experienced other major fires:

• The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917
  • Burned a large section of the city, mainly in the Old Fourth Ward and surrounding areas
  • Destroyed thousands of homes and displaced many residents
  • Led to changes in building practices and housing patterns

So when people in Atlanta mention “the fire,” they usually mean Sherman and 1864, but the city’s history includes multiple major fires that shaped neighborhoods and growth.

How the Burning of Atlanta Still Shapes the City Today

Even though it happened more than 150 years ago, the burning of Atlanta affects how the city looks and thinks of itself:

• City identity:
  Atlanta embraces the phoenix symbol—often seen on city seals, public art, and logos—representing rebirth from the ashes of 1864.

• Architecture:
  Because so much was destroyed, very little pre-Civil War architecture remains. Most of what you see today dates from after 1864, especially from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

• Culture and storytelling:
  Atlanta’s destruction and rebirth show up in:

  • Local museum exhibits
  • Historic markers
  • Tours and interpretive programs around the city

If you’re trying to understand Atlanta’s growth—from rail town to regional capital to major modern city—the 1864 burning is one of the key turning points.

Visiting Atlanta and Want to Learn More? Practical Tips

If you’re in Atlanta and curious about when and how it burned down, here are some simple next steps:

• 🏛 Start with a museum visit
  The Atlanta History Center offers one of the clearest, most accessible overviews of the Civil War in Atlanta.

• 🚶 Walk a historic area
  Stroll through Oakland Cemetery or older neighborhoods near downtown to get a sense of the city’s age, layout, and layers of history.

• 🏙 Pay attention to rail lines and markers
  Many historic markers around downtown, Grant Park, and surrounding areas describe battles, camps, and destruction related to 1864.

To directly answer the question: Atlanta “burned down” primarily on November 15–16, 1864, when Union forces under Sherman destroyed much of the city’s military and industrial infrastructure and fires spread into surrounding areas.

The city’s identity as a phoenix rising from the ashes comes from that moment—and if you live in or visit Atlanta today, you’re walking through a city that was rebuilt from that destruction into the modern capital you see now.