It was only after general sherman reported the capture of the city of that abraham lincoln ended ahead of his former commanding general george mcclellan in the opinion polls for the 1864 presidential election.

McClellan had argued that the Civil War was at worst unwinnable and at best destined to continue as a protracted stalemate that the Union would win only after a long and costly slog. This argument was disproven on September 2, 1864 when General Sherman captured the major Southern city of Atlanta. With the capture of Atlanta it was clear to all that a Union victory was not only inevitable, but was likely to come sooner rather than later.