1880. As a division commander under James Longstreet, he distinguished himself at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg and at Chickamauga, where he won his lieutenant generalcy. In the Atlanta campaign of 1864 he fought under Joseph E. Johnston until Jefferson Davis, displeased with that general’s retreat, made Hood commander. Hood fared no better against General Sherman and was obliged to abandon Atlanta. Hood pressed forward in his effort to thwart the Union forces, but in the battle of Nashville Thomas won the most complete victory of the war, virtually annihilating the Confederates. Hood resigned his command and surrendered at Natchez, Mississippi. General Hood’s memoir, Advance and Retreat is one of the classics of Confederate literature.
