In May 1864 , Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign . Foraker fought in a number of fierce battles in that campaign , including Resaca , New Hope Church , and Kennesaw Mountain . Atlanta , or at least what was left of it after devastating fires , fell on September 2 . Foraker was detailed to the Signal Corps school that had been set up by the army at Atlanta , and spent a month there . He was then assigned to Major General Henry W. Slocum 's division , and remained with that division as it participated in Sherman 's March to the Sea , leaving a swath of destruction behind . In late December 1864 , the army reached Savannah , and Foraker , despite a storm , was able to communicate with US Navy ships offshore to alert them to the presence of Sherman 's army . After a month , the army marched north into South Carolina , determined to bring even more devastation to the state that had first seceded . Foraker was in charge of maintaining signals between the wings of the army , and was stationed on a gunboat as it moved up the Savannah River . He saw more active duty as a courier between Sherman 's main army and Slocum 's forces in March 1865 as they met Confederate forces in North Carolina in the Battle of Bentonville . On the day of the battle , March 19 , 1865 , Foraker was promoted to brevet captain , and was soon thereafter made aide-de-camp to General Slocum . In April , as Sherman 's army moved slowly northward , word came of the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his forces at Appomattox , Virginia , effectively ending the war . In early May , Sherman 's Army of Georgia journeyed north towards Washington , passing in review on May 23 before the new president , Andrew Johnson , sworn in after Lincoln 's assassination the previous month . Foraker soon thereafter returned to Ohio , and was mustered out
Lincoln 's assassination
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Joseph B. Foraker