Before the controversy became clouded and at last faded out, Kilpatrick did in fact see his name prominently displayed in the newspapers–especially Southern newspapers, who called him a barbarian, and worse.

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Kilpatrick had just cause to feel concern. His failure resulted in his transfer from Virginia to the Western theater, where he was assigned to a cavalry command under Major General William T. Sherman. It was a demotion of sorts, and Kilpatrick could not delude himself into believing otherwise.

When he went west, Kilpatrick was no longer the cocky, self-assured firebrand he had been the year before. He had tasted defeat and censure, and they had been bitter pills indeed. Nevertheless, he did his best to fit comfortably into Sherman’s command. Soon after joining his new division, he used it to spearhead the Federal drive through Tennessee and into Georgia, over Taylor’s Ridge to Buzzard Roost and through Snake Creek Gap to Resaca, Georgia.

In battle outside Resaca, in May, he had his first large dose of action in the West. There he was so badly wounded that he was forced to leave the field and return north for recuperation.

But through three years of war, he had not learned how to relax from campaigning. He returned to duty in July, against his doctor’s orders, when he heard that Sherman had crossed the Chattahoochee River and was moving on Atlanta.

By the time he returned to the field, his commander was in the city, after General John Bell Hood’s Confederate Army of Tennessee had abandoned it in retreat. Because his wound prevented him from riding horseback, Kilpatrick commandeered a carriage and rode alongside his troopers, shouting orders from the front seat. From the carriage he even conducted a raid against the Confederateheld Atlanta-Macon Railroad.

On August 18 Kilpatrick, now able to ride again, led another raid against Rebel communications south of Atlanta. He marched his division and some auxiliary units to the railroad between Jonesborough and Griffin, destroyed some miles of track, and then was challenged by enemy cavalry, who pushed his force to Lovejoy’s Station. Arriving there on August 20, he found Rebel infantry sitting across his path. Nearly surrounded, Kilpatrick mustered some of the spirit that had won him a strong reputation earlier in the war. He faced his troopers about, charged, and in the words of one historian, “simply rode over the Confederate cavalry” to safety.

Sherman was not pleased, however, with the scanty accomplishments of the raid. While he did not censure Kilpatrick personally, he relied more heavily than ever before on his infantry to catch and overwhelm Hood. At first Sherman planned to defeat Hood by separating him from his lines of communication and supply. Then he decided to turn his back on the Confederate commander and with a part of his army push east across Georgia to Savannah and the coast, burning out the state. He sent Major General George H. Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland back into Tennessee, where he was to deal with Hood’s westward-marching army. Then Sherman made ready to march to the sea.

He chose Kilpatrick to lead his cavalry, although Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant had previously appointed Major General James H. Wilson to command all the horsemen in Sherman’s theater. Sherman explained his decision to Wilson in curious terms: “I know Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry on this expedition.” He then directed Wilson to join General Thomas in Tennessee.

During the march to the sea, Kilpatrick made quite a name for himself. His name, in fact, became infamous to Georgians, who watched his cavalrymen run wild over their property. They learned that Kilpatrick overlooked incidents of pillaging and thievery by his men because he frankly enjoyed wreaking havoc on secessionists.

Some of the general’s favorite vices also came to public attention during the campaign. Georgia newspapers reported that he travelled with female companions, including two Negro girls who cooked for him and with whom he engaged in “the most familiar and indecent conversation.” And a Confederate prisoner later recalled marching in tow beside Kilpatrick’s carriage and seeing the general stretched out comfortably on the seat with his head in a woman’s lap.

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