The Battle of Resaca was the second bloodiest battle of the Atlanta Campaign

The Eastern and Western theaters saw heavy warfare during the summer of 1864. The Battle of the Wilderness between May 5-7 saw nearly as many fatalities—29,800—as the Battle at Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia, which took place between May 8 and 21, resulting in a catastrophically high death toll in the Easter theatre. Resaca suffered a total of 5,547 combined casualties, which is a relatively low amount (2,747 Union, 2,800 Confederate).

Resaca, however, ranks second only to the Battle of Atlanta in terms of total casualties during the summer of 1864 when compared to other battles in the Western theatre. With estimated casualties of 4,000, 3,149, and 2,015 respectively, Kennesaw Mountain, Jonesborough, or New Hope Church during the Atlanta Campaign do not even come close to Resaca's total. Despite not traditionally being regarded as one of the Civil War's most critical battles, these numbers and the tales of the actual conflict show just how terrible and crucial the Battle of Resaca actually was.