Reenactor Peter Bonner describes how in the battle at Jonesboro 20,000 rebels faced 70,000 federal troops and by the second day only half of the Confederates were left. After two days of brutal fighting, Jonesboro fell, with Atlanta soon to follow. Had the outcome of the battle of Jonesboro been different, the course of history may have been changed. Some say the Union victory helped President Lincoln to get reelected.