General Sherman encloses Atlanta by shelling the town, thus commencing his brutal siege. It is the first week of August, 1864. Thus far, Sherman has been halted repeatedly, prompting him to aim a cannon into Atlanta to drive the enemy out. Martha Powell writes of her family having to flee as Sherman invades. One of the first civilians to die during Sherman's siege is Solomon Luckie, a free African American who is struck on the corner of Whitehall and Alabama Streets on August ninth.