In January of 1864 he succeeded general Sherman as commander of the Army of the Tennessee. As part of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, on several occasions his army threatened the enemy's supply lines. McPherson's army was also used in flanking maneuvers. Sherman's combined armies kept moving towards Atlanta while the confederate armies, under Joseph E. Johnston, fell back. Finally Johnston retreated into Atlanta on July 9–10. Jefferson Davis the Confederate president, dismissed Johnston for not stopping the Union army. Davis gave command to general John B. Hood, McPherson's friend and former roommate. Hood had little chance of succeeding. Sherman's larger army, including McPherson's Army of the Tennessee, was five miles from the city when Hood took command.