James M. Calhoun, 16th Mayor of Atlanta

James M. Calhoun (February 12, 1811 – October 1, 1875) was the 16th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia during the Civil War.

In 1863, he commissioned a volunteer militia to defend Atlanta. When Union troops under the command of William T. Sherman drew near during the Atlanta campaign, much of the population of Atlanta, including Calhoun's wife and children, fled the city, reducing the population of Atlanta from around 22,000 to less than 3,000 when the Confederate Army of Tennessee retreated from the city on September 1, 1864.

Calhoun surrendered the city on September 2, 1864, writing, "Sir: The fortune of war has placed Atlanta in your hands. As mayor of the city I ask protection of non-combatants and private property." A marker now stands at the corner of Peachtree Street and Alabama Street indicating where the surrender took place.

Sherman's troops occupied the city for two months and burned much of it on November 15, 1864, in preparation for the March to the Sea.

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