The Battle of New Hope Church was a clash between the Union Army under Major General William T. Sherman and the Confederate Army of Tennessee led by General Joseph E. Johnston during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. Sherman broke loose from his railroad supply line in a large-scale sweep in an attempt to force Johnston's army to retreat from its strong position south of the Etowah River. Sherman hoped that he had outmaneuvered his opponent, but Johnston rapidly shifted his army to the southwest. When the Union XX Corps under Major General Joseph Hooker tried to force its way through the Confederate lines at New Hope Church, its soldiers were stopped with heavy losses.

Henry DeLamar Clayton, Sr. was a prominent Alabama attorney, politician, Redeemer judge, and college president. He also served as a major general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, commanding a division in the Army of Tennessee in the Western Theater.