He entered the Confederate psyche and remains in some minds to the present day. Just what was this warfare revolution? Sherman allowed Hardee’s army to escape the city, although he could have crushed it. Two weeks after this incident, and 20 miles removed, the march ended in Savannah. When Sherman instituted his destructive war, he told Southerners that as long as they continued their resistance, he would make them pay dearly, but that the process would stop when they quit the fight. In early October he began a raid toward Chattanooga, Tennessee, in an effort to draw Sherman back over ground the two sides had fought for since May. On December 21, Union forces captured Savannah; Sherman presented the city to Lincoln as a Christmas gift. Directed by Ross McElwee. #1 Build a bonfire #2 Heat a railway rail until it is malleable #3 When red hot, bend and twist around a tree like a bow tie. The Confederate's evasive tactics doomed Sherman's plan to achieve victory on the battlefield so he developed an alternative strategy: destroy the South by laying waste to its economic and transportation inf… In November 1864, soldiers from Sherman wasted no time. When it came time to march through the Carolinas, states still in rebellion against the United States, however, destructive war returned. He wanted his army to win the war and thus preserve the Union, but he also wanted to curtail the battlefield slaughter. Although some were saved on makeshift rafts or by soldiers who waded into the creek, a huge number drowned and others were captured by the arriving Confederate troopers. It was just such a conflict of interest that caused one of the most horrific events of the campaign. Almost two months after William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta, the Union general's new military secretary reported for duty and learned what his chief planned for an encore. Reveille came at daybreak and sometimes earlier. Gen. Every purchase supports the mission. syrup into the pipes of The right wing headed for, There were a number of skirmishes between Wheeler's cavalry and Union troopers, but only two battles of any significance. churches on the square. If an image is displaying, you can download it yourself. Sherman divided his approximately 60,000 troops into two roughly equal wings. The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education. Yet, whenever they had a choice, they preferred the Federals to Confederate soldiers and civilians who had no compunction about killing them or returning them to slavery. 08 February 2021. Political Parties, Interest Groups & Movements, Civil Rights & Modern Georgia, Since 1945, Union Blockade and Coastal Occupation in the Civil War, NPR: How War-Torn Savannah Celebrated Christmas 1864, Georgia Historical Society: William and Harvey Reid Letters, Georgia Historical Society: William Tecumseh Sherman Telegram, Georgia Historical Society: John Stevens Papers, Georgia Historical Society: William H. Scofield Letters, Georgia Historical Society: Edwin Rhodes Diary, Georgia Historical Society: Bertimus J. Cubbedge Letters and Announcement, Georgia Historical Society: John W. Boston Letter, Georgia Historical Society: Alexander Atkinson Lawrence Papers, Georgia Historical Society: John W. Geary Letters, Perseus Digital Library: Letter from Augusta Eyewitness of March to the Sea, Digital Library of Georgia: George Barnard's Photographic Views of the Sherman Campaign, Georgia Archives: Sherman's Order to Vacate Atlanta, Stories of Atlanta: The Return of Uncle Billy, Charles McCartney ("Goat Man") (1901-1998), William and Ellen Craft (1824-1900; 1826-1891), Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library. To average Americans, whether they are Northerners or Southerners, Sherman was a hard, cruel soldier, an unfeeling destroyer, the man who rampaged rather than fought, a brute rather than a human being. Sherman wanted to keep his movements as secret as possible; he  cut telegraph lines to prevent intelligence reports from reaching the enemy (or his superiors in Washington). 120 he laid out the rules of destruction and conduct for the march. “No doubt many acts of pillage, robbery, and violence were committed by these parties of foragers …,” Sherman acknowledged, but maintained that their crimes were generally against property, not individuals. Sherman's March to the Sea. But as the last unit of Davis’s rear guard, the 58th Indiana, reached the far side, the bridge was unlashed. 29 September 2020. St. Stephen’s, as well as other Finally he destroyed civilian infrast… This caused Sherman, who was trying to move quickly and live off the land, to worry about their impact on his speed and the supply of food meant for his soldiers. In 2008 he took over as the executive director and managing editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Association. The arrival of the main columns was even more frightening to the Georgians in their path than the passage of the foragers. Sherman and Wilson met and discussed various operations in Sherman’s "March to the Sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. Sherman’s soldiers enthusiastically embraced his Special Field Order 120, which required every brigade to organize a foraging detachment under the direction of one of its more “discreet” officers with a goal of keeping a consistent three-day supply of gathered foodstuffs. More seriously, the soldiers damaged state buildings and destroyed books and manuscripts before leaving Milledgeville on November 24. In these later conflicts, largely through the use of air power, Americans attempted to destroy enemy will and logistics (a doctrine colloquially known as “shock and awe” in Operation Iraqi Freedom). And even in this Union army of liberation, the racism of the age was still prevalent throughout the ranks. Sherman's "March to the Sea" followed his successful Atlanta Campaign of May to September 1864. Since spreading terror farther afield only intensified the impact of his March to the Sea, all of this suited Sherman’s purposes perfectly. He sought to utilize destructive war to convince Confederate citizens in their deepest psyche both that they could not win the war and that their government could not protect them from Federal forces. After the shooting had stopped, the Union troops discovered, to their horror, that their attackers had been old men and young boys and wondered at the futility of the Confederate cause. November and December of this year mark the 150th anniversary of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s famous “march to the sea” at the end of the War to Prevent Southern Independence. Judson Kilpatrick led the cavalry. There was glory to die in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, but only humiliation to have one’s barn burned, silverware taken, house damaged or destroyed, or horses added to the enemy cavalry. Although he personally considered them inferior to white men, Sherman treated the blacks he met with courtesies not widespread in the 19th century, shaking hands and carrying on conversations to glean their knowledge of the area. While many blacks became laborers and performed tasks necessary to the advance, others simply followed in the wake of the column. They jumped into the water, frantically trying to swim across and evade Wheeler. And so, in Atlanta, Sherman instituted tactics later generations of American war leaders would use in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron, a player for the Atlanta Braves, hit 755 home runs, a record that stood unchallenged until 2007, during his, Paschal's Restaurant, located in Atlanta's historic Castleberry Hill neighborhood, was an important meeting place for leaders of the. Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee sets out to make a movie about Union General Sherman's March to the Sea towards the end of the American Civil War, but keeps getting sidetracked by his own love life. The 62,000-man army usually spent the night in tents, the campsites stretching in all directions. Photos Library of Congress, Colorized by MADS MADSEN of Colorized History. Perhaps in denial of this reality, they came to accuse Sherman of carrying out countless grim acts. Pleasant J. Phillips, came upon part of Sherman’s rear guard of some 1,700 men. Donate today to preserve Civil War battlefields and the nation’s history for generations to come. He devoted the next few weeks to chasing Confederate troops through northern Georgia in a vain attempt to lure them into a decisive fight. On his march, Sherman destroyed to the Sea, the most destructive campaign against a civilian population during the Civil War (1861-65), began in Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and concluded in Savannah on December 21, 1864. On November 15, 62,000 men — split into two infantry wings (actually four parallel corps columns) with screening cavalry to protect the main bodies as they spread across the landscape — departed Atlanta. Although Sherman’s army had systematically destroyed Atlanta’s war-making potential, and had used artillery to bombard the city before taking it, 400 houses were still standing when he left. Acting as the rear guard for the army, on December 9, 1864, Federals under the command of Maj. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis were crossing the flooded Ebenezer Creek on a pontoon bridge. Start studying Sherman's March to the Sea. In the fall of 1864, the Union General William Tecumseh ("Cump") Sherman took 60,000 men and pillaged his way through Georgia's civilian farmsteads. When they reached the assigned campsite in the evening, each man hooked his tent half to another’s, pitched it, and then prepared the only full meal of the day over a fire. It was a strange end to a destructive month, but perhaps it should not have been unexpected. But the way to the sea was not open; Sherman still had to contend with the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. Operating under varying degrees of supervision, their exploits formed the foundation of Sherman’s lasting reputation. Once, Sherman encountered a soldier walking along a road weighed down by all victuals who quoted from the order to him in a stage whisper: “Forage liberally on the country.” The general said his was a too-liberal interpretation of the order, but he took no action to punish the forager. The long line of fugitive slaves, some 650 of them, was ordered to await a signal before crossing. 8-9 “General Sherman’s March from Atlanta to the Coast — Address Before the Survivors’ Association of Augusta, Ga”, Southern Historical Society Papers. The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 53,000 acres in 24 states! Volume XII. As the main columns had been marching all day, organized soldiers and others fanned out in all directions, looking for food and booty. Sherman’s army had now been marching for a week. Sherman Departs. They searched hollow logs and any hiding place imaginable. General Grant arranged two campaigns for the year 1864. Sherman demanded surrender, and he would accept nothing less, so his men tore through the Palmetto State. The most potent Confederate force in the state was Joseph Wheeler’s 3,500-man cavalry, which managed to harass Sherman’s marchers but was too small to pose a deadly threat. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s 5,000 Union horse soldiers cleared it out of the way. When Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered at Durham Station, N.C., in April 1865, Sherman offered a peace plan lenient enough that it caused many in the North to question his loyalty. Once the rails became red hot, they were twisted into what came to be known as “Sherman’s neckties” or “Sherman’s hairpins.” The campaign’s chief engineer, Col. Orlando Poe, even devised specialized equipment, called cant hooks, for the task. He eliminated Atlanta's war making potential and brought sheer destruction to Georgia, then offered generous surrender terms. A little more slaughter”. More in Civil War & Reconstruction Events, Media Gallery: Sherman's March to the Sea. “Uncle Billy, I guess Grant is waiting for us in Richmond?” was a common sentiment along the march. New Georgia Encyclopedia. After General John Bell Hood abandoned Atlanta, he moved the Confederate Army of Tennessee outside the city to recuperate from the previous campaign. Call Number: PGA - Ritchie (A.H.)--Sherman's march to the sea (E size) [P&P] Access Advisory: --- Obtaining Copies. Sherman's march frightened and appalled Southerners. Compared to the 51,000 killed, wounded and missing at Gettysburg in the three days of fighting there or the 24,000 in the two days at Shiloh, the month-long March to the Sea was nearly bloodless. Whether it was a plantation manor, a more modest white dwelling or a slave hut, any residence encountered by these bummers stood a chance of being utterly ransacked. July-August-September. Politicians hurried to escape the city, and its civilian inhabitants were infuriated when Sherman’s men celebrated Thanksgiving there and mockingly re-enacted a legislative session to vote Georgia back into the Union. This aptly-named book chronicles the destructive 60-mile wide, 300-mile long march of Sherman’s Army from Atlanta to Savanah during late November and early December 1864, and the attempts by local, state, and Confederate patchwork forces to stop them. The full story, however, is not this simple. There was no lunch stop; instead, the men ate whenever and whatever they could. Shay Youngblood is a distinguished Georgia writer who follows Black roots and routes. were blown up as the troops left, After Fort McAllister fell, Sherman made preparations for a siege of Savannah. General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea. He captured Savannah, 285 miles (460 km) from Atlanta, on December 21. All rights reserved. After helping General William Tecumseh Sherman 's March to the Sea, he was responsible for much of the early lighthouse construction on the Great Lakes and design of the Poe Lock at Soo Locks between lakes Superior and Huron. Sherman's March to the Sea refers to a long stretch of devastating Union army movements that took place during the United States Civil War. Sherman swore to “make Georgia howl,” and in his Special Field Order No. Peter J. Osterhaus commanded the Fifteenth Corps, and Francis P. Blair Jr. commanded the Seventeenth Corps. The rest of Sherman's route was not so fortunate. Very quickly, these foragers came to be called “bummers,” and it was they who did the most damage to the countryside and provided the most food for the troops. the 107th New York Infantry So Sherman proposed to split his Union force, taking 62,000 of his best troops on a destructive march, while Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas used the remainder to contain Hood. Clearly this soldier was practicing the psychological destructive warfare against Georgia that his commander wanted. Sometimes the slaves would volunteer information, and other times the foragers would force it out of them. Howard and Henry Slocum and cavalry commander Brig. (Some images display only as thumbnails outside the Library of Congress because of rights considerations, but you have access to larger size images on site.) Web. Standard histories of Major General William T. Shermans celebrated March to the Sea invariably portray the Confederacys response as inconsequential. Show your pride in battlefield preservation by shopping in our store. He had for a long time hated the idea of having to kill and maim Confederates, many of whom had been pre-war friends. Soldiers dug up buried food, valuables and keepsakes, seemingly at will. Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was a contradiction embodied. Nos. The city was hardly burned to the ground, as Gone with the Wind implies. With Georgia cleared of the Confederate army, Sherman, facing only scattered cavalry, was free to move south. In late 1864, Sherman decides to march his army from Atlanta to Savannah, living off the land, and destroying everything along the way that could aid the … Sherman had his favorite regimental band present a concert for the city and brought supply ships from the North to help the city and its people regain a sense of normality. Ohioan William Tecumseh Sherman, a general in the Union army during the American Civil War, is best known for his March to the Sea. the roof was damaged and the Learn sherman march sea with free interactive flashcards. He had a lot more soldiers than General Hood who only had 51,000. In preparation, he moved the few people remaining in the city — about 10 percent of its 20,000-person population in early 1864 — out of the area, and cut his supply line. View NGE content as it applies to the Georgia Standards of Excellence. Joe Brown, Hardee and militia commander Smith among them — all fell for the ruse. The former slaves grew increasingly hesitant about getting too close to the white soldiers, who might be their source of freedom, but who often treated them with harshness and disrespect. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. windows were blown out. As the marching Federals progressed, they attracted a growing throng of ex-slaves, who greeted them as emancipators. So on Nov. 15, 1864, Sherman’s army set out from Atlanta on its infamous March to the Sea, cutting a swath of destruction toward Savannah on the coast. Knowing that Confederate cavalry was nearby, the fugitives, fearful of being captured and killed or re-enslaved, panicked. Hood from operating in Tennessee, to … The name immediately conjures visions of fire and smoke, destruction and desolation; Atlanta in flames, farms laid to waste and railroad tracks mangled beyond recognition. Certainly, Sherman practiced destructive war, but he did not do it out of personal cruelty. After a sparse breakfast, they formed the columns and began moving. “Sherman’s March To The Sea, As Seen By A Northern Soldier”, Southern Historical Society Papers Vol. Sherman’s March to the Sea begins as his troops leave Atlanta, GA. November 22, 1864: Battle of Griswoldville: First battle in the March to the Sea. The general himself was a model of deportment. Railroad tracks were upended and destroyed. Regiment took shelter in From the outset, Sherman’s men destroyed tunnels and bridges, expending particular effort to make railroad tracks unusable. He fooled the Confederates into believing that one part of his army was heading toward Augusta, while the other wing was heading for Macon. When Joe Wheeler’s horsemen also began destroying property and looting, the psychological shock of Confederates abusing their own people was hard for the Georgia civilians to take. Still,  sexual violence, especially in wartime, remains an underreported crime up to the present. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick sought to hasten the war’s end without shedding more blood by crippling the Southern heartland. The militia, temporarily under the inexperienced command of Brig. It hurt morale, for civilians had believed the Confederacy could protect the home front. The March to the Sea, which culminated with the fall of Savannah in December 1864, cut a swath of torn-up railroads, pillaged farms and burned-out plantations through the Georgia countryside. North Carolina suffered less because it was not viewed as responsible for the rebellion, as South Carolina was. Grant himself said that he would not have allowed anyone other than Sherman to attempt such a march — so great was the respect and trust between the two. He defeated Confederate General John Hood at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. Barns, gardens and farms were overrun. Instead, he sought to end the war as quickly as possible, with the least loss of life on both sides. Two months after capturing Atlanta, Sherman was ready to move out and decided to strip the city of its military infrastructure. Donations to the Trust are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under the law. Not all of the destruction was even Sherman’s doing: some one-third of the city’s buildings were in ruins as a result of entrenchments dug by the Confederates and the detonation of ammunition performed as part of Hood’s evacuation. They burned pews and poured Located in downtown Athens, the Morton Theatre was the first vaudeville theater in the United States that was built, owned, and operated. Sherman and the March to the Sea -- Articles Terrible beyond endurance: there was logic behind Sherman's ruinous romp through Georgia--but was it right? He had for a long time hated the idea of having to kill and maim Confederates, many of whom had been pre-war friends. Sherman successfully fought a psychological war of destruction. The Lincoln cult – especially its hyper-warmongering neocon branch – has been holding conferences, celebrations, and commemorations while continuing to rewrite … Sherman had about 2,500 supply wagons and 600 ambulances. General Sherman finally gained control of the city of Atlanta on September 2, 1864. He and the U.S. Army commander, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, believed that the Civil War would end only if the Confederacy's strategic, economic, and psychological capacity for warfare were decisively broken. In fact, South Carolina suffered more at Sherman’s hands than Georgia had during the March to the Sea. Men on a mission (L to R): Union Maj. Gens. Sherman therefore applied the principles of scorched earth: he ordered his troops to burn crops, kill livestock and consume supplies. The March to the Sea was no off-the-cuff reaction by Sherman to finding himself in Atlanta in September 1864 and knowing he could not remain there. The pontoons floated away, leaving the slaves unable to cross the deep water. Your tax-deductible gift will help us to preserve this irreplaceable twice-hallowed ground at Gaines' Mill and Cold Harbor — forever. They left a trail of char and rubble, but few corpses, in their wake. The Union soldiers had indeed carried out a war on civilians, burning The capital city panicked. The two wings advanced by separate routes, generally staying twenty miles to forty miles apart. One of the most infamous campaigns of the Civil War was William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia to the Sea. In reality it was a final iteration of his campaign to show mercy immediately upon surrender. Departing Atlanta by different routes, the Howard and Slocum's columns … Confederate political and military leaders — Gov. Griswoldville Battlefield State Historical Site, Ga. How to tie a "Sherman Necktie": Those prisoners in the state jail willing to take up arms for the Confederacy — 175 out of 200 — were freed, although some of the newly liberated men burned down the penitentiary rather than report for duty. A program of Georgia Humanities in partnership with the University of Georgia Press, the University System of Georgia/GALILEO, and the Office of the Governor. Not realizing that these Federals had repeating rifles and were dug in, temporary commander Phillips ordered his motley force to attack, and they were ripped to pieces by the Federals. Union general William T. Sherman abandoned his supply line and marched across Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean to prove to the Confederate population that its government could not protect … The left wing was commanded by Henry W. Slocum, with the Fourteenth Corps under Jefferson C. Davis and the Twentieth Corps under Alpheus S. Williams. thousands of acres of Georgia cotton fields like this along with numerous cotton gins and mills. One, under his own immediate direction, was for the seizure of Richmond, the Confederate capital; the other was for the seizure of Atlanta, Ga., the focus of several converging railways. Prior to his famous march to the sea, General Sherman led 100,000 men into the southern city of Atlanta. "Sherman's March to the Sea." Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee commanded the undermanned Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and Maj. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith led the small Georgia state militia. In our collective memory, blue-clad soldiers march with impunity, their scavenged booty draped about them, leaving a trail of white women and children to sob at their losses and slaves to rejoice at their emancipation. But Sherman prevailed upon his commanding officer, who, in turn, convinced the president. He saw destruction of property as less onerous than casualties. On the ground and on a much smaller scale, Sherman pioneered this process, becoming the first American to do so systematically.