Sherman's March Essay

Some would argue that Sherman’s reluctance to face the Confederate army head on would make the march fairly peaceful. After all, he avoided bloodshed; however instead of facing of with an army, he faced off with the people, practicing psychological warfare, instead of waging a physical battle against the Confederacy. Yet this type of warfare didn’t fail to devastate the south. He successfully made the southern people fear his army so much, that Confederate wives begged their husbands to come home so the war would end and “told one South Carolina woman that he was ransacking her plantation so that her soldier husband would come home and Grant would not have to kill him in the trenches at Petersburg” (Groce). Sherman’s genius approach to show his army’s power through destruction of property instead of the through slaughtering men on the battlefield is quite ironic, considering the Civil War was one of the bloodiest battles in history; however, it created a big blow to the south, convincing the people to give up. From the words of Sherman himself, “If the people raise a howl against barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relatives must stop the war” (Mitchell). He admits to his brutality, declaring that to stop the burning of plantations and destruction, the civilians must give up. Sherman recognized that the fuel to any war was the people. (expand) The brutality he brought to the southern

The march to the sea,the most destructive campaign against a civilian population during Civil War.It all begain in Atlanta on Novemeber 15,1864,and concluded in Savannah on December 21,1864.As a person who is searching and learning history day by day I am learning about Union general William T. Sherman and his march.Sherman divided his troops into two roughly equal wings,there was 60,000 troops to divide up.The two wings advanced by two routes, generally staying twenty miles to forty miles apart.The right wing is headed toward Macon while the left wing is headed toward Augusta before the two commands turned and bypassed both cities.They was headed for the state capitol at Milledgeville.Here are some consequences of the march.Sherman’s march

The most destructive campaign against a civilian population during the Civil War (1861-65). Began in Atlanta on November 15,1864. Union General William T. Sherman abandoned his supply line and marched across Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean to prove the Confederate population that its government not protect the people from invaders. He believed that by marching an army across the state he would demonstrate to the world that the Union had a power the Confederacy could not resist. After Sherman’s forces captured Atlanta on September 2,1864, Sherman spent several weeks making preparations for a change of base to the cost. Sherman’s March to the

men, Sherman started on his famous march of 400 miles (645 kilometers) "from Atlanta to the sea." For 32 days no news of him reached the North. He had cut himself off from his base of supplies, and his men lived on what they could get from the country through which they passed. They covered a path 60 miles (95 kilometers) wide in their march, and in that path everything that they could not use but that might prove of use to the enemy was ruthlessly

Scorched farms, slaughtered livestock, uprooted railway lines and cities set on fire was not typical battle strategy previously seen on American soil. However, the Civil War was dragging on and General William Tecumseh Sherman was determined to finally end the fighting. The circumstances that initiated the war created a figurative and literal divide unlike America had ever seen. The American Civil War took heavy tolls on the Union and Confederate States of America. Desperate to end the bloodshed, President Abraham Lincoln trusted Ulysses S. Grant control of the Army and Grant authorized Sherman the freedom to do whatever necessary to bring conclusion to the conflict (Davis 22). In the military mind of Sherman, the end justified the means and this belief is well documented throughout his 1864 and 1865 campaign through Georgia, concluding in Goldsboro, North Carolina (Phillips 11). Sherman despised war and the fact that America had entered into a civil war in the first place. However, Sherman knew the conflict was unavoidable (Meiers 26). He made the decision to follow his allegiance to the Union and eventually became the general to lead the Armies of the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Tennessee into the heart of Georgia (Moody 22). During this event the wrath of general Sherman would be implanted in the South’s memories. By the use of unorthodox

By the first evening advance elements of the army reached Fairfax courthouse. The few Confederate pickets there quickly retreated. On the 18th the first elements reached the hamlet of Centerville. A brigade was sent out from Centerville to reconnoiter the confederate lines, they found the confederates and lost 80 men. General McDowell brought up the balance of his forces.

The hiring of General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was the turning point in U.S. history during the Civil War because of his negative demeanor, participation in irresponsible activities, political ambition, exceptional ability to lead Soldiers, and unethical military tactics. Sherman would utilize these elements during the Savannah Campaign to create a psychological advantage that would ensure his victory. Major General William Tecumseh Sherman began a historical campaign through Savannah Georgia, eventually called “Sherman’s March to the Sea” during the winter of 1864. General Sherman chose an aggressive, reckless and politically motivated Soldier with a propensity for embellishment known as Hugh Judson Kilpatrick. Chosen to lead General Sherman’s Calvary division, which consisted of First and Second Brigade, Kilpatrick would become one of the most notorious and iconic figures in the American Civil War. 3

Sherman’s march to the sea cut a swath of destruction sixty miles wide and two-hundred eighty-five miles long from Georgia’s industrial hub, Atlanta, to the coastal city of Savannah. During his march Sherman estimated his forces caused at least one-hundred million dollars worth of damage adding up to a little more than one and a half billion by today's standards. Major General William Tecumseh Sherman began his military career at the United States Military Academy where he graduated in 1840 as a Second Lieutenant. Once the Civil War broke out he was sent to the Mississippi area where he quickly distinguished himself and rose through the ranks. He was eventually placed in command of the forces charged with taking the Mississippi River and gained the respect of Lincoln. This gained him command of the Army of Tennessee and Georgia with which he was to split the deep south from the upper south, keeping the Confederate armies busy while Grant swept down from the North. Sherman’s daring move

Sherman began the move north in January of 1865. The only hope of Confederate resistance would be supplied by General P.G.T. Beauregard. He was putting together an army with whatever supplys he had left, but at best would only be able to get about 30,000 men. This would be no challenge to the combined forces of Schofield and Sherman. Sherman's plan was to march through South Carolina. His men would march in two ranks: One would travel northwest to give the impression of a press against Augusta and the other would march northeast toward Charleston. However the one true objective would be Columbia.

William Tecumseh Sherman was a soldier in the American Civil war who was praised for his strategy and criticized for his use of total war strategy. Total war is where there is no restrictions on weapons, objects or strategy used are all able to do. William Sherman followed this path with U.S Grant, the head of the Union army who did things like this. William Sherman helped general Grant with the battles of Fort Henry and Donelson, Shiloh then he got hold of the Western Theater of war. He then proceeded to attack Vicksburg which was on the MIssissippi River and also aided on the Chattanooga campaign, which let him take Atlanta and eventually led the Lincoln's re-election. Sherman’s parade of destruction then went into Georgia and the Carolinas,

Just yesterday, on November 15 1864, William T. Sherman has got permission from president Lincoln to invade Georgia during the Atlanta Campaign. He has already destroyed Atlanta, the capital city of Georgia. He claims that he will march to the Atlantic ocean, destroying every city that lays in his path all the way to Savannah. As of right now, he is unstoppable. He says that he wants to prove to the confederate government that they do not have the power to protect their people from invaders. Another reason he is doing this is because he wants to show the confederate states that the union will always have power that the CSA can not resist. One of his quotes are, " This may not be war, but rather statesmanship." Sherman is clearly making his

General Sherman’s war on the innocent southerners or on the confederates was the tactics used during his march for the good order and discipline of the Soldiers as outlined within the Articles of War. Sherman led 67,000 men on a 285 mile march to the ocean from Atlanta to Savannah Georgia. This march began on November 15 after taking Atlanta from the Confederate troops which was rich of supplies and ammunition that was needed to continue the war; December 21, 1864 when the march ended outside of Savannah, GA. The tactics that were used by Sherman and his men were brutal and costly not only to the Confederates but to the Southern people as a whole.

Around the final stages of the Civil War, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman used a tactic called “total war.” Total War is a type of war where nothing is off limits. This strategy allowed General Sherman to harm civilians and destroy everything in his path. Total War was used against the Confederacy by demolishing anything that would have been useful to the South. The Confederacy was already in a bad spot at this time of the war, but using this tactic made the South more vulnerable. I am not for this strategy, however I think it was reasonable for the Union to adopt this policy. It was reasonable for the Union to do this because they had to do what they could to make the Confederacy surrender as fast as they

In mid January 1865, Sherman led his troops out of Savannah with one city in his sights, Columbia South Carolina. Sherman was riding a wave high on fear from the local populace of what to not expect from him, would he destroy the town they lived in or would he spare them because he felt compassion towards them. Sherman’s soldiers were also on a high and felt nothing could kill them; a black chaplain from the 102d made a comment that one of the troops was ragged, unshaven and didn’t care who looked at him. Was this the downfall for Sherman and his veterans? Could they all be getting too cocky in their path of total destruction to realize they are not invincible? It seems as again that is not the case, regardless of the elements, lack of

Sherman’s March to the Sea a name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign. Major Sherman guided his Soldiers on a disastrous campaign which ended with the taking over port city of Savannah. Boldness is what it was known for and sheer destruction caused pain and suffering for the South affecting the industry and the military targets, effectively destroying the Confederate’s capacity to wage war. Major General Sherman operations in Georgia started in September of 1864, President Jefferson Davis visited the front. Later on down the line things had been aggressively pursed, the final suggestion caused Major General Sherman problems. Major General Sherman surrounded his bets by filling 2,000 wagons with a 15 day supply of bread, 35 days of sugar,