On September 1, 1864 Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, Commander of the Military Division of Army of Mississippi with his Union troops, had successfully captured Atlanta from the Confederate Army led by Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. At that time Atlanta considered as the heart of the South for the Southerns and for the Confederate Army. On the other hand “Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant General in chief of the U.S. Army believed that the Civil War would come to an end only if the Confederacy 's strategic, economic, and psychological capacity for warfare were decisively broken” . So after the south had lost their most important railroad junctions and their important productive manufacturing centers, Sherman would now fight the last battle to make it more difficult for the southern Confederacy.
On November 15, 1864 Sherman and his 60,000 Union troops left Atlanta and start marching to Savannah port on the Atlantic Ocean, expecting to face 13,000 troops from the Confederate Army led by LTG. William J. Hardee. On December 12, the Union army arrived near Savannah, and on the night of December 20–21, the Confederates filed out of their trenches and headed north and left the city without protection. On the morning of December 21, 1864 Mayor Richard D. Arnold formally surrendered Savannah to the Union army, Sherman had telegrammed Washington D.C presenting Savannah as a Christmas gift to President Lincoln.
Here in my essay, I will write through research and analysis about a specific subject
The American Civil War has become a point of controversy and argument when discussing key events in shaping America. The arguments that arise when discussing the war tend to focus on whether the Confederate was constitutionally justified in seceding, or whether the North had the right to prevent the secession. However, when discussing the America Civil War and the idea of separation, it is important to be mindful that separation did not simply end at the state level. Letters written by Jesse Rolston, Jr. and Jedediah Hotchkiss portray two significantly different attitudes toward the war, despite the fact that the writers both fought for the Confederate States and give accounts of the same battle, one of which ended in the Confederate’s favor. When examining the documents, both writers express different viewpoints on life on and off the battlefield. This significant difference represents a division amongst the Confederate army.
Grant began to make plans for a campaign against Vicksburg. The campaign in the American Civil War culminating in the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863. General Ulysses S. Grant with the largest force, about 67, 000 men. I was to guard rail communications and occupy towns in the Union. It held territory in the west, but he would concentrate on taking Vicksburg. Vicksburg is the last principal confederate bastion on the
The March through Georgia and South Carolina, lead by General William Techumseh Sherman, was the turning point in the American Civil War. There had been heavy fighting in Tennessee and Kentucky. General Sherman requested permission to take a very large army to the Atlantic Ocean through North and South Carolina, Georgia, then turning North back through the Carolinas and then Virginia. He would divide the Confederate states by blazing a path through the middle of them, foraging and destroying anything of military importance to the Confederates. General Sherman's March achieved his goal, from a military standpoint, but the way his army accomplished it, many southerners say was despicable. The most famous portion of
No other war seems to hold our focus like the Civil War. Scholars have chosen to make it their life's work, authors have written reams about it, and we all feel some kind of connection to the Civil War. This paper was created to highlight some of the major battles that took place during that conflict. Major battles usually marked a drastic change in the momentum from one side to the other or led to massive losses of troops. These battles and their results all played a huge part in the outcome of the war.
SC acting as the highest authority during the capture of the city. The events after the
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
William Tecumseh Sherman was one of eleven children born to a distinguished Ohio family. Sherman was orphaned at a young age and was enrolled in the United States Military Academy by his legal guardian, Senator Thomas Ewing. He graduated sixth in his class, but never saw extensive action on the battlefield. He tried other professions for a few years, but the outbreak of the Civil War called him back into service. During the early years of the war he served in the battles of Bull Run, Ft. Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg, and slowly moved up the chain of command. Following his successful capture of Jackson, Mississippi, Sherman was promoted to Commander of the Western Theatre, by his boss and friend, General Ulysses S. Grant. It was after this promotion that Sherman set out for the Southern industrial hub of Atlanta and soon after began the famous March to the Sea ("William T. Sherman."). This march, from Atlanta to Savannah, was about two hundred and eighty five miles long and lasted for about three weeks. Sherman’s men stole food and livestock, burned houses and barns, and attempted to scare the state of Georgia into surrender and collapse the Confederate war effort. During this time, Sherman and his men encountered little resistance. The only battle was a small skirmish outside the town of Griswoldsville that the Union won handily. After this failure, the Confederates began to retreat and initiated a scorched earth policy.
Sherman lead Union forces into battle to take control of the city of Atlanta, Georgia. This was part of a plan known as the Atlanta campaign that was constructed by Sherman under Commander in Chief Ulysses S. Grant. According to Facts on File, Inc. “Plans for the capture of Atlanta, the Confederacy’s largest railroad hub… were first formulated in February and March 1864” (2009). This was about four to five months before Sherman had led the union into Atlanta. Sherman’s plan which was revealed in April, was described to destroy railroads in order to cease the transportation of supplies that confederate troops needed, as well as make Joseph E. Johnston’s army of Confederate soldiers retreat back to Atlanta forcing them to surrender. A month after on May 5, 1864 Union soldiers attacked Confederates at Dalton, Georgia and attacked Resaca four days later. On May 12 Johnston led his soldiers to meet the Union army at Resaca where his army would battle Union soldiers from May 13 to May 15. Although Confederates had driven Union soldiers back on the second day of battle, after Johnston received reports telling him of the Unions success in gaining position he decided not to attack on the following morning and instead retreated his soldiers to Calhoun and Adairsville. Following this evacuation, Confederates were supposed to ambush Union soldiers on Cassville road, they were all positioned by May 19 in the morning, but the army retreated and waited for Union soldiers to attack
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
The date was December 10th 1864, just a little over three years after the beginning of the civil war, and the Union Army was waiting just outside the city of Savannah. Just 25 days earlier General Sherman and his Union Army had left the city of Atlanta after its seizure and were now poised to try the same thing in Savannah . The only thing standing in their way of completing this task was the formidable Fort McAllister. The Union Army, if it were able to seize the Fort would complete the seizure of the city of Savannah and open up a valuable resupply route to the sea. The man chosen to complete this task was General William Babcock Hazen, commander of the 15th Corps.
Introduction: Sherman’s March was a military campaign that started in Georgia and was formed November 15 until December 21, 1864. ( “Shermans March to Sea”). Sherman’s March was also known as the Savannah campaign only because the March ended in the capture of port Savannah. ( “Sherman’s March to Sea”). The March was led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. (“Sherman’s March to Sea”).Sherman’s March had many negative effects on the north and south, but it ended as a win for the north. (Union army). It was classified as a win for the union(North) because it is known for its boldness as well as the utter destruction on the South, both to its industry as well as military targets, effectively destroying the Confederate’s capacity to wage war. (History Net).
Before the fall of Atlanta, various battles resulting in Union defeat had left crushed hopes for the Union, General Sherman even having to stand down from his attacks on Kennesaw Mountain and Pigeon Hill when he foresaw their defeat. Despite this, he remained resilient and due to Atlanta’s role as a significant rail and supply hub for the Confederacy, the Union targeted the city and General Sherman consequently cut through Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah in a blaze of flames after evacuating its citizens, crushing the Confederate army’s supplies and morale. His success not only ensured Abraham Lincoln’s reelection but also wreaked havoc across vital Confederate railroads, damaging the Confederacy’s war efforts beyond repair. The reelection of Abraham Lincoln boosted the spirits of the Union and secured Union victory in the nearby
An important series of battles, during the American Civil War, the March to Atlanta, took place in northern Georgia. The Union forces were led by General Sherman with General Johnston commanding the Confederate forces. The Union troops had two objectives, to defeat Johnston’s army and to take the city of Atlanta (Mitchell). The Confederate had three objectives, to defeat the Union armies, to defend Atlanta, and to extend the war for as long as possible (Mitchell). By delaying General Sherman’s arrival in Atlanta, the Confederate armies hoped that the North would believe that the war was too expensive and ultimately blame President Lincoln. The effects of the march to Atlanta would be long term, as the fall of Atlanta unified the Republican
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.
Ultimately, this plan would work wonders for the North. The most effective demonstration of this psychological warfare was enacted by Sherman following his capture of Atlanta, just days before Lincoln was re-elected. This military campaign was known as Sherman's March, and involved the Union military leader's decision to burn everything in his path as he attempted to march straight towards the seas. This included not only Confederate supplies and fortifications but also personal property of civilians and important civilian mainstays such as stores and other civic structures. In fact, Sherman made an attempt to spare absolutely nothing as he