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Why Sherman Burned Georgia To The Ground

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The North takes a lead with Sherman behind it all. On February 17, 1865 Sherman captures South Carolina leading him up to burn Georgia to the ground. From Atlanta to Savannah, Sherman covers 450 miles in 50 days leaving a 40 by 50 mile wide path of destruction. Some people refer to it as “Sherman’s March To The Sea”. William Sherman becomes the terror of the South as he burns everything in his path. William Sherman believed that capturing Georgia would be effective and psychological as fighting. Sherman then has his troops circle Atlanta in July, forcing Hood to abandon Georgia on September 1, 1864. He captures Georgia the next day which was a major part of “Sherman’s March Towards Sea” because Atlanta had railroads and was the industrial center of Georgia. Another reason Sherman burned Georgia to the ground is because Atlanta had warehouses that stored most of the Confederate Army's food. Burning most of …show more content…

Only to reach Savannah and find it well defended. On December 13 a Union division lead by William B. Hazen captures Fort McAllister located on the coastline of Georgia. This allowed Sherman’s men to link up with the Navy Ships holding supplies. They prepared to surround the town of Savannah and the Confederate forces escaped, forcing the city to surrender to Sherman on December 21. Born in Lancaster Ohio on February 8th, 1820. William Tecumseh Sherman was named after Shawnee Chief Tecumseh. His dad passed away when Sherman was just 9, then to be raised by family friends and his mother. Going on to study at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point New York. William Sherman resigned from the army in 1853. William joins a banking firm in San Francisco which turns out to be unsuccessful. When the Civil War broke out Sherman resigns from banking and with the help of his brother Senator John Sherman he gets an appointment that will determine the rest of his military

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