William T. Sherman Essay

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

William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8th, 1820. He served in battles like the battle of Bull Run, and the battle of Shiloh. He was also in the Vicksburg Campaign, the Jackson Expedition, the Chattanooga expedition, the Meridian Campaign, the Atlanta campaign, and the Savannah Campaign. He was also known as a great businessman, lawyer, college superintendent,

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.

Grants skilled and well planned military success in the West boosted his proud reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as the new and better General - In - Chief of the Union. When Grant’s army captured the mighty Mississippi we were able to cut the supply lines,

The entire truly tragic sense of the Lost Cause was that the South’s men knew their cause was lost, they knew there was really no way they could possibly win, and yet they fought on with tremendous bravery and dedication. The Civil War was such a poignant and even heart-wrenching time (Bowman, 2006, p.756). Despite the long-held notion that the South had all of the better generals, it really had only one good Army commander and that was General Lee. The rest were second-raters, at best (Donald, 1996, pp. 9-21). The North, on the other hand, had the good fortune of bringing along and nurturing people like Ulysses Grant, William Sherman, Philip Sheridan, George Thomas, and others.

Sherman to move into Georgia, and General Franz Sigel to clear the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Despite the failure of Butler and Sigel and heavy losses at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, Grant continued to press the drive against General Robert E. Lee's army. After Sherman's success in Georgia and the conquest of the Shenandoah Valley by General Philip H. Sheridan, Grant forced Lee to abandon Petersburg and Richmond and to surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9.

Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman observed to a Southern friend that, "In all history, no nation of mere agriculturists ever made successful war against a nation of mechanics. . . .You are bound to fail." While Sherman 's statement proved to be correct, its flaw is in its assumption of a decided victory for the North and failure to account for the long years of difficult fighting it took the Union to secure victory. Unquestionably, the war was won and lost on the battlefield, but there were many factors that swayed the war effort in favor of the North and impeded the South 's ability to stage a successful campaign.

General Ulysses S. Grant was a brilliant strategist and seemed to be able to plan out movements in advance. The people of the North thought the tremendous casualties to be horrendous. But Grant knew that the South’s casualties to be much more than the North’s. Grant did have the support and trust of the North though and his record did well to deserve that support. His commanders trusted his completely. Grant’s idea of “Total War” was to break down the infrastructure of the South. The Siege of Petersburg which lasted almost years, then the capture of Richmond is among the battles Grant engaged in while south of the James

guidance. Due to the leadership and friendship that General Grant gave to General Sherman he

Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman observed to a Southern friend that, "In all history, no nation of mere agriculturists ever made successful war against a nation of mechanics. . . .You are bound to fail." While Sherman's statement proved to be correct, its flaw is in its assumption of a decided victory for the North and failure to account for the long years of difficult fighting it took the Union to secure victory. Unquestionably, the war was won and lost on the battlefield, but there were many factors that swayed the war effort in favor of the North and impeded the South's ability to stage a successful campaign.

The leader of the north was William T. Sherman and the leader of the south was John Bell Hood. The casualties of the south was 8,500 and the casualties of the north was 3,600. This war happened in July 22, 1864, in Atlanta Fulton County, Georgia. In the battle Atlanta was fought on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta,Georgia. Union forces commanded by William T. hub, defeated confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood.After ordering the evacuation of the evacuation of the city Sherman burned most of the buildings in the city, military or not . After taking the city. Sherman headed south toward savannah, beginning his Sherman’s march to the Sea.

Do you know who Ulysses S. Grant is? You should because he is our 18th president of the United States, and was general of the Union in the civil war. General Grant has became an incredible leader, good strategizer, and in all a national hero.

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.

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.

Sherman lived with several friends and family. The one who raised him when he was nine is Thomas Ewing. He soon enrolled in military school and graduated in the sixth place from his whole class. His early life was difficult. He was moving from place to place until he was nine. His mother, Mary Hoyt, was a stay at home mother.