general sherman's march to the sea

Despite these reinforcements, he seldom possessed more than 13,000 men. ", Mark E. Neely Jr, "Was the Civil War a Total War?. 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 … [27] It was widely popular among US soldiers of 20th-century wars. We stood upon the very ground whereon was fought the bloody battle of July 22d, and could see the copse of wood where McPherson fell. The following is an excerpt from the general's orders: ... IV. Consulting the crop and livestock data from the 1860 census, he planned a route that would inflict maximum damage upon the enemy. "[14] On December 26, the president replied in a letter:[15]. Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. Confederate States presidential election of 1861, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea&oldid=993929872, Campaigns of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, Military operations of the American Civil War in Georgia (U.S. state), Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Articles needing additional references from December 2015, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. On September 1, 1864, Sherman and his army captured Atlanta, Georgia, an important transportation center in the Confederacy. This campaign was under the leadership of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. Several small actions followed. In the wake of his successful campaign to capture Atlanta, Major General William T. Sherman began making plans for a march against Savannah. During the remainder of November and in early December, numerous minor battles were fought, such as Buck Head Creek and Waynesboro, as Sherman's men pushed relentlessly on towards Savannah. Some of the 134 Union casualties were caused by torpedoes, a name for crude land mines that were used only rarely in the war. Dozens of river crossings, poor or non-existent roads, and the extensive swamps of southern Georgia would have fatally slowed Sherman's force had not Poe's skills as leader of the bridge, road and pontoon building units kept the army moving. Union General Sherman’s scorched-earth March to the Sea campaign begins. Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah Campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. To the north, Slocum's two corps moved east then southeast towards the state capital at Milledgeville. To accomplish this, Sherman intended to conduct a campaign designed to eliminate any resources that could be used by Confederate forces. General Sherman set out to “make Georgia howl,” and preferred, as he said, to “march through that State smashing things to the sea.” He wrote to Grant after his march through South Carolina, saying: “The people of South Carolina, instead of feeding Lee’s army, will now call on … Sherman's decision to operate deep within enemy territory and without supply lines is considered to be one of the major campaigns of the war, and is considered by some historians to be an early example of modern total war. To ensure that adequate supplies were gathered, Sherman issued strict orders regarding foraging and the seizure of material from the local population. Smith on November 30, Hatch moved to attack. "[10] The 300-mile (480 km) march began on November 15. Prime meridian: Washington. Poe oversaw the burning of Atlanta, for which action he was honored by Sherman. At the same time, Slocum's left wing approached the state capital at Milledgeville, prompting the hasty departure of Governor Joseph Brown and the state legislature. Now, the undertaking being a success, the honor is yours; for I believe none of us went further than to acquiesce. General William T. Sherman has destroyed Atlanta and is confident he can break his supply lines and march his 60,000+ army east to the sea at Savannah,Georgia.. Shermans army will live off the land and “make Georgia howl”, inflicting the demoralization to the countryside and state that he knew would break the will of the south. I suppose it will be safer if I leave General Grant and yourself to decide. [13], Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. VI. At the Battle of Honey Hill on November 30, Hatch fought a vigorous battle against G.W. The March attracted a huge number of refugees, to whom Sherman assigned land with his Special Field Orders No. He captured Savannah, 285 miles (460 km) from Atlanta, on December 21. 120, regarding the conduct of the campaign. He destroyed much of the South's potential and psychology to wage war. Now From November 15 until December 21, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. These orders have been depicted in popular culture as the origin of the "40 acres and a mule" promise. As the army would be out of touch with the North throughout the campaign, Sherman gave explicit orders, Sherman's Special Field Orders, No. History >> Civil War General Sherman's march through the state of Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah was one of the most devastating blows to the South in the American Civil War. Once in Savannah he would turn north through South and North Carolina and Read more about Shermans March to the Sea[…] Sherman was blocked from linking up with the U.S. Navy as he had planned, so he dispatched cavalry to Fort McAllister, guarding the Ogeechee River, in hopes of unblocking his route and obtaining supplies awaiting him on the Navy ships. Iowa State University thesis, 2011. The next morning, Savannah Mayor Richard Dennis Arnold, with a delegation of aldermen and ladies of the city, rode out (until they were unhorsed by fleeing Confederate cavalrymen) to offer a proposition: The city would surrender and offer no resistance, in exchange for General Geary's promise to protect the city's citizens and their property. Elements of the decline in agriculture persisted through 1920."[26]. THE MARCH TO THE SEA FROM ATLANTA TO SAVANNAH. The 300-mile (480 km) march began on November 15. Known as "Sherman's March to the Sea," the campaign through Georgia effectively eliminated the region's economic usefulness to the Confederate cause. Wilson’s instructions were to prevent Confederate Gen. John B. He eliminated Atlanta's war making potential and brought sheer destruction to Georgia, then offered generous surrender terms. Sherman and Wilson met and discussed various operations in Sherman’s "March to the Sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. [18], Sherman's scorched earth policies have always been highly controversial, and Sherman's memory has long been reviled by many Southerners. William T. Sherman. Slightly more than 100 Union officers and men were killed and 430 were wounded. It seized 5,000 horses, 4,000 mules, and 13,000 head of cattle. He and the Union Army's commander, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, believed that the Civil War would come to an end only if the Confederacy's strategic capacity for warfare was decisively broken. Arriving outside Savannah on December 10, Sherman found that Hardee had flooded the fields outside the city which limited access to a few causeways. When you were about leaving Atlanta for the Atlantic coast, I was anxious, if not fearful; but feeling that you were the better judge, and remembering that 'nothing risked, nothing gained,' I did not interfere. A Christmas Present for President Lincoln, American Civil War: Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Civil War: Major General George H. Thomas, American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek. This page was last edited on 13 December 2020, at 06:23. [17], Letter, Sherman to Henry W. Halleck, December 24, 1864. The campaign was designed by Grant and Sherman to be similar to Grant's innovative and successful Vicksburg Campaign and Sherman's Meridian Campaign, in that Sherman's armies would reduce their need for traditional supply lines by "living off the land" after consuming their 20 days of rations. On December 17, he contacted Hardee with a warning that he would begin shelling the city if it were not surrendered. It was led by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. 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. [23] Military historians Herman Hattaway and Archer Jones cited the significant damage wrought to railroads and Southern logistics in the campaign and stated that "Sherman's raid succeeded in 'knocking the Confederate war effort to pieces'. Former Southern Brigadier General Clement A. Evans asserted, for example, that there was no force available to obstruct Shermans soldiers. As they approached Savannah, additional Union troops entered the fray as 5,500 men, under Brigadier General John P. Hatch, descended from Hilton Head, SC in an attempt to cut the Charleston & Savannah Railroad near Pocotaligo. ", Western Theater of the American Civil War, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Civil War This Week: Oct 27-Nov 2, 1864", "Capital Destruction and Economic Growth: The Effects of Sherman's March, 1850-1920", "Historical markers illustrate overlooked stories", Today in Georgia History: March to the Sea, Today in Georgia History: Sherman in Savannah, National Park Service battle descriptions for the Savannah Campaign, National Park Service report on preservation and historic boundaries at the Savannah Campaign battlefields, New Georgia Encyclopedia article on the March, Noah Andre Trudeau Webcast Author Lecture, Georgia Public Broadcasting: 37 weeks - Sherman on the March, Georgia Constitutional Convention of 1861, List of Union Civil War monuments and memorials, List of memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic, List of Confederate monuments and memorials, Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials. On December 17, he sent a message to Hardee in the city: I have already received guns that can cast heavy and destructive shot as far as the heart of your city; also, I have for some days held and controlled every avenue by which the people and garrison of Savannah can be supplied, and I am therefore justified in demanding the surrender of the city of Savannah, and its dependent forts, and shall wait a reasonable time for your answer, before opening with heavy ordnance. Gen. Charles C. Walcutt arrived to stabilize the defense, and the division of Georgia militia launched several hours of badly coordinated attacks, eventually retreating with about 1,100 casualties (of which about 600 were prisoners), versus the Union's 100. Maj. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith's Georgia militia had about 3,050 soldiers, most of whom were boys and elderly men. 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. Ohioan William Tecumseh Sherman, a general in the Union army during the American Civil War, is best known for his March to the Sea. Sherman recounted in his memoirs the scene when he left at 7 a.m. the following day: ... We rode out of Atlanta by the Decatur road, filled by the marching troops and wagons of the Fourteenth Corps; and reaching the hill, just outside of the old rebel works, we naturally paused to look back upon the scenes of our past battles. On December 20, he led his men across the Savannah River on a makeshift pontoon bridge. In the resulting Battle of Honey Hill, Hatch's men were forced to withdraw after several assaults against the Confederate entrenchments failed. Although his formal orders (excerpted below) specified control over destruction of infrastructure in areas in which his army was unmolested by guerrilla activity, he recognized that supplying an army through liberal foraging would have a destructive effect on the morale of the civilian population it encountered in its wide sweep through the state.[5]. The following spring, Sherman launched his final campaign of the war north into the Carolinas, before finally receiving the surrender of General Joseph Johnston on April 26, 1865. Gen. William H. Jackson, had approximately 10,000 troopers. Slaves' opinions varied concerning the actions of Sherman and his army. With his supply lines reopened, Sherman began making plans to lay siege to Savannah. Geary telegraphed Sherman, who advised him to accept the offer. ", John Bennett Walters, "General William T. Sherman and total war. Smith's 1,500 Georgia militiamen, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Grahamville Station, South Carolina. Available also through the Library of Congress web site as raster image. During the campaign, the Confederate War Department brought in additional men from Florida and the Carolinas, but they never were able to increase their effective force beyond 13,000.[8]. Sherman came to dislike the song, in part because he was never one to rejoice over a fallen foe, and in part because it was played at almost every public appearance that he attended. On November 23, Slocum's troops captured the city and held a mock legislative session in the capitol building, jokingly voting Georgia back into the Union.[12]. Following an arduous trek of more than 100 miles against the resourceful resistance of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, Sherman succeeded in … The infantry brigade of Brig. 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