William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. Known as "bummers," foragers from the army became a common sight along its route of march. 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. 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. He captured Savannah, 285 miles (460 km) from Atlanta, on December 21. At the Battle of Buck Head Creek on November 28, Kilpatrick was surprised and nearly captured, but the 5th Ohio Cavalry halted Wheeler's advance, and Wheeler was later stopped decisively by Union barricades at Reynolds's Plantation. The infantry brigade of Brig. He eliminated Atlanta's war making potential and brought sheer destruction to Georgia, then offered generous surrender terms. On December 13, William B. Hazen's division of Howard's wing stormed the fort in the Battle of Fort McAllister and captured it within 15 minutes. General Sherman on the "March to the Sea," 1865 | In the fall of 1864, Gen. James H. Wilson took command of Gen. William T. Sherman’s cavalry. His vision of hard war brought the Confederacy to its knees, but forestalled thousands of battlefield and civilian deaths. Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was a contradiction embodied. VI. With the city secured, Sherman telegraphed President Abraham Lincoln with the message, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." Thousands who had been deceived by their lying papers into the belief that we were being whipped all the time, realized the truth, and have no appetite for a repetition of the same experience. CHAPTER XXI. On November 15, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman begins his … Former Southern Brigadier General Clement A. Evans asserted, for example, that there was no force available to obstruct Shermans soldiers. 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. 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 … "[25], According to a 2018 National Bureau of Economic Research paper which sought to measure the medium- and long-term economic impact of Sherman's March, "the capital destruction induced by the March led to a large contraction in agricultural investment, farming asset prices, and manufacturing activity. ", Mark E. Neely Jr, "Was the Civil War a Total War?. Presenting his plan to Grant, Sherman received approval and began making preparations to depart Atlanta on November 15, 1864. Relief shown by hachures. Kilpatrick slipped by the defensive line that Wheeler had placed near Brier Creek, but on the night of November 26 Wheeler attacked and drove the 8th Indiana and 2nd Kentucky Cavalry away from their camps at Sylvan Grove. General Sherman largely by-passed the city in 1864, but General Wilson did not in 1865. Many, many thanks for your Christmas gift, the capture of Savannah. Grant's armies in Virginia continued in a stalemate against Robert E. Lee's army, besieged in Petersburg, Virginia. [9] Still, Grant trusted Sherman's assessment and on November 2, 1864, he sent Sherman a telegram stating simply, "Go as you propose. [20] A Confederate officer estimated that 10,000 liberated slaves followed Sherman's army, and hundreds died of "hunger, disease, or exposure" along the way. [4] Sherman therefore planned an operation that has been compared to the modern principles of scorched earth warfare. With Ross McElwee, Dede McElwee, Ross McElwee Jr., Patricia Rendleman. For all of the ink written about Sherman and the way he burned, scorched and killed between Atlanta and Savannah, the monstrous event lasted only 22 days. Both U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant had serious reservations about Sherman's plans. At the former, Kilpatrick was surprised and nearly captured. Sherman selected Poe as his chief engineer in 1864. Todd Groce talked about Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's background, his "March to the Sea" campaign, and how General Sherman is remembered. Smith on November 30, Hatch moved to attack. More Union troops entered the campaign from an unlikely direction. Now that Sherman had contact with the Navy fleet under Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, he was able to obtain the supplies and siege artillery he required to invest Savannah. The second objective of the campaign was more traditional. 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 is an excerpt from the general's orders: ... IV. The first real resistance was felt by Howard's right wing at the Battle of Griswoldville on November 22. Such broad generalizations may assuage wounded Southern pride, but they also rewrite history. Geary telegraphed Sherman, who advised him to accept the offer. William T. Sherman. Sherman's armies reached the outskirts of Savannah on December 10 but found that Hardee had entrenched 10,000 men in favorable fighting positions, and his soldiers had flooded the surrounding rice fields, leaving only narrow causeways available to approach the city. Foragers, known as "bummers", would provide food seized from local farms for the Army while they destroyed the railroads and the manufacturing and agricultural infrastructure of Georgia. Slocum's wing, accompanied by Sherman, moved to the east, in the direction of Augusta. )[citation needed] He served in this capacity past the fall of Atlanta to the end of the war. He destroyed much of the South's potential and psychology to wage war. Behind us lay Atlanta, smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city. THE MARCH TO THE SEA FROM ATLANTA TO SAVANNAH. Union soldiers sang many songs during the March, but it is one written afterward that has come to symbolize the campaign: "Marching Through Georgia", written by Henry Clay Work in 1865. To accomplish this, Sherman intended to conduct a campaign designed to eliminate any resources that could be used by Confederate forces. Macon City Hall Macon City Hall - Built in 1837, City Hall was used as a Civil War hospital, then as Georgia's temporary capitol building during and after the March to the Sea. Hood had taken the bulk of forces in Georgia on his campaign to Tennessee in hopes of diverting Sherman to pursue him. American Civil War: General William T. Sherman, American Civil War : War in the West, 1863-1865, The Battle of Atlanta in the American Civil War, American Civil War: Battle of Jonesboro (Jonesborough), American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church, American Civil War: Major General Joseph Wheeler, American Civil War: Major General Carl Schurz, American Civil War: Andersonville Prison Camp, American Civil War: Major General Patrick Cleburne, American Civil War: Battle of Bentonville, M.S., Information and Library Science, Drexel University, B.A., History and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University. In planning for the march, Sherman used livestock and crop production data from the 1860 census to lead his troops through areas where he believed they would be able to forage most effectively. Rail depots, roundhouses, arsenals, and warehouses were torn down and the combustible materials then destroyed by controlled fires. 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. The purpose of Sherman’s March to the Sea was to frighten Georgia’s civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. [18], Sherman's scorched earth policies have always been highly controversial, and Sherman's memory has long been reviled by many Southerners. 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. That very day an additional 500 were transferred to Savannah lowering the prison's population even further. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. This page was last edited on 13 December 2020, at 06:23. As for horses, mules, wagons, &c., belonging to the inhabitants, the cavalry and artillery may appropriate freely and without limit, discriminating, however, between the rich, who are usually hostile, and the poor or industrious, usually neutral or friendly. [27] It was widely popular among US soldiers of 20th-century wars. Background In the wake of his successful campaign to capture Atlanta, Major General William T. Sherman began making plans for a march against Savannah. The March to the Sea for Floyd Legion started with a skirmish at Buckhead, just south of Madison, on Nov. 19, 1864, and ended in Savannah on Dec. 10, 1864. Nevin, David, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. Other articles where March to the Sea is discussed: American Civil War: Sherman’s Georgia campaigns and total war: …15, he commenced his great March to the Sea with 62,000 men, laying waste to the economic resources of Georgia in a 50-mile- (80-km-) wide swath of destruction. 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. On This Day: Union General Sherman’s scorched-earth March to the Sea campaign begins November 15, 2020 Grayman Share On This Day in History 0 On November 15, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman begins his expedition across Georgia by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines. With his supply lines reopened, Sherman began making plans to lay siege to Savannah. Smith's militia fought off the Union attacks, and Hatch withdrew after suffering about 650 casualties, versus Smith's 50. For the Savannah Campaign, Sherman's remaining force of 62,000 men (55,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and 2,000 artillerymen manning 64 guns) was divided into two columns for the march:[1], The Confederate opposition from Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida was meager. Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood was threatening Sherman's supply line from Chattanooga, and Sherman detached two armies under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas to deal with Hood in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Initially moving south, Howard's men pushed Confederate troops out of Lovejoy's Station before pressing on towards Macon. His forces followed a "scorched earth" policy, destroying military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property, disrupting the Confederacy's economy and transportation networks. Needing to link up with the US Navy to receive supplies, Sherman dispatched Brigadier General William Hazen's division to capture Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River. Known as "Sherman's Neckties," they became a common sight along the route of march. While Howard's wing was delayed near Ball's Bluff, the 1st Alabama Cavalry (a Federal regiment) engaged Confederate pickets. Gen. Kilpatrick's, killing one, wounding two and capturing 18. On November 15th, 1864 Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman, commander of the Grand Army of the West, embarked on a raid which would become known as the march to the sea designed to cut a 60 mile wide swath from Atlanta to Savannah. [19] Some who welcomed him as a liberator chose to follow his armies. To oppose Sherman's 62,000 men, Lieutenant General William J. Hardee, commanding the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida struggled to find men as Hood had largely stripped the region for his army. 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. The campaign began when Sherman's troops left the captured city of Atlanta, on November 15th. Consulting the crop and livestock data from the 1860 census, he planned a route that would inflict maximum damage upon the enemy. On November 25–26 at Sandersville, Wheeler struck at Slocum's advance guard. Some of the 134 Union casualties were caused by torpedoes, a name for crude land mines that were used only rarely in the war. Encountering Confederate troops led by General G.W. The initial assault was halted by Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry which in turn counterattacked. [6] The twisted and broken railroad rails that the troops heated over fires and wrapped around tree trunks and left behind became known as "Sherman's neckties". Union General Sherman’s scorched-earth March to the Sea campaign begins. Sherman's March to the Sea refers to a long stretch of devastating Union army movements that took place during the United States Civil War. By the time the war ended 750 k had died. Sherman and Wilson met and discussed various operations in Sherman’s "March to the Sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. I know that this recent movement of mine through Georgia has had a wonderful effect in this respect. 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. Sherman recounted in his memoirs the scene when he left at 7 a.m. the following day: Sherman’s March to the Sea. Shows routes of cavalry and of 14th, 15th, 17th, and 20th army corps. And taking the work of General Thomas into the count, as it should be taken, it is indeed a great success. By moving in Lee's rear, Sherman could possibly increase pressure on Lee, allowing Grant the opportunity to break through, or at least keep Southern reinforcements away from Virginia. "[24] David J. Eicher wrote that "Sherman had accomplished an amazing task. 120, regarding the conduct of the campaign. Now, the undertaking being a success, the honor is yours; for I believe none of us went further than to acquiesce. Through the course of the campaign, Hardee was able to utilize those troops still in Georgia as well as those brought in from Florida and the Carolinas. Kilpatrick abandoned his plans to destroy the railroad bridge and he also learned that the prisoners had been moved from Camp Lawton, so he rejoined the army at Louisville. 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. In the fighting that followed, Union infantry inflicted a severe defeat on the Confederates. It was total war. LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed. Despite these reinforcements, he seldom possessed more than 13,000 men. The following morning, the mayor of Savannah formally surrendered the city to Sherman. Ohioan William Tecumseh Sherman, a general in the Union army during the American Civil War, is best known for his March to the Sea. Rhodes, James Ford. Gen. William H. Jackson, had approximately 10,000 troopers. Known as "Sherman's March to the Sea," the campaign through Georgia effectively eliminated the region's economic usefulness to the Confederate cause. 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. Still, Grant trusted Sherman's assessment and on November 2, 1864, he sent Sherman a telegram stating simply, "Go as you propose." Not only does it afford the obvious and immediate military advantages, but, in showing to the world that your army could be divided, putting the stronger part to an important new service, and yet leaving enough to vanquish the old opposing force of the whole - Hood’s army - it brings those who sat in darkness to see a great light. Dividing his forces in three, Sherman advanced along two major routes with Major General Oliver O. Howard's Army of the Tennessee on the right and Major General Henry Slocum's Army of Georgia on the left. Finally realizing that Savannah was Sherman's target, Hardee began concentrating his men to defend the city, while ordering Major General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry to attack the Union flanks and rear. One of the most infamous campaigns of the Civil War was William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia to the Sea. 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. As Sherman advanced to the sea, Thomas' men destroyed Hood's army at the Battles of Franklin and Nashville. The cavalry captured two Confederate guns at Lovejoy's Station, and then two more and 50 prisoners at Bear Creek Station. The Armies of the Cumberland and Ohio were detached under the command of Major General George H. Thomas with orders to guard Sherman's rear against the remnants of General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee. Several small actions followed. The March. Sherman." I suppose it will be safer if I leave General Grant and yourself to decide. Poe oversaw the burning of Atlanta, for which action he was honored by Sherman. The operation broke the back of the Confederacy and helped lead to its eventual surrender. The 300-mile (480 km) march began on November 15. He had defied military principles by operating deep within enemy territory and without lines of supply or communication. [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'. To this end, each brigade commander will organize a good and sufficient foraging party, under the command of one or more discreet officers, who will gather, near the route traveled, corn or forage of any kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, corn-meal, or whatever is needed by the command, aiming at all times to keep in the wagons at least ten day's provisions for the command and three days' forage. Wilson’s instructions were to prevent Confederate Gen. John B. In all foraging, of whatever kind, the parties engaged will refrain from abusive or threatening language, and may, where the officer in command thinks proper, give written certificates of the facts, but no receipts, and they will endeavor to leave with each family a reasonable portion for their maintenance. Atlanta fell to Sherman's Army in early September 1864. Slightly more than 100 Union officers and men were killed and 430 were wounded. In the wake of his successful campaign to capture Atlanta, Major General William T. Sherman began making plans for a march against Savannah. Unwilling to give in, Hardee escaped with his command over the Savannah River on December 20 using an improvised pontoon bridge. Falling back, he was reinforced and was able to halt Wheeler's advance. V. To army corps commanders alone is entrusted the power to destroy mills, houses, cotton-gins, &c., and for them this general principle is laid down: In districts and neighborhoods where the army is unmolested no destruction of such property should be permitted; but should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest our march, or should the inhabitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, or otherwise manifest local hostility, then army commanders should order and enforce a devastation more or less relentless according to the measure of such hostility. Entrenched in a strong position, Hardee refused to surrender and remained determined to defend the city. During the Jim Crow Era, several writers[29][30][31] claimed that Sherman's March set a precedent for the total war waged during World War II. The campaign began with Sherman's troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta on November 15 and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. When Sherman began his March to the Sea on November 15, 1864, there were less than 200 prisoners in the stockade and less than 2,000 in the hospital. Wheeler and some infantry struck in a rearguard action at Ball's Ferry on November 24 and November 25. Confederate Maj. Gen. Wheeler's cavalry struck Brig. 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. 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]. How Did Sherman's March End the Civil War? Sherman's March to the Sea took place from November 15 to December 22, 1864, during the American Civil War. The Confederate's evasive tactics doomed Sherman's plan to achieve victory on the battlefield so he developed an alternative strategy: destroy the South by laying waste to its economic and transportation infrastructure. by Warfare History Network. 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. During the march, Sherman's forces would cut loose from their supply lines and would live off the land. GPS: 32.8517, -83.6364 R10. 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. Soldiers must not enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, or commit any trespass, but during a halt or a camp they may be permitted to gather turnips, apples, and other vegetables, and to drive in stock of their camp. Both U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant had serious reservations about Sherman's plans. (However, Poe was incensed at the level of uncontrolled arson by marauding soldiers not of his unit which resulted in heavy damage to civilian homes. Arriving outside Savannah on December 10, Sherman found that Hardee had flooded the fields outside the city which limited access to a few causeways. Hardee decided not to surrender but to escape. General Sherman’s March to the Sea, also known as the Savannah Campaign, was conducted through Georgia from November 15 to December 21, 1864. Sherman's March to the Sea. On the 12th of November the railroad and telegraph communications with the rear were broken, and the army stood detached from all friends, dependent on its own resources and supplies. "[10] The 300-mile (480 km) march began on November 15. He devoted the next few weeks to chasing Confederate troops through northern Georgia in a vain attempt to lure them into a decisive fight. He also continued to supervise destruction of Confederate infrastructure. ", 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. These orders have been depicted in popular culture as the origin of the "40 acres and a mule" promise. 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. Sherman himself estimated that the campaign had inflicted $100 million (about $1.6 billion in 2020 dollars)[22] in destruction, about one fifth of which "inured to our advantage" while the "remainder is simple waste and destruction". Brigade under Brig Hatch from Hilton Head, hoping to assist Sherman 's men pushed Confederate troops of! / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain forestalled thousands of battlefield and civilian.. Officers of the campaign began when Sherman 's March to the end of the capital! Battle of Waynesboro after several assaults against the Confederate cause more Union troops entered campaign. 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