Sherman’s March to the Sea

WAR HERO OR WAR CRIMINAL?

Grant’s right hand general.Fought with Grant in the West.Most noted for this saying; “War is h_ _ _ _ and the worse you make it the sooner it will be over.”Put in charge of the Army of the West after Lincoln appoints Grant as head of all Union troops.Responsible for the March to the Sea and using “total war” in destroying the South.

Tactic of war where the Union marched through the South and destroyed all resources the civilian population needed to survive.Goal: To make war as horrible and destructive as possible to force your enemy to surrender.Total war brings the civilian population into the war to demoralize the enemy and force them to surrender.It is “in your face warfare” or you (South) started this war and until you surrender, we will destroy the you.

Total War

Sherman’s

MarchthroughGeorgiato the

Sea, 1864

Burnt out buildings in Atlanta after Sherman’s troops marched through.

Burnt out buildings in Atlanta.

Union soldiers in Atlanta destroying railroad lines.

Destruction of railroad lines during Sherman’s March to the Sea.

Atlanta railroad depot destroyed.

Destruction of downtown Atlanta.

Georgia family fleeing Sherman’s March throughGeorgia.

Buildings destroyed. Chimneysare the only things standing.

*Union troops laid waste to Atlanta destroying businesses, farms, homes and transportation—stayed for 2 months.*Sherman’s “March to the Sea” destroyed everything in a 60 mile wide path 300 miles to the Atlantic…$100 million damage

*Chose not to burn Savannah—bales of cotton, unable to be exported due to the blockade, had been accumulating in warehouses; Sherman sent it to the North and it sold for $28 million

*Lower South cut off from the rest of the Confederacy!!!

*This effectively ended the war for Georgia

From Sherman to Lincoln on December 22, 1864.

“I beg to present you as aChristmas gift, the city ofSavannah, with one hundred guns and plenty of ammunition, and also abouttwenty-five thousand bales of cotton.”

“Many, many thanks foryour Christmas gift-thecapture of Savannah.”

Letter from Lincoln to ShermanDecember 26th, 1864

Savannah was at a hinge point of the campaign across Georgia and then north to the Carolinas. As Savannah was a major port it served as a good base from which to launch the next phase of Sherman's march. An intact Savannah was more useful to the overall campaign.

Why Was Savannah Spared?

Green-Meldrim House

Sherman’s headquarters in Savannah untilFebruary 1865, when theUnion troops moved on.

Today the house is a National Historic Landmark.

The End of the Civil War

*Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House,Virginia.*On April 26th, confederate General Joseph Johnston surrendered to Shermanin North Carolina. By late May, all the other Confederate generals had surrendered. The Confederacy simply disappeared.*As the tired, ragged, and hungry Confederate troops came home, many stole Food, and other items along the way, continuing the chaos war had brought.*Both sides paid dearly in the war: over 260,000 Confederate soldiers and 360,000 Union soldiers were dead. Thousands of others were wounded; left crippled or blind.

Lee’s surrender atAppomattox Court House.

Union soldiers posing for picture at the Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

Close-up of the Union soldiers posing in front of Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

Appomattox Court House, Virginia today.