This, he thought, would force Sherman to turn around and go after Hood, lest his supply line be broken. General Grant arranged two campaigns for the year 1864. Sherman’s March to the Sea Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was a contradiction embodied. How should the actions of these men be remembered and judged? D) The South continued to fight and win several small skirmishes. The South. The initial assault was halted by Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry which in turn counterattacked. Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on February 8, 1820, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1840. The vote count for the latest United States presidential election shows the Democratic Party winning Georgia—for the first time since 1992. B) The South was broken psychologically and lost its will to fight. Arriving outside Savannah on December 10, Sherman found that Hardee had flooded the fields outside the city which limited access to a few causeways. Despite this important Union victory, the Confederate government and many of its citizens remained committed to the war effort. Sherman's use of total war helped the Union win the American Civil War. William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. Smith on November 30, Hatch moved to attack. To ensure that adequate supplies were gathered, Sherman issued strict orders regarding foraging and the seizure of material from the local population. C) The South gave their slaves their freedom and enlisted them to fight against the North. What did the March accomplish? Background In the wake of his successful campaign to capture Atlanta, Major General William T. Sherman began making plans for a march against Savannah. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, 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. William Sherman general of the union in the battle of Sherman's March to the sea destroyed all of Confederacy's resources and they eventually gave up. General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln opposed this plan at first, but Sherman convinced them of its importance. In short, the March to the Sea demonstrates not that Sherman was a brute, but that he wanted to wage a war that did not result in countless deaths. In 1864, General William T. Sherman began his Atlanta campaign. . On April 26, 1865, Sherman accepted the surrender of Johnston’s army near Durham, North Carolina. In this video, we ask how bad was it? Hood proposed to march his army around Sherman’s and get in his rear. Known as "Sherman's Neckties," they became a common sight along the route of march. He decided that he would permit his men to supply themselves from civilians along the march. This is a well-rounded, comprehensive book documenting Sherman’s march to the sea, including the capture of Savannah, told from the perspective of participants on both sides, including civilians. As the Northerners began their 285-mile march south and east to Savannah, Hood led his Confederate army on a raid into Tennessee. This was the importance of Sherman's March To The Sea. Not only did he take control of Atlanta, a major railroad hub, and Savannah, a major sea port, but he laid the land between Atlanta and Savannah to waste, destroying all that was in his path. How Did Sherman's March End the Civil War? The use of total war achieved Sherman's desired effect. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Pictures Sherman's March to the Sea Quote from the Battle "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." Sherman was a believer in total war. How Union Army Major General William Tecumseh Sherman led a force of 60.000 infantry and 5500 Union Calvary on a punitive march, known as Sherman's March to the Sea, through the Confederacy in late 1964 to … As a result of Hood's action, fewer than five thousand Confederate soldiers under General Joseph Wheeler stood between Sherman's army and Savannah. 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. Sherman pursued only at first. Sherman left behind his supply train. Departing Atlanta by different routes, the Howard and Slocum's columns attempted to confuse Hardee as to their ultimate objective with Macon, Augusta, or Savannah as possible destinations. So on Nov. 15, 1864, Sherman’s army set out from Atlanta on its infamous March to the Sea, cutting a swath of destruction toward Savannah on the coast. Standard histories of Major General William T. Shermans celebrated March to the Sea invariably portray the Confederacys response as inconsequential. In his report of the march to the sea, Sherman declared that he had destroyed the railroads for more than 100 miles, and had consumed the corn and fodder in the region of country 30 miles on either side of a line from Atlanta to Savannah, as also the sweet potatoes, cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry, and carried away more than 10,000 horses and mules, as well as a countless number of slaves. One of the most infamous campaigns of the Civil War was William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia to the Sea. Shermans March to the Sea . With Anne J. Bailey, Thomas Y. Cartwright, Matthew Davis, Dale Dye. Initially moving south, Howard's men pushed Confederate troops out of Lovejoy's Station before pressing on towards Macon. List 3 major advantages and disadvantages of each side. The depleted Confederate forces in the South were able to offer little resistance to the Union army as it cut a swath of destruction across Georgia during Sherman's March to the Sea. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. Sherman's march to the sea was followed by a similarly devastating march through the Carolinas early in 1865, but the message to the South was clear. 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. To the north, Slocum's two corps moved east then southeast towards the state capital at Milledgeville. Lively battle narrative is included for military engagements along the way. 1 After the war, critiques of military actions by the North and South often focused on leaders' controversial decisions. Union Major Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and James B. McPherson successfully defended against a Confederate offensive from Lieutenant General John Bell Hood on the eastern outskirts of Atlanta. Hayle Baker 7th hour Who Won and Why? Sherman's March to the Sea took place from November 15 to December 22, 1864, during the American Civil War. This was accomplished on December 13, and communications were opened with Rear Admiral John Dahlgren's naval forces. Sherman's March to the Sea Analyzing the Ethics of Sherman's Military Strategies A portrait of Ulysses S. Grant and his generals, including William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman’s March to the Sea marked a new development in the war. On December 17, he contacted Hardee with a warning that he would begin shelling the city if it were not surrendered. STRONGEST MAN WITH SHERMAN. He said that the Union military was "not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people, and must make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war." On April 26, 1865, Sherman accepted the surrender of Johnston’s army near Durham, North Carolina. He has appeared on The History Channel as a featured expert. On November 15, 1864, during the Civil War, U.S. forces under Gen. William T. Sherman set out from Atlanta on the March to the Sea, a military campaign designed to destroy the Confederacy's ability to wage war and break the will of its people to . President Hayes is coming to Dodge City accompanied by General Sherman during an election stop. O ver 150 years after the American Civil War ended, somebody other than Gen. William Sherman has conquered Georgia. 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. On September 1, 1864, Sherman and his army captured Atlanta, Georgia, an important transportation center in the Confederacy. In the fighting that followed, Union infantry inflicted a severe defeat on the Confederates. Hood’s March into Tennessee. Sherman's March to the Sea Analyzing the Ethics of Sherman's Military Strategies A portrait of Ulysses S. Grant and his generals, including William Tecumseh Sherman. Who were the commanders of the Confederate and Union Armies? Sherman had rested in Atlanta until after the election, but once Lincoln had won, Sherman torched the city and headed for the coast. Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on February 8, 1820, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1840. 120 he laid out the rules of destruction and conduct for the march. Encountering Confederate troops led by General G.W. Otherwise it essentially needed to be completely defeated bit by bit. And having triumpthed in the election of 1864 Lincoln it gets even more good news from Georgia which is a telegram from General Sherman from the city of Savannah saying Mr. President, I wish to offer you the city of Savannah as a Christmas present. Union General Sherman’s scorched-earth March to the Sea campaign begins ... After hearing that President Abraham Lincoln had won re-election on November 8, Sherman … There were approximately 3,100 casualties, 2,100 of which were Union soldiers, and the countryside took years to recover. To break the will of the Confederate population, Sherman proposed a March to the Sea. His soldiers commonly requisitioned all of the provisions that they could find from the civilian population. His success assured Lincoln's re-election in 1864. Sherman’s 60,000 remaining men began a 285-mile march to the coast on November 15. A Veteran Before the American Civil War. They surrendered and Sherman had a victory. To accomplish this, Sherman intended to conduct a campaign designed to eliminate any resources that could be used by Confederate forces. Such broad generalizations may assuage wounded Southern pride, but they also rewrite history. But instead, just days after the election, Sherman took his men on one of the ambitious and risky campaigns of the war, cutting loose from his supply line to cut a sixty-mile swath through to the sea. Then, on November 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. 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. The following morning, the mayor of Savannah formally surrendered the city to Sherman. 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