significance of sherman's march to the seasignificance of sherman's march to the sea

Expert Answers. Although he personally considered them inferior to white men, Sherman treated the blacks he met with courtesies not widespread in the 19th century, shaking hands and carrying on conversations to glean their knowledge of the area. Sherman wanted to keep his movements as secret as possible; he cut telegraph lines to prevent intelligence reports from reaching the enemy (or his superiors in Washington). Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. In fact, South Carolina suffered more at Shermans hands than Georgia had during the March to the Sea. His scorched-earth tactics changed the history of warfare and are still studied and taught in military institutions . But as the last unit of Daviss rear guard, the 58th Indiana, reached the far side, the bridge was unlashed. Considering Sherman's military priorities, however, this tactical maneuver by his enemy to get out of his force's path was welcomed to the point of remarking, "If he will go to the Ohio River, I'll give him rations. Sherman further arranged for 50,000 bushels of captured rice to be sold in the North to raise money to feed Savannah. Compared to the 51,000 killed, wounded and missing at Gettysburg in the three days of fighting there or the 24,000 in the two days at Shiloh, the month-long March to the Sea was nearly bloodless. The approach was backbreaking, but simple: rails were torn from the ties, which were stacked to make a bonfire beneath them. The former slaves grew increasingly hesitant about getting too close to the white soldiers, who might be their source of freedom, but who often treated them with harshness and disrespect. [33] A Confederate officer estimated that 10,000 liberated slaves followed Sherman's army, and hundreds died of "hunger, disease, or exposure" along the way. Recognizing the significance of endometriosis as an unmet chronic disease for women and designating March 2023 as "Endometriosis Awareness Month". It is estimated that during the six-week March to the Sea fewer than 3,000 casualties resulted. Soldiers dug up buried food, valuables and keepsakes, seemingly at will. To average Americans, whether they are Northerners or Southerners, Sherman was a hard, cruel soldier, an unfeeling destroyer, the man who rampaged rather than fought, a brute rather than a human being. [19] Still, Grant trusted Sherman's assessment and on November 2, 1864, he sent Sherman a telegram stating simply, "Go as you propose. Acting as the rear guard for the army, on December 9, 1864, Federals under the command of Maj. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis were crossing the flooded Ebenezer Creek on a pontoon bridge. Sherman moved against Hood on October 5. [6], When Byers was freed by the Union Capture of Columbia, he approached General Sherman and handed him a scrap of paper. Shermans total war in Georgia was brutal and destructive, but it did just what it was supposed to do: it hurt Southern morale, made it impossible for the Confederates to fight at full capacity and likely hastened the end of the war. He had a lot more soldiers than General Hood who only had 51,000. He had defied military principles by operating deep within enemy territory and without lines of supply or communication. Politicians hurried to escape the city, and its civilian inhabitants were infuriated when Shermans men celebrated Thanksgiving there and mockingly re-enacted a legislative session to vote Georgia back into the Union. Hardee had long since retreated to the coastal city and toiled away at its fortifications, which were effective at supplementing Savannahs natural marsh and river defenses. Jordan, Philip D. Ohio Comes of Age: 1874-1899. The man leading the . His primary objective was to capture and neutralize the city of Atlanta, which was a major railroad centre, supply depot, and manufacturing hub for both Georgia and the Confederacy. Some of the 134 Union casualties were caused by torpedoes, a name for crude land mines that were used only rarely in the war. The Cavalry Corps of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, reinforced by a brigade under Brig. 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. On November 15, 62,000 men split into two infantry wings (actually four parallel corps columns) with screening cavalry to protect the main bodies as they spread across the landscape departed Atlanta. The soldiers entertained themselves by letter writing, card games and other such diversions, but the favorite activity was to hear the adventures of the foragers. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 2021. The two wings of the army attempted to confuse and deceive the enemy about their destinations; the Confederates could not tell from the initial movements whether Sherman would march on Macon, Augusta, or Savannah. On November 15 th, 1864 Union General William Tecumseh Sherman marched his army of 60,000 troops out of the burning city of Atlanta, Georgia to embark upon a military campaign that stretched 300 miles to Savannah, leaving utter destruction in their wake. He had for a long time hated the idea of having to kill and maim Confederates, many of whom had been pre-war friends. The city was hardly burned to the ground, as Gone with the Wind implies. He fooled the Confederates into believing that one part of his army was heading toward Augusta, while the other wing was heading for Macon. Slaves' opinions varied concerning the actions of Sherman and his army. There was glory to die in Picketts Charge at Gettysburg, but only humiliation to have ones barn burned, silverware taken, house damaged or destroyed, or horses added to the enemy cavalry. Abilene, TX: McWhiney Foundation Press, 2005. While the local high society turned its nose up at the Union Army, refusing to be seen at social events with Union officers present, Sherman was ironically focused on protecting them. Shermans March to the Sea was an American Civil War campaign lasting from November 15 to December 21, 1864, in which Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman led troops through the Confederate state of Georgia, pillaging the countryside and destroying both military outposts and civilian properties. To the north of this action, Sherman advanced with the left wing into Milledgeville on November 23. Sherman's March to the Sea, (November 15-December 21, 1864) American Civil War campaign that concluded Union operations in the Confederate state of Georgia. Grant's armies in Virginia continued in a stalemate against Robert E. Lee's army, besieged in Petersburg, Virginia. Following the March to the Sea, Sherman's army headed north for the Carolinas Campaign. Sherman presented the city of Savannah and its 25,000 bales of cotton to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift.Early in 1865, Sherman and his men left Savannah and pillaged and burned their way through South Carolina to Charleston. However, news of brutal prisoner treatment at Camp Lawton would later prompt Sherman to order the destruction of several miles of track along the Augusta & Savannah Railroad. An army of individuals trained in the school of experience to look after their own food and health, to march far and fast with the least fatigue, to fight with the least exposure, above all, to act swiftly and to work thoroughly. Prior to his famous march to the sea, General Sherman led 100,000 men into the southern city of Atlanta. Rockwell. Rhodes, James Ford. Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood was threatening Chattanooga, and Sherman detached two armies under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas to deal with Hood in the FranklinNashville campaign. The First American President: Setting the Precedent, African Americans During the Revolutionary War, Help Save 820 Acres at Five Virginia Battlefields, Save 343 Acres at FIVE Battlefields in FOUR Western Theater States, Save 42 Historic Acres at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Phase Three of Gaines Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign, An Unparalleled Preservation Opportunity at Gettysburg Battlefield. The staffs of the various headquarters were ruthlessly restricted, and much clerical work was done by permanent offices in the rear. 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.[10]. "[37], According to a 2022 American Economic Journal study 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. During this time he ordered the evacuation of some 3,000 civilians and seized their homes for his soldiers living quarters. Shermans soldiers enthusiastically embraced his Special Field Order 120, which required every brigade to organize a foraging detachment under the direction of one of its more discreet officers with a goal of keeping a consistent three-day supply of gathered foodstuffs. 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 in sight of their camp. The mayor of Savannah formally surrendered the city on December 21, 1864. The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns. Soldiers became model gentlemen, no longer foraging, but paying for what they wanted or needed. They jumped into the water, frantically trying to swim across and evade Wheeler. Barrett, John G. (1960) "Sherman and Total War in the Carolinas". The purpose of Shermans March to the Sea was to frighten Georgias civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. The American Battlefield Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. more formally known as the Savannah Campaign, was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William T Sherman of the Union Army. Field Order No. Sherman, reading the paper later in the day, was moved by Byers' poem, and promoted Byers to his staff; the two became lifelong friends. [31], Sherman's scorched earth policies have always been highly controversial, and Sherman's memory has long been reviled by many Southerners. General Sherman's March to the Sea was historic. Slocums left wing encountered some trouble once they broke camp to continue their eastward march. His focus on crushing civilian morale presaged the bloody World Wars of the 20th century. 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