They quietly abandoned their trenches and crossed the Savannah River into Confederate-held South Carolina. On November 24 several Union prisoners of war caught up with the left wing, having escaped a Confederate camp at Andersonville. On December 24th, Sherman then presented the Savannah to President Lincoln as a Christmas present. At the Battle of Honey Hill on November 30, Hatch fought a vigorous battle against G.W. 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]. He returned at the Battle of Shiloh to victory and then gathered 100,000 troops . Sherman himself is remembered through a nearly ubiquitous photograph, with a glare so icy it can chill us even across time. In the fall of 1864, the Union General William Tecumseh ("Cump") Sherman took 60,000 men and pillaged his way through Georgia's civilian farmsteads. Their target was the second-largest city in the South: Atlanta, Georgia. His focus on crushing civilian morale presaged the bloody World Wars of the 20th century. The state legislature extended the existing state draft to include men from 16 to 65 years of age. 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. When Sherman instituted his destructive war, he told Southerners that as long as they continued their resistance, he would make them pay dearly, but that the process would stop when they quit the fight. Instead, they fled South ahead of Shermans troops, wreaking their own havoc as they went: They wrecked bridges, chopped down trees and burned barns filled with provisions before the Union army could reach them. They often felt betrayed, as they "suffered along with their owners, complicating their decision of whether to flee with or from Union troops", although that is now seen as a post synopsis of Confederate nationalism. Determined not to lay a siege unless absolutely necessary, Sherman ordered 4,000 men from the XV Corps to seize Fort McCallister, a crucial element of the citys southern defense. By encroaching into the rear of Lee's positions, Sherman could increase pressure on Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and keep Confederate reinforcements from reaching him. Railroad tracks were upended and destroyed. After capturing Atlanta in September 1864, General Sherman decided to use a different tactic to bring the South to its knees and . Gen. Judson Kilpatrick led the forces single cavalry division. Each division and brigade had a supply train, but the size of the train was strictly limited. The most potent Confederate force in the state was Joseph Wheelers 3,500-man cavalry, which managed to harass Shermans marchers but was too small to pose a deadly threat. Rockwell. [11] The twisted and broken railroad rails that the troops heated over fires, wrapped around tree trunks and left behind became known as "Sherman's neckties.". The marauding Yankees needed the supplies, but they also wanted to teach Georgians a lesson: it isnt so sweet to secede, one soldier wrote in a letter home, as [they] thought it would be.. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Getty Images / Print Collector / Contributor, https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/shermans-march. 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 . Well known to Sherman from his study of the 1860 census, Georgias fertile soil still held potential to feed the ravenous Confederacy. Davis, who was no stranger to scandal he was arrested for murdering fellow Union general William Nelson in August 1862, but escaped court martial took a great deal of blame for this horror, but Sherman defended him. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Sherman's army marched 285 miles (458 km . Elements of the decline in agriculture persisted through 1920".[38]. Updates? Sherman recounted in his memoirs the scene when he left at 7 am 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. Special Field Orders No. New York, NY: New York University Press, 1985. 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. While Howard's wing was delayed near Ball's Bluff, the 1st Alabama Cavalry (a Federal regiment) engaged Confederate pickets. Sherman had his favorite regimental band present a concert for the city and brought supply ships from the North to help the city and its people regain a sense of normality. General Sherman finally gained control of the city of Atlanta on September 2, 1864. Sherman's famed March to the Sea began in November 15, 1864, when Federal forces began leaving Atlanta. The general himself was a model of deportment. Smith's 1,500 Georgia militiamen, 3 miles (4.8km) south of Grahamville Station, South Carolina. Gen. Less than six months later Gen. Robert E. Lee would surrender to the Union at Appomattox Court House and bring a formal end to the American Civil War. On December 9, however, tragedy struck Brig. Behind us lay Atlanta, smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. March to the Sea. Until we can repopulate Georgia it is useless to occupy it, but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people will cripple their military resources. No doubt many acts of pillage, robbery, and violence were committed by these parties of foragers , Sherman acknowledged, but maintained that their crimes were generally against property, not individuals. More seriously, the soldiers damaged state buildings and destroyed books and manuscripts before leaving Milledgeville on November 24. The first real resistance was felt by Howard's right wing at the Battle of Griswoldville on November 22. Soldiers dug up buried food, valuables and keepsakes, seemingly at will. 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. Apart from its economic and military payoff, the marchs impact may have lingered longest in the Southern psyche. Once, Sherman encountered a soldier walking along a road weighed down by all victuals who quoted from the order to him in a stage whisper: Forage liberally on the country. The general said his was a too-liberal interpretation of the order, but he took no action to punish the forager. Doctors performed in-depth examinations to weed out the weak and those suffering from disease, and because of this 1% of the men were left behind. 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. He defeated Confederate General John Hood at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. 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 William Tecumseh Sherman, major general of the Union Army. 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. In the fall of 1864 during the American Civil War, Union forces pushed deeply into the Confederacy. The Union soldiers were just as unsparing. How did Shermans March to the Sea conclude? Arnold presented him with the key to the city, and Sherman's men, led by Geary's division of the XX Corps, occupied the city the same day. Major General George Thomas took some 60,000 men to meet the Confederates in Nashville, while Sherman took the remaining 62,000 on an offensive march through Georgia to Savannah, smashing things (he wrote) to the sea.. We are not only fighting armies, but a hostile people, and must make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war, as well as their organized armies. Within a week, some 40 percent of the city was in ashes. 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. The most significant reason for General Sherman's explanation of hard war in the excerpt was that. Sign up for our quarterly email series highlighting the environmental benefits of battlefield preservation. General Ulysses S. Grant. Stay up-to-date on our FREE educational resources & professional development opportunities, all designed to support your work teaching American history. He eliminated Atlanta's war making potential and brought sheer destruction to Georgia, then offered generous surrender terms. As soon as the mayor of Savannah surrendered his city, Sherman the fiend became Sherman the friend. To regular foraging parties must be intrusted the gathering of provisions and forage at any distance from the road traveled. The Union lost 130 men in this assault and the Confederacy 40. 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. To the north of this action, Sherman advanced with the left wing into Milledgeville on November 23. Now, the undertaking being a success, the honor is yours; for I believe none of us went further than to acquiesce. William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War. Although some were saved on makeshift rafts or by soldiers who waded into the creek, a huge number drowned and others were captured by the arriving Confederate troopers. The Yankees were not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people, Sherman explained; as a result, they needed to make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war., General Shermans troops captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864. Maj. Gen. John G. Foster dispatched 5,500 men and 10 guns under Brig. Their fates remain largely unknown. However, if antagonized by Confederate soldiers, Union officers could destroy private and industrial property. In our collective memory, blue-clad soldiers march with impunity, their scavenged booty draped about them, leaving a trail of white women and children to sob at their losses and slaves to rejoice at their emancipation. 1. It is estimated that during the six-week March to the Sea fewer than 3,000 casualties resulted. The March 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. Wheeler and some infantry struck in a rearguard action at Ball's Ferry on November 24 and November 25. He organized relief for the flood of refugees that had inundated the city. Although many of the houses were damaged and a minority put to the torch and totally destroyed others were left essentially untouched, an unpredictability that became a source of great fear. Gen. Judson Kilpatricks 5,000 Union horse soldiers cleared it out of the way. Some band, by accident, struck up the anthem of "John Brown's Body"; the men caught up the strain, and never before or since have I heard the chorus of "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was a contradiction embodied. [41] In the years following World War II, several writers[42][43][44] argued that the total war tactics used during World War II were comparable to the tactics used during Sherman's March. With the Georgia state legislature having quit the capital, Union troops held a mock legislative session and voted to repeal Georgias ordinance of secession. Although Sherman told his officers and troops little about his plans, they quickly grasped the basic purpose of the march and, trusting their commander fully, were unconcerned about the lack of details. The militia, temporarily under the inexperienced command of Brig. Sherman's personal escort on the march was the 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment, a unit made up entirely of Southerners who remained loyal to the Union. Prior to his famous march to the sea, General Sherman led 100,000 men into the southern city of Atlanta. 120 had permitted Black labourers to accompany the column, despite being a potential drain on resources and slowing the armys pace. On it was Byers' poem. 39 Joseph T. Glatthaar's The March to the Sea and Beyond focuses specifically on the experiences of Sherman's soldiers. [45] Some historians refer to Sherman's tactics as "hard war" to emphasize the distinction between Sherman's tactics and those used during World War II.[46][47]. In these later conflicts, largely through the use of air power, Americans attempted to destroy enemy will and logistics (a doctrine colloquially known as shock and awe in Operation Iraqi Freedom). [5], The March to the Sea owes its common name to a poem written by S. H. M. Byers in late 1864. Sherman's march to the sea was over. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant conferred with his generals in order to devise a strategy to bring the Confederate war machine to its knees. In reality it was a final iteration of his campaign to show mercy immediately upon surrender. Union troops arrived outside the fort on December 13. Those prisoners in the state jail willing to take up arms for the Confederacy 175 out of 200 were freed, although some of the newly liberated men burned down the penitentiary rather than report for duty. 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. Sherman had completely uprooted his army and marched it unassisted through enemy territory. Still, sexual violence, especially in wartime, remains an underreported crime up to the present. The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 56,000 acres in 25 states! He had a lot more soldiers than General Hood who only had 51,000. The economic impact of the march was staggering. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. (The 10,000 Confederates who were supposed to be guarding it had already fled.) 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). The field order also permitted able-bodied Black labourers to join the march, but commanding officers were instructed to remain cognizant of supplies intended for their army group. Joe Brown, Hardee and militia commander Smith among them all fell for the ruse. During the march, between 17,000 and 25,000 enslaved Black people were freed. Walters, John Bennett (1948) "General William T. Sherman and Total War". Railroads doubled as a conduit for industrial growth and transportation for the military. This had significant ramifications across their remaining military operations. The operation debilitated the Confederacy and helped lead to its eventual surrender. This page was last edited on 14 April 2023, at 20:17. [7][6][8], Sherman's "March to the Sea" followed his successful Atlanta Campaign of May to September 1864. Omissions? The death count on November 15, 1864 stood at around 12,100. 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. 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. But as the last unit of Daviss rear guard, the 58th Indiana, reached the far side, the bridge was unlashed. 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. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shermans-March-to-the-Sea, Warfare History Network - Shermans March to the Sea, New Georgia Encyclopedia - Shermans March to the Sea, scorched-earth policy during the Atlanta Campaign, American Civil War: western and Carolina campaigns, American Civil War: Union soldiers wrecking railroads in Atlanta. General William Tecumseh Sherman's march to the sea during the Civil War was a strategy to break the morale of Confederate supporters by marching a division . Letter, Sherman to Henry W. Halleck, December 24, 1864. Perhaps in denial of this reality, they came to accuse Sherman of carrying out countless grim acts. Sherman was charged with three armies totaling some 100,000 men: the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of the Tennessee, and the Army of the Ohio. Facts, information and articles about Sherman's March To The Sea during the Civil War. Hood moved his battered Army of Tennessee northwest from their southerly position to Palmetto, Georgia. 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. Once the rails became red hot, they were twisted into what came to be known as Shermans neckties or Shermans hairpins. The campaigns chief engineer, Col. Orlando Poe, even devised specialized equipment, called cant hooks, for the task. [31], Sherman's scorched earth policies have always been highly controversial, and Sherman's memory has long been reviled by many Southerners. He saw destruction of property as less onerous than casualties. In Special Field Order No. Together with Shermans Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea may have tipped the scales of victory toward the Union. 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. 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 Hoods army it brings those who sat in darkness to see a great light. It was also a symbol of Confederate pride and strength, and its fall made even the most loyal Southerners doubt that they could win the war. During his imprisonment, Byers wrote a poem about the Savannah campaign which he titled "Sherman's March to the Sea", which was set to music by fellow prisoner W. O. Union military campaign led by William T. Sherman from November 15-December 25, 1864 with Savannah being the ultimate objective; more importantly Sherman used a "scorched earth" policy to end the South's will to fight. Sherman estimated a total Confederate economic loss of $100 million (more than $1.5 billion in the 21st century) in his official campaign report. Hardee commanding, November 20, 1864", "The Civil War This Week: Oct 27Nov 2, 1864", "Savannah Campaign Confederate order of battle", "Capital Destruction and Economic Growth: The Effects of Sherman's March, 18501920", American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, "Historical markers illustrate overlooked stories", "Savannah Campaign Union order of battle" (, "Savannah Campaign Confederate order of battle" (, 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, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea&oldid=1149848697, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, Nevin, David and the Editors of Time-Life Books (1986). It confiscated 9.5 million pounds of corn and 10.5 million pounds of fodder, and destroyed uncounted cotton gins and mills. Shermans March to the Sea started in Atlanta and ended in the coastal town of Savannah, Georgia. The violence abated only after Sherman threatened to shoot an equal number of his own captives. Sherman's March To The Sea: Gen. William T. Sherman. On the ground and on a much smaller scale, Sherman pioneered this process, becoming the first American to do so systematically. Sherman received numerous letters from the very Confederate officers he was fighting against, requesting that Sherman ensure the protection of their families. Byers was a Union prisoner of war held at Camp Sorghum, near Columbia, South Carolina. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. Not realizing that these Federals had repeating rifles and were dug in, temporary commander Phillips ordered his motley force to attack, and they were ripped to pieces by the Federals. Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant preferred for Sherman to destroy the Southern army first and then initiate his psychological war of destruction. Join us online July 24-26! He saw destruction of property as less onerous than casualties. Whether it was a plantation manor, a more modest white dwelling or a slave hut, any residence encountered by these bummers stood a chance of being utterly ransacked. Between 17,000 and 25,000 enslaved Black people were freed while on the march, including more than 7,500 in and around Savannah. "[16], The Confederate opposition from Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida was meager. Wheelers 3,500 man Confederate cavalry tried to hinder Shermans army, but Brig. He sought to utilize destructive war to convince Confederate citizens in their deepest psyche both that they could not win the war and that their government could not protect them from Federal forces. So Sherman proposed to split his Union force, taking 62,000 of his best troops on a destructive march, while Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas used the remainder to contain Hood. Confederate political and military leaders Gov. Observing the movements of Howards right wing, Confederate Lieut. Where did Shermans March to the Sea start and end? "[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. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. 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