[26], The Army's stay in Savannah was generally without incident. I suppose it will be safer if I leave General Grant and yourself to decide. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). And so, in Atlanta, Sherman instituted tactics later generations of American war leaders would use in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Burke Davis' Sherman's March is brief and readable, though pitched to the general reader rather than scholars. 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. On the morning of November 16, Sherman set out for the coast at the head of roughly 62,000 men. Confederate leadership was unable to discern the final destination of the two-pronged Union force. Together with Shermans Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea may have tipped the scales of victory toward the Union. In reality it was a final iteration of his campaign to show mercy immediately upon surrender. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! By ripping up and melting down tracks, Union soldiers slowly crippled the states industrial and military potential in full view of its civilians. 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. 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. In fact, his true destination was the Georgia capital of Milledgeville. Byers was a Union prisoner of war held at Camp Sorghum, near Columbia, South Carolina. The cavalry captured two Confederate guns at Lovejoy's Station, and then two more and 50 prisoners at Bear Creek Station. [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. In the spring of 1864, Union Lieut. On December 21, Union forces captured Savannah; Sherman presented the city to Lincoln as a Christmas gift. This had significant ramifications across their remaining military operations. We strive for accuracy and fairness. In fact, South Carolina suffered more at Shermans hands than Georgia had during the March to the Sea. Eighty percent of the remaining soldiers were long-time veterans of campaigns in both the Western theatre, primarily, and the Eastern, a minority. The Strategic Significance of Sherman's March to the Sea. Still, sexual violence, especially in wartime, remains an underreported crime up to the present. Sherman would later defend Daviss actions at Ebenezer Creek as a necessary reality of war. They searched hollow logs and any hiding place imaginable. Union troops arrived outside the fort on December 13. Sherman successfully fought a psychological war of destruction. 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. 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). Sherman pursued the smaller Confederate army west and south until mid-October, when Hood crossed into Alabama. 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. On November 10, following Shermans orders, Union troops began torching buildings that were of military or industrial value in Atlanta. (Since Atlanta, South Carolinian Mary Boykin Chestnut wrote in her diary, I have felt as ifwe are going to be wiped off the earth.). Like the morale-focused campaigns of future generals, Shermans march squeezed out a victory with ruthless precision. No matter Sherman kept marching. Having anticipated Confederate designs against Nashville, Sherman had already sent two divisions to the Tennessee capital. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick led the forces single cavalry division. Elements of the decline in agriculture persisted through 1920".[38]. During this time he ordered the evacuation of some 3,000 civilians and seized their homes for his soldiers living quarters. Abilene, TX: McWhiney Foundation Press, 2005. Atlanta Campaign. As soon as the mayor of Savannah surrendered his city, Sherman the fiend became Sherman the friend. It was a strange end to a destructive month, but perhaps it should not have been unexpected. 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.[22]. [39] It was widely popular among US soldiers of 20th-century wars. 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. Confederate Maj. Gen. Wheeler's cavalry struck Brig. They wandered out five or more miles from the main columns and became experts at finding hidden food, horses, wagons and even slaves. This effect was likely compounded by the armys continued railroad destruction. Omissions? 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. Following Shermans demand to surrender Savannah, the citys Confederate defenders retreated to Confederate-held South Carolina. He had defied military principles by operating deep within enemy territory and without lines of supply or communication. Where did Shermans March to the Sea start and end? As one Georgia woman wrote in her diary: like Demons they rush in! New York, NY: New York University Press, 1985. Sherman believed that the Confederacy derived its strength not from its fighting forces but from the material and moral support of sympathetic Southern whites. Sherman allowed Hardees army to escape the city, although he could have crushed it. 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. [5], The March to the Sea owes its common name to a poem written by S. H. M. Byers in late 1864. The arrival of the main columns was even more frightening to the Georgians in their path than the passage of the foragers. But the way to the sea was not open; Sherman still had to contend with the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. They quietly abandoned their trenches and crossed the Savannah River into Confederate-held South Carolina. [9] Sherman therefore planned an operation that has been compared to the modern principles of scorched earth warfare. 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. Field Order No. Grant himself said that he would not have allowed anyone other than Sherman to attempt such a march so great was the respect and trust between the two. Letter, Sherman to Henry W. Halleck, December 24, 1864. 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. The only real combat of the March took place on November 22, near Griswoldville. Just what was this warfare revolution? When they reached the assigned campsite in the evening, each man hooked his tent half to anothers, pitched it, and then prepared the only full meal of the day over a fire. He wanted his army to win the war and thus preserve the Union, but he also wanted to curtail the battlefield slaughter. For this reason, he divided his expeditionary force into two infantry groups. To the north of this action, Sherman advanced with the left wing into Milledgeville on November 23. Away off in the distance, on the McDonough road, was the rear of Howard's column, the gun-barrels glistening in the sun, the white-topped wagons stretching away to the south; and right before us the Fourteenth Corps, marching steadily and rapidly, with a cheery look and swinging pace, that made light of the thousand miles that lay between us and Richmond. [31], Sherman's scorched earth policies have always been highly controversial, and Sherman's memory has long been reviled by many Southerners. Both U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant had serious reservations about Sherman's plans. The destruction of Georgia displayed the unfettered might of the Union war machine. Gen. William H. Jackson, had approximately 10,000 troopers. Subscribe to the American Battlefield Trust's quarterly email series of curated stories for the curious-minded sort! He seemed to be everywhere at once, and as he grew ever-larger in the Southern imagination, rumors about where he was and what he did to white women and slaves came to be accepted as fact. They jumped into the water, frantically trying to swim across and evade Wheeler. General Sherman's March to the Sea was historic. 15. During the campaign, the Confederate War Department brought in additional men from Florida and the Carolinas, but they never were able to increase their effective force beyond 13,000.[18]. I can make the march and make Georgia howl. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! It boasted a garrison of 230 Confederates and more than 20 pieces of artillery. 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. Know about the significance and outcome of the Atlanta Campaign. Though he had his reservations about the plan, Grant gave his official approval on November 7. To this day, many believe that Sherman did not bring any supplies with . His scorched-earth tactics changed the history of warfare and are still studied and taught in military institutions . 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Uncle Billy, I guess Grant is waiting for us in Richmond? was a common sentiment along the march. The . 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. 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. General Ulysses S. Grant. It is estimated that during the six-week March to the Sea fewer than 3,000 casualties resulted. 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. Federal Identification Number (EIN): 54-1426643. Sherman remained in Atlanta for a little over a month. It is estimated that during the six-week March to the Sea fewer than 3,000 casualties resulted. Slaves' opinions varied concerning the actions of Sherman and his army. Atlanta: After the Civil War. [1] Thomas would go on to defeat Hood, leaving Sherman's main army effectively unopposed. Reveille came at daybreak and sometimes earlier. Welch, Robert Christopher. Despite these impediments, the two wings of Shermans army began to converge on Savannah in early December. 120 had permitted Black labourers to accompany the column, despite being a potential drain on resources and slowing the armys pace. Should you entertain the proposition, I am prepared to grant liberal terms to the inhabitants and garrison; but should I be forced to resort to assault, or the slower and surer process of starvation, I shall then feel justified in resorting to the harshest measures, and shall make little effort to restrain my armyburning to avenge the national wrong which they attach to Savannah and other large cities which have been so prominent in dragging our country into civil war. 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. William Tecumseh Sherman's early military career was a near disaster, having to be temporarily relieved of command. North Carolina suffered less because it was not viewed as responsible for the rebellion, as South Carolina was. Just 25 miles (40 km) north of Savannah, Daviss men were crossing a bloated Ebenezer Creek when they were ordered to destroy their bridge. [32] Some who welcomed him as a liberator chose to follow his armies. Although beef cattle trudged along with his army, and he had his men fill their haversacks with food before they left, he knew that they could live off the Georgia land. Seeing their terror and desperation, some Federals began throwing logs and anything else they could find toward the drowning people. Apart from its economic and military payoff, the marchs impact may have lingered longest in the Southern psyche. The infantry brigade of Brig. With the Georgia state legislature having quit the capital, Union troops held a mock legislative session and voted to repeal Georgias ordinance of secession. 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 December 21 Savannahs mayor formally surrendered the city to the Union. Jordan, Philip D. Ohio Comes of Age: 1874-1899. Very quickly, these foragers came to be called bummers, and it was they who did the most damage to the countryside and provided the most food for the troops. 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. 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. Gen. W.J. 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. This page was last edited on 14 April 2023, at 20:17. Union men successfully defended the supply depot northwest of Atlanta at Allatoona Pass, but Hood seized Dalton with little resistance. He defeated Confederate General John Hood at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. (These groups of foraging soldiers were nicknamed bummers, and they burned whatever they could not carry.) Confederate morale reached new lows as Sherman burned his way east. A Buffalo, N.Y., native and a Ph.D. from Notre Dame, John F. Marszalek taught for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2002. The militia, temporarily under the inexperienced command of Brig. Sherman's March To The Sea: Gen. William T. Sherman. 1. Sign up for our quarterly email series highlighting the environmental benefits of battlefield preservation. [7][6][8], Sherman's "March to the Sea" followed his successful Atlanta Campaign of May to September 1864. Overnight, Union engineers constructed a bridge 2 miles (3.2km) away from the bluff across the Oconee River, and 200 soldiers crossed to flank the Confederate position. Columbus: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1943. Brig. Accordingly, on November 19, he dispatched Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheelers cavalry corps and some local militiamen to slow the Unions right flank. The approach was backbreaking, but simple: rails were torn from the ties, which were stacked to make a bonfire beneath them. 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. 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. 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.. "[36] David J. Eicher wrote that "Sherman had accomplished an amazing task. [12] On December 20, Hardee led his men across the Savannah River on a makeshift pontoon bridge. 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. 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. Locals experienced a sense of growing dread as they anticipated the main columns advancing through their property and seizing everything of value. Despite an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Confederate militiamen were thoroughly squashed, suffering more than 1,000 casualties to fewer than 100 for the Union. it was necessary to make the entire Confederate population, not just the military, feel the pain of war in order to defeat the rebellion. Smith's militia fought off the Union attacks, and Hatch withdrew after suffering about 650 casualties, versus Smith's 50. 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. To my smoke house, my Dairy, Pantry, kitchen & cellar. It was difficult to hide anything from the foragers or the massive main column. The second objective of the campaign was more traditional. The March attracted a huge number of refugees, to whom Sherman assigned land with his Special Field Orders No. This Union and its Government must be sustained, at any and every cost, explained one of Shermans subordinates. On January 16, 1865, during the Civil War (1861-65), Union general William T. Sherman issued his Special Field Order No. 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. 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. Foraging parties may also take mules or horses to replace the jaded animals of their trains, or to serve as pack-mules for the regiments or brigades. Gen. Jefferson C. Daviss XIV Corps. Sherman was reluctant to set off on a wild goose chase across the South, however, and so he split his troops into two groups. After seizing Atlanta, Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman embarked on a scorched-earth campaign intended to cripple the Souths war-making capacity and wound the Confederate psyche. Daviss men lagged behind the rest of the left wing, and Wheelers cavalry was hot on their heels. However, some men, called bummers, roamed the countryside to intentionally terrorize and loot Confederate civilians. The purpose of Shermans March to the Sea was to frighten Georgias civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Shermans 37-day campaign is remembered as one of the most successful examples of total war, and its psychological effects persisted in the postbellum South. 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. 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 . The next morning, Savannah Mayor Richard Dennis Arnold, with a delegation of aldermen and ladies of the city, rode out (until they were unhorsed by fleeing Confederate cavalrymen) to offer a proposition: The city would surrender and offer no resistance, in exchange for General Geary's promise to protect the city's citizens and their property. 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. Sherman dutifully complied with the letters of protection he received, from both North and South, regardless of social standing. When you were about leaving Atlanta for the Atlantic coast, I was anxious, if not fearful; but feeling that you were the better judge, and remembering that 'nothing risked, nothing gained,' I did not interfere. Sherman himself estimated that the campaign had inflicted $100million (equivalent to $874million in 2021) in destruction, about one fifth of which "inured to our advantage" while the "remainder is simple waste and destruction". until 1864, the Confederacy had been winning the Civil War. On the ground and on a much smaller scale, Sherman pioneered this process, becoming the first American to do so systematically. Hood had taken the bulk of forces in Georgia on his campaign to Tennessee in hopes of diverting Sherman to pursue him. On September 29 Hood set out again, this time with the goal of cutting off Shermans supply lines along the Western & Atlantic Railroad in northern Georgia. 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. It seized 5,000 horses, 4,000 mules, and 13,000 head of cattle. The following is an excerpt from those orders: IV. To that end, Shermans troops marched south toward Savannah in two wings, about 30 miles apart. 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. As the main columns had been marching all day, organized soldiers and others fanned out in all directions, looking for food and booty. "[16], The Confederate opposition from Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida was meager. 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. 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.