"[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. Sherman's March to the Sea was one of the most stunning operations of the Civil War, yet few people outside of Georgia knew anything about it while it was underway. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The full story, however, is not this simple. Sherman demanded a surrender on December 17, but his request was promptly rejected. The Union lost 130 men in this assault and the Confederacy 40. Just 25 miles (40 km) north of Savannah, Daviss men were crossing a bloated Ebenezer Creek when they were ordered to destroy their bridge. The staffs of the various headquarters were ruthlessly restricted, and much clerical work was done by permanent offices in the rear. Confederate forces were not stationary, however. Wheeler and some infantry struck in a rearguard action at Ball's Ferry on November 24 and November 25. Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant preferred for Sherman to destroy the Southern army first and then initiate his psychological war of destruction. [6], When Byers was freed by the Union Capture of Columbia, he approached General Sherman and handed him a scrap of paper. Their fates remain largely unknown. Wheelers horsemen descended on the Federal column at Sandersonville on November 2526, and on November 28 they sprang an attack on Kilpatricks Union cavalry at Buckhead Creek. In fact, his true destination was the Georgia capital of Milledgeville. Special Field Orders No. The pontoons floated away, leaving the slaves unable to cross the deep water. The cavalry captured two Confederate guns at Lovejoy's Station, and then two more and 50 prisoners at Bear Creek Station. Thousands who had been deceived by their lying papers into the belief that we were being whipped all the time, realized the truth, and have no appetite for a repetition of the same experience. After the shooting had stopped, the Union troops discovered, to their horror, that their attackers had been old men and young boys and wondered at the futility of the Confederate cause. Shermans March to the Sea, (November 15December 21, 1864) American Civil War campaign that concluded Union operations in the Confederate state of Georgia. On the left, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum commanded the Army of Georgia. March to the Sea. New York, NY: New York University Press, 1985. Rockwell. On January 16, 1865, during the Civil War (1861-65), Union general William T. Sherman issued his Special Field Order No. Walters, John Bennett (1948) "General William T. Sherman and Total War". The only real combat of the March took place on November 22, near Griswoldville. To that end, Shermans troops marched south toward Savannah in two wings, about 30 miles apart. While many blacks became laborers and performed tasks necessary to the advance, others simply followed in the wake of the column. 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. 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. 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. 39 Joseph T. Glatthaar's The March to the Sea and Beyond focuses specifically on the experiences of Sherman's soldiers. As the marching Federals progressed, they attracted a growing throng of ex-slaves, who greeted them as emancipators. 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. From November 15 until December 21, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The destruction of Georgia displayed the unfettered might of the Union war machine. "[20] The 300-mile (480km) march began on November 15. Sherman wasted no time. Did you know? But what next? 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. North Carolina suffered less because it was not viewed as responsible for the rebellion, as South Carolina was. They jumped into the water, frantically trying to swim across and evade Wheeler. 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). This had significant ramifications across their remaining military operations. On it was Byers' poem. Accordingly, on November 19, he dispatched Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheelers cavalry corps and some local militiamen to slow the Unions right flank. Updates? Hardee succeeded in getting his men out, and Sherman captured the city on December 21st, 1864. Kilpatrick abandoned his plans to destroy the railroad bridge and he also learned that the prisoners had been moved from Camp Lawton, so he rejoined the army at Louisville. Wheelers Confederate cavalry responded by killing Union prisoners. Sherman received numerous letters from the very Confederate officers he was fighting against, requesting that Sherman ensure the protection of their families. When Joe Wheelers horsemen also began destroying property and looting, the psychological shock of Confederates abusing their own people was hard for the Georgia civilians to take. after earning a reputation at Shiloh and earning key victories in Vicksburg, promoted to . He entered the Confederate psyche and remains in some minds to the present day. In reality it was a final iteration of his campaign to show mercy immediately upon surrender. Many scholars of military history contend that his psychological warfare was one of the first modern examples of total war. Sherman had completely uprooted his army and marched it unassisted through enemy territory. After capturing Atlanta in September 1864, General Sherman decided to use a different tactic to bring the South to its knees and . The army moved at a steady pace, covering as much as 15 miles a day. He saw destruction of property as less onerous than casualties. This would prevent the formerly enslaved people from crossing to safety. 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. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 2021. 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. 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 long line of fugitive slaves, some 650 of them, was ordered to await a signal before crossing. He issued these orders in preparation for his famous March to the Sea, also known as the Savannah Campaign. With Kilpatrick as a mobile screen, Howard took the right wing southeast of Atlanta in the direction of Macon, while Slocums left wing marched east toward Augusta. Sherman's famed March to the Sea began in November 15, 1864, when Federal forces began leaving Atlanta. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. He and the Union Army's commander, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, believed that the Civil War would come to an end only if the Confederacy's strategic capacity for warfare could be decisively broken. (The 10,000 Confederates who were supposed to be guarding it had already fled.) The Union soldiers were just as unsparing. On November 10, following Shermans orders, Union troops began torching buildings that were of military or industrial value in Atlanta. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was a contradiction embodied. 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. "[16], The Confederate opposition from Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida was meager. He had for a long time hated the idea of having to kill and maim Confederates, many of whom had been pre-war friends. Perhaps in denial of this reality, they came to accuse Sherman of carrying out countless grim acts. 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. Federal Identification Number (EIN): 54-1426643. The destruction wreaked by the operation caused significant Confederate economic loss and diminished Confederate morale, generating deep resentment in Southerners. 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. 120 (series 1864) were military orders issued during the American Civil War, on November 9, 1864, by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. In 1870, five years after the wars end, the Souths overall agricultural output was 28 percent of the nations total output, some 10 percent below prewar levels. The general himself was a model of deportment. Where did Shermans March to the Sea start and end? He now dispatched the IV and XXIII Corps to Chattanooga, located along the railroad to Nashville. Byers was a Union prisoner of war held at Camp Sorghum, near Columbia, South Carolina. His scorched-earth tactics changed the history of warfare and are still studied and taught in military institutions . Grant's armies in Virginia continued in a stalemate against Robert E. Lee's army, besieged in Petersburg, Virginia. When it came time to march through the Carolinas, states still in rebellion against the United States, however, destructive war returned. 1. The ensuing campaign and siege occupied most of the summer, with Sherman finally forcing a surrender on September 2. Sherman's March To The Sea: Gen. William T. Sherman. What were the effects of Shermans March to the Sea? In Atlanta Cox offers readers a compact, comprehensive, and balanced history of that campaign. Now, the undertaking being a success, the honor is yours; for I believe none of us went further than to acquiesce. By attempting to hold the roads we will lose a thousand men monthly and will gain no result. it was necessary to make the entire Confederate population, not just the military, feel the pain of war in order to defeat the rebellion. Sherman further arranged for 50,000 bushels of captured rice to be sold in the North to raise money to feed Savannah. 15, which confiscated as Union property a strip of coastline stretching from Charleston, South Carolina, to the St. John's River in Florida, including Georgia's Sea Islands and the mainland thirty miles in from the coast.