In the autumn of 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman embarked on a bold and controversial campaign that would become known as the March to the Sea. This military operation, which lasted from November 15 to December 21, saw Sherman lead his army of 60,000 men across 285 miles of Georgia, from Atlanta to Savannah. Employing a "scorched earth" strategy that targeted the Confederacy‘s economic and psychological foundations, Sherman‘s march dealt a devastating blow to the Southern cause and helped hasten the end of the American Civil War.
The Western Theater and Sherman‘s Rise
To understand the significance of Sherman‘s March to the Sea, it is necessary to situate it within the broader context of the Civil War‘s Western Theater. While much of the popular history of the war focuses on the battles in Virginia between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, the fighting in the West was equally important in determining the conflict‘s outcome.
In the early years of the war, the Union had struggled to make headway in the West, suffering defeats at the hands of Confederate generals like Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith. But the tide began to turn in late 1863, thanks in large part to the efforts of William Tecumseh Sherman. A graduate of West Point and a veteran of the Seminole Wars and the Mexican-American War, Sherman had served as a corps commander under Grant at the Battle of Shiloh and had played a key role in the Union victory at Vicksburg.
Promoted to brigadier general, Sherman took command of the Union‘s Western armies in the spring of 1864. Working in close coordination with Grant, who had been appointed General-in-Chief of the Union Army, Sherman set out to capture the city of Atlanta, a vital Confederate rail hub and manufacturing center. After a series of hard-fought battles, Sherman‘s troops finally took the city on September 2, dealing a major blow to Confederate morale and logistics.
The Decision to March
With Atlanta secured, Sherman now faced a crucial decision. He could either pursue the retreating Confederate army into Alabama, or he could strike out on his own and march his troops through the heart of Georgia to the port city of Savannah. Sherman chose the latter course, believing that a bold strike against the Confederate heartland would demoralize the enemy and hasten the end of the war.
In a letter to Grant on October 9, Sherman outlined his plan:
I propose we break up the railroad from Chattanooga forward, and that we strike out with our wagons for Milledgeville, Millen, and Savannah. Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless for us to occupy it; but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people, will cripple their military resources. I can make this march, and make Georgia howl!
Grant approved the plan, and on November 15, Sherman‘s army set out from Atlanta, divided into two wings under the command of Major Generals Oliver O. Howard and Henry W. Slocum. The right wing, under Howard, followed the Georgia Central Railroad, while the left wing, under Slocum, marched along the Georgia Railroad. Together, the two wings comprised a formidable force of 60,000 men, 5,500 cavalry, and 2,000 artillery.
The March Begins
As Sherman‘s army advanced through Georgia, they left a trail of destruction in their wake. Under Sherman‘s orders, the troops were to "forage liberally" off the land, seizing livestock, crops, and other supplies from the civilian population. They were also instructed to destroy any infrastructure that could be used by the Confederate military, including railroads, bridges, and factories.
The results were devastating. Over the course of the march, Sherman‘s troops tore up over 300 miles of railroad track, seized 5,000 horses, 4,000 mules, and 13,000 head of cattle, and destroyed numerous cotton gins, mills, and warehouses. In his official report, Sherman estimated that his army had caused $100 million in damage (equivalent to about $1.6 billion in today‘s dollars).
But the destruction was not just material. Sherman‘s troops also engaged in widespread looting and vandalism, burning homes and churches, and terrorizing the civilian population. In his memoirs, Sherman defended these tactics as necessary to break the South‘s will to fight:
We are not only fighting hostile 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. I know that this recent movement of mine through Georgia has had a wonderful effect in this respect. Thousands who had been deceived by their lying newspapers to believe that we were being whipped all the time now realize the truth, and have no appetite for a repetition of the same experience.
The March Continues
As Sherman‘s army advanced, they encountered little organized resistance from Confederate forces. Most of the Confederate army in Georgia had been dispatched to Tennessee in a futile attempt to lure Sherman away from his march. This left the path to Savannah largely undefended, and Sherman‘s troops were able to cover up to 15 miles a day.
Along the way, Sherman‘s army was joined by thousands of freed slaves, who saw the Union troops as liberators. Many of these African Americans would go on to play a crucial role in the march, serving as guides, laborers, and even soldiers. In his memoirs, Sherman recalled the scene:
Negroes came with bundles of clothing and food, and sometimes with babies in arms, all anxious to join what they supposed to be a party going to freedom. They were generally sent back, as we had no means to provide for them; but in some instances where they had rendered valuable services, they were taken along, and found useful as pioneers, teamsters, and cooks.
On December 10, Sherman‘s army arrived at the outskirts of Savannah. After a brief siege, the city surrendered on December 21, and Sherman telegraphed President Lincoln to offer him the city as a "Christmas present."
The Final Leg
After a month-long rest in Savannah, Sherman‘s army resumed its march, this time into the Carolinas. Sherman was particularly eager to bring the war to South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union. "The whole army," he wrote, "is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak vengeance upon South Carolina. I almost tremble at her fate, but feel that she deserves all that seems in store for her."
The march through the Carolinas was even more destructive than the Georgia campaign, with Sherman‘s troops burning the cities of Columbia and Fayetteville. By the time the army reached North Carolina in March 1865, it had grown to 100,000 men and was virtually unstoppable.
The Legacy of Sherman‘s March
Sherman‘s March to the Sea was a turning point in the Civil War. By demonstrating the Union‘s ability to operate deep within Confederate territory and by destroying the South‘s economic infrastructure, Sherman‘s campaign demoralized the Confederate people and sapped their will to resist. When Sherman‘s army linked up with Ulysses S. Grant‘s forces in Virginia in April 1865, the Confederacy‘s fate was sealed.
The march also had far-reaching consequences for the South during Reconstruction. Many of the freed slaves who followed Sherman‘s army would go on to form the nucleus of the new African American communities that emerged in the postwar South. And the destruction wrought by Sherman‘s troops would leave a lasting imprint on the Southern landscape and psyche.
But Sherman‘s March also remains a controversial and divisive episode in American history. Some historians have criticized Sherman‘s tactics as unnecessarily brutal and indiscriminate, arguing that they targeted civilians and violated the laws of war. Others have defended the march as a necessary evil that hastened the end of a bloody conflict and ultimately saved lives.
Regardless of one‘s view of the moral and ethical implications of Sherman‘s March, there can be no denying its military and political significance. By employing a strategy of total war that targeted not just the Confederate army but also the Confederate people and their economic base, Sherman helped to redefine the nature of modern warfare. His example would be followed by other generals in later conflicts, from the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II to the American use of napalm in Vietnam.
In the end, Sherman‘s March to the Sea stands as a testament to the brutal realities of war and the lengths to which nations will go to achieve victory. It is a reminder that even in a just cause, the methods employed can be harsh and unforgiving. And it is a challenge to us as historians to grapple with the complexities and contradictions of the past, and to strive for a more nuanced and empathetic understanding of the human experience of war.
