Sherman's Travel

I would like to make this war as severe as possible, and no symptoms of fatigue until the South beg for mercy. William Tecumseh Sherman

Rarely has a historical character as both revered and reviled as was William Tecumseh Sherman. For Northerners, Sherman is the man who almost single-handedly at the end of a civil war more bloody and bitter than any war before or since on American soil. For Southerners, it is a monster, a referee of destruction more brutal and complete than any seen before or since on American soil.

For military strategists and historians, Sherman is considered the first modern military leader, one whose "total war" on the Southern States, he opened the way through during his famous "March to the Sea" would be duplicated in the bombing of London by the Germans in the 1940s, napalm attack in Vietnam in the 1960s, and almost every other major war since the Civil War.

A graduate of West Point and a military officer, Sherman failed both the banking and before accepting a position as CEO of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy in Pineville, Louisiana. He was a popular and respected leader of the students there, the students, he would later face in the battle.

Sherman left the school that later became Louisiana State University, just after the secession of Louisiana shortly after he became a colonel in the infantry of the United States.

early career of Sherman is remarkable for the anger he stirred both his fellow Union soldiers and the press. The concerns he expressed about the preparedness of the U.S. military facing Confederate forces led to his being labeled "crazy" by many. It has lost its designated position, was transferred to another company, and suffered a depressive episode during which he took leave and returned home in Ohio.

When Sherman returned to service, he was eventually placed under the command of General Grant, a fortuitous pairing. After admirable achievements in Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, Grant placed Sherman in the control of the entire U.S. Army on the Western Front. Sherman's strategy was thus: while Grant and General Lee treated the Army of Northern Virginia to the east, Sherman would total havoc to the west, from Georgia, the ultimate goal of the Atlantic Ocean .

If the people raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, great, I will answer that war is war and not popularity seeking. William Tecumseh Sherman

The barbarism and cruelty was indeed what Sherman forged. With an army of 100,000 men, Sherman set his sights on Atlanta, and in September of 1864, captured the city. He ordered all civilians out, and began to burn most of the city. This achievement has given him a reputation, and contributed to the reelection of Lincoln in the presidential race this fall.

Sherman and his men went to Savannah, with Sherman boasted that he would "make Georgia howl." His numbers now reduced to about 60,000, Sherman and his men descended on the people of Georgia, using their food , animals, and all necessary steps, leaving a scorched trail of destruction in their wake. Sherman himself once estimated that he and his men killed more than 100 million dollars in damage in Georgia.

And he did take Savannah. He telegraphed Lincoln shortly before December 25, 1864: "I want to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton."

Sherman's "war lasts," as he called it, was horrible for Southern whites, salvation for the slaves. His goal was simple in his own words, Sherman explained what would become known as total war:

My goal was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow in their inner hollow, and make them fear and dread us. .