Transcript Sherman`s March to the Sea WAR HERO OR

Sherman’s March to the Sea
WAR HERO OR WAR CRIMINAL?
Grant’s right hand general.
Fought with Grant in the
West.
Most noted for this saying;
“War is h_ _ _ _ and the
worse you make it the sooner
it will be over.”
Put in charge of the Army of
the West after Lincoln
appoints Grant as head of all
Union troops.
Responsible for the March to
the Sea and using “total war”
in destroying the South.
Total War
Tactic of war where the Union marched through the
South and destroyed all resources the civilian
population needed to survive.
Goal: To make war as horrible and destructive as
possible to force your enemy to surrender.
Total war brings the civilian population into the war
to demoralize the enemy and force them to
surrender.
It is “in your face warfare” or you (South) started
this war and until you surrender, we will destroy the
you.
Sherman’
s
March
through
Georgia
to the
Sea, 1864
Burnt out buildings in Atlanta after Sherman’s troops marched through.
Burnt out buildings in Atlanta.
Union soldiers in Atlanta destroying railroad lines.
Destruction of railroad lines during Sherman’s March to the
Sea.
Atlanta railroad depot destroyed.
Destruction of downtown Atlanta.
Buildings destroyed. Chimneys
are the only things standing.
Georgia family fleeing
Sherman’s March through
Georgia.
*Union troops laid waste to Atlanta destroying
businesses, farms, homes and transportation—
stayed for 2 months.
*Sherman’s “March to the Sea” destroyed
everything in a 60 mile wide path 300 miles to
the Atlantic…$100 million damage
*Chose not to burn Savannah—bales of
cotton, unable to be exported due to the
blockade, had been accumulating in
warehouses; Sherman sent it to the North
and it sold for $28 million
*Lower South cut off from the rest of the
Confederacy!!!
*This effectively ended the war for Georgia
From Sherman to Lincoln
on December 22, 1864.
“I beg to present you as a
Christmas gift, the city of
Savannah, with one hundred
guns and plenty of
ammunition, and also about
twenty-five thousand bales of
cotton.”
Letter from Lincoln to Sherman
December 26th, 1864
“Many, many thanks for
your Christmas gift-the
capture of Savannah.”
Why Was Savannah Spared?
Savannah was at a hinge point of the campaign across Georgia and then north to
the Carolinas. As Savannah was a major port it served as a good base from
which to launch the next phase of Sherman's march. An intact Savannah was
more useful to the overall campaign.
Green-Meldrim House
Sherman’s headquarters
in Savannah until
February 1865, when the
Union troops moved on.
Today the house is a
National Historic Landmark.
The End of the Civil War
*Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House,
Virginia.
*On April 26th, confederate General Joseph Johnston surrendered to Sherman
in North Carolina. By late May, all the other Confederate generals had
surrendered. The Confederacy simply disappeared.
*As the tired, ragged, and hungry Confederate troops came home, many stole
Food, and other items along the way, continuing the chaos war had brought.
*Both sides paid dearly in the war: over 260,000 Confederate soldiers and
360,000 Union soldiers were dead. Thousands of others were wounded; left
crippled or blind.
Lee’s surrender at
Appomattox Court House.
Union soldiers posing for picture at the Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
Close-up of the Union soldiers posing in front of Appomattox
Court House, Virginia.
Appomattox Court House, Virginia today.