Sherman's March To The Sea

One Union leader was Ulysses S. Grant. He was “commander in chief of the Union army” (Stoff 505). Grant helped the course of the war by being determined to win. Also he thought of the idea to “wage total war against the south” (Stoff 508). This meant that “civilians in the south suffered the same hardships as the army” (Stoff 508). Another way he helped the outcome of the war is by winning at Vicksburg and Petersburg.

William T Sherman was an American soldier, educator and businessman. Sherman served during the American Civil War as a General in the Union Army. He received criticism for his hostility towards the "scorched earth" policies that he carried out while conducting total war against the Confederate States along with gaining recognition for his excellent command of military strategy. He led around 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia for the purpose of frightening Georgia’s citizens so that they would abandon their confederate cause.

Due to high causality figures and with constant confrontation, Sherman come to a decision to broaden the weight and Emotional distress of the war further than rebel soldiers and to include the civilian advocators Particularly, the common People in general of the Confederacy who filled the ranks of the confederacy. Sherman considered that forcing civilian to feel what he called the “hard hand of war” was a military essential. Making the war ruthless and remorseless would bring victory more swiftly and with a minimum loss of life. He considered that by doing this Confederate morale would be weakened and irregular armed force that were fighting the union forces by sabotage and stalking would withdraw. This would disseminate the message that The

By morning, Buell’s army provided Grant with reinforcements. The confederate army was worn out from their march to Shiloh. The next day, Grant’s army once gain clashed with Beauregard’s. This battle lasted until about mid-day, and resulted in Beauregard retreating to Corinth. This led to the battle of Corinth, which was an easy victory for the Union Army. After the union took over the railroad station, they cut off the supplies that were being taken to the confederate Army.

The United States Civil War is possible one of the most meaningful, bloodstained and controversial war fought in American history. Northern Americans against Southern Americans fought against one another for a variety of motives. These motives aroused from a wide range of ideologies that stirred around the states. In James M. McPherson’s What they fought for: 1861-1865, he analyzes the Union and Confederate soldier’s morale and ideological components through the letters they wrote to love ones while at war. While, John WhiteClay Chambers and G. Kurt Piehler depict Civil War soldiers through their letters detailing the agonizing battles of war in Major Problems in American Military History. In both books, readers are able to understand the motives of the war, attitudes of Americans and the hostility of battles through the letters of soldiers.

This determined march started at the captured city of Atlanta to Savannah. It also included, 62,000 troops from the Union Georgia and Tennessee Armies. The troops marched in a 50 mile wide column that brought destruction to whatever it touched. Sherman 's troops destroyed agriculture, industry infrastructures, and civilian owned property; as part of the scorched earth warfare. Civilian property that they destroyed included houses and barns that they owned. They also took horses and mules on their way to Savannah. They also destroyed railroad, by melting the rails down and tying them in knots around trees. These ties, I would say, represents true Northern victory.

For example, before Sherman left to resume his march to Savannah, he ordered the destruction of the railroad depots, factories, shops, and warehouses of Atlanta. The order did not stop there, it also called for the destruction of the downtown and business sections of Atlanta (Davis). The destruction did not stop at Atlanta. The march carried on, and Sherman and his men terrorized the Georgia countryside. Under orders from Sherman, his men destroyed all sources of food and forage and left behind a starving and demoralized people (Georgia). Sherman and his men destroyed the food stores the people of Georgia had saved for the winter months, leaving a path of scorched-earth and hungry civilians. The Geneva Convention lists this as a war crime, “Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions;”. The carnage and destruction left by Sherman and his men left a scar that took decades for Georgia to recover from. The willful destruction of food storages, and the following starvation of civilians are clear examples of war crimes.

Thomas placed his troops defending supply locations, railroads, and bridges. Meanwhile, the Confederates were struggling to pull ahead with John B. Hood as their general, and they were “down 20,000 men,” (“Account”). This allowed hope for the Union. Later, Hood thought he would take his troops and attack the city. This, however, proved to be “not a realistic plan,” (“Account”). Thomas was prepared and placed soldiers in the location where Hood planned to attack. Although heavy ice storms paused any advancement, General Ulysses S. Grant sent telegrams to Thomas saying to “attack the enemy,” (“Account”). When the weather finally broke, Union forces, under the leadership of Thomas, had the Confederates right where they wanted them. The Union troops attacked and almost everything went according to General George H. Thomas’ plan. Meanwhile, Confederate troops were getting caught and attacked around every corner, and things were not looking good for General John B. Hood. The fierce battle continued through the night. When morning dawned, surprisingly many Union soldiers died, and people said, “a person could walk from the top of the hill to the bottom without touching the ground.” (“Account”), but later that day, Union troops made up for it causing General John B. Hood to resign. He said, “I beheld the first and only time a Confederate army abandon the field in confusion,” (“Knockout at Nashville”). By saying this, Hood guarantees no more surrenders by the Confederate armies. His action concluded the Battle of

The Civil war was an event that shaped America. There were many important battles,events, and inventions that changed the course of the war. One of those important events was Sherman’s March. Sherman’s March changed the way the rest of the civil war was fought, by entering, “total war” (Carr).

Sherman and George Thomas were promoted to Brigadier General in August, 1861, and assigned to the Department of the Cumberland. He told Andrew Johnson, in which he was under the command of, that with 60,000 men Sherman could drive the enemy out of Kentucky.

Three days later, coordinated assaults were made: Sherman along the Graveyard Road, Maj. Gen. James McPherson hitting the center from the Jackson Road, and Maj. Gen. John McClernand attacking from the south along the lines of the Baldwin Ferry Road and the Southern Railroad of Mississippi. Although McClernand men briefly penetrated what was called the Railroad Redoubt, all three columns were repulsed, with a total loss of over

There are many important battles in the civil war. The battle of Antietam was the most important. Because it was the bloodiest battle, the Emancipation Proclamation and it was the beginning of the end of Mclean.

He himself said “War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over” (William Tecumseh Sherman). Unfortunately, Sherman was right. He had gained wisdom from fighting for the Union in past Civil War battles and knew what had to be done in order for the Union to be victorious. After continually losing to the rebel Confederates, Sherman learned that the only way to demolish the opponent was to target matters beyond the battlefield. This included resources keeping the rebels alive, the land they fought to protect, and the people they loved. These tactics of war and demolition were known as “extreme or modern warfare strategies” and had been used in wars before. Sherman openly conveyed his total warfare ideals to the public, and his concepts were turned down immediately. His fellow Union soldiers thought he was insane and put him on leave from the Union army. However, after some convincing, he returned to the battlefield in December of 1861 to serve for the Union where he carried out his first attempt of demolishing the

Ulysses S. Grant (named Hiram Ulysses Grant) was born on April 27, 1822. Grant began his military career graduating Westpoint as an average student in 1843. Grant fought in the Mexican-American War along with Robert E. Lee, a man he would be facing on the battlefield nearly fifteen years later. Grant came to an early retirement in 1854 but after struggling monetarily in civilian life he rejoined the Union army in 1861. Grant was the most famous Union General in the Civil War. Grant was elected for president in 1869 and again in 1873.

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” It 's a quote from U.S. Grant referring to the Battle of Shiloh. Not a lot of people might not know about the battle of Shiloh. That may be because it was an early battle of the Civil war. The Civil War was a conflict that was fought between the Southern Confederates and the u Northern Union. The war was originally about slavery and keeping the United States intact. One cause of the Civil War was Abraham 's election in 1860. People in the south thought once Lincoln was elected, he would immediately abolish slavery. They threatened to leave the U.S., and they did. South Carolina was the first to