William Tecumseh Sherman Total War Essay

General William Tecumseh Sherman, a famous Civil War general, is most commonly known for his important role in the victory of the Union. He was not a military general before the war started, but went to a military school and later found himself quitting law and banking to join the war up north as a colonel of the 13th United States Infantry. At the beginning of the war against the Confederates, he continuously complained about the strength of the enemy; he believed the north had a slim chance against the power of the southern confederates. He was even taken off duty and evaluated as “insane” for his views. When he was reinstated, his mindset completely changed and he followed a method known as “total war”. Total war is when everything is destroyed

Sherman ordered the destruction of government and military buildings, thus burning down many civilian residences in the wake of the attack. It was estimated that in his march to the sea, alone, he caused $100 million in property damage. In the 1860s this was an immense amount of money, very difficult to pay back or rebuild at this time. It is said even to this day that William Sherman is the most hated man in the history of Georgia due to this destruction. On the other hand, by causing this chaos, he split the confederacy in two, cutting off much needed supplies to the troops fighting up north. This is what quickly resulted in a Union victory. Another argument in favor of Sherman was that he was, in fact, ordered to cause this much “havoc and destruction” by Ulysses S. Grant. But, it is also known that in during his March to the Sea, he cut off communication with his army and left behind miles and miles of

In his capturing of Atlanta, he ordered the burning of government and military buildings which, in turn, burned down many civilian residences in it’s wake. He is seen as the enemy, burning and destroying everything in his path and subsequently the innocent civilians in his path. He also went against orders and cut off communication with his army, which would normally result in being released from duty, but he was quickly forgiven when it resulted in a Union victory. His perspective of total war is a great example of military strength, but when that strength is exerted, resulting in millions of dollars in damage, it does more harm than good. After the war, the country was left in economic distress, and rebuilding parts of the Carolinas and Georgia due to his “March to the Sea” were just adding to that long list of bills to pay. Throughout my research I found “Though afterward promoted to brigadier general, he was convinced by his experience at Bull Run that he was unfit for such responsibility, and he begged President Abraham Lincoln not to trust him in an independent command.” He himself believed he was unfit for the job, so why should we honor General Sherman for his bravery when we now see he was afraid of the responsibility and begged for it to be taken from