The Atlanta Campaign Shermans March to the Sea

The Atlanta Campaign & Sherman’s March to the Sea

William T. Sherman Ulysses S. Grant ordered William Tecumseh Sherman to lead the Union army in Tennessee. Sherman planned to attack Atlanta, GA, a major Confederate city.

The Atlanta Campaign Sherman began his attack on Atlanta in May 1864. The city was a center for southern supplies, factories, and railroads. Experienced Union soldiers marched into GA. The Confederates fought back all summer; however Sherman’s larger army finally captured Atlanta in September.

Sherman sent a message to Lincoln by telegraph. Atlanta is ours, and fairly won. ” Lincoln welcomed this news. He was running for reelection in 1864 and worried about losing. He needed victories like Atlanta to gain voters’ support.

Sherman’s March to the Sea From Atlanta, Sherman’s soldiers marched to Savannah. This march became known as “Sherman’s March to the Sea. ” Along the way, they destroyed anything southerners needed for war. They stole food, wrecked railroad tracks and factories, and killed animals.

After reaching Savannah, Sherman’s army turned north, once again ruining everything in his path. One woman described how the soldiers “roamed about setting fire to every house …” Sherman used total war to make southerners so tired of fighting that they would give up. Total War: the strategy of destroying an enemy’s resources.

Does this scene look familiar?

Union general, William T Sherman brought death and destruction to the South. In his Atlanta Campaign he moved his army south into Atlanta. When the Union troops finally took over Atlanta, they burned it. Then, they headed to Savannah on what is called the “March to the Sea. ” Sherman wanted to destroy the South so that they couldn’t fight. His men destroyed railroads, bridges, homes, crops, stores along the way. He then headed to destroy South Carolina.

He reached Savannah just before Christmas of 1864 and sent Lincoln a telegram presenting the city as a gift. He headed for South Carolina to continue his destruction. By April of 1865, the confederate army was suffering. General Lee surrendered to General Grant in the town of Appomattox Court House, VA instead of celebrating, most soldiers on both sides quietly went home. The Union won the Civil War.