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By November 1864, the Civil War had seen gruesome days to be sure. By the end of the war the total number of soldiers killed in combat and by disease and other non-combat related causes for both the North and South were 623, 026 (Foote, 1974). The total wounded for both sides were 471,427 (Foote, 1974). These numbers are staggering in that only 2,750,000 soldiers participated in the war. The battles of Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Antietem to name a few, were some of the most bloody of the war. The Union Army had changed commanders many times, among them Meade, Hooker, McClellan twice, Burnside, and Grant. Ulysses S. Grant was there to stay. Grant's best subordinate officer was General Sherman.
Sherman had taken command of the Western Theater and pushed Joseph Johnston off Lookout Mountain outside of Chattanooga, then maneuvered him out of position after position until Johnston fell back upon Atlanta, where Joe Johnston was relieved and the firebrand John Bell Hood took command. This was significant because Hood's aggressiveness, it was feared by his troops, would surely get them killed (Carter, 1976). They were not very wrong. Hood attacked Sherman almost immediately, launching several failed attacks intended to push Sherman away from Atlanta. They all failed and weakened Hood's army so severely he had to give up Atlanta and allow Sherman many options on what to do next.
Sherman's intent was to tear through the heart of Georgia wrecking the infrastructure of the state. Sherman's orders upon leaving Atlanta were "that nothing be left intact that might be of use to the rebs when they returned" (Foote, 1974, p. 641). Sherman's orders for the march were similar, though he instructed his troops not to enter civilian dwellings or commit any trespass (Foote, 1974). Sherman did order his men to "forage liberally" (Oates, 1998) in organized details. Sherman wanted to bring the war to a region of the South previously untouched, middle Georgia.
The tactic of foraging has certainly been used throughout history. Sun Tzu wrote essays about the art of war around 500 BC and even that far back the concept he proposed was "the wise general sees to it that his troops feed on the enemy" (Griffith, 1971, p. 74). When discussing doctrinal stability, Archer Jones writes "the Union's logistic strategy never had a chance to demonstrate its effectiveness" (1987, p. 417) because what ultimately shortened the war was Southern troops deserting their units. This may have been a lesser factor, but was likely brought about due to raids like Sherman's that showed the true vulnerability of the South.
The destruction of the South's infrastructure such as rail lines, bridges
Quotes talked about in this paper
- Sherman decided to turn his attention on destroying the "enemy's war economy" ...
- Sherman did order his men to "forage liberally" ...
- he shrugged off what happened by saying that some of his men "did some things they ought not to have done" ...
- Sherman as saying "I also told the army not to take any nigger refugees. Grant had urged me to ‘clean the country of Negroes,' but I wasn't going to do that: would just slow us down. Only niggers I wanted were able bodied men to work as army laborers" ...
- He said "in war,…everything is right which prevents anything. If bridges are burned, I've got a right to burn all the houses near it, and Goddamn it, I mean to do it, too" ...
- Sherman said "I didn't agree with Grant or the Administration that niggers could make good soldiers…" ...
- Sherman said "I don't give a damn if you're blown up. I'll not have my own men killed like this" ...
- Sherman decided to turn his attention on destroying the "enemy's war economy" ...
- Sherman did order his men to "forage liberally" ...
- he shrugged off what happened by saying that some of his men "did some things they ought not to have done" ...
- Sherman as saying "I also told the army not to take any nigger refugees. Grant had urged me to ‘clean the country of Negroes,' but I wasn't going to do that: would just slow us down. Only niggers I wanted were able bodied men to work as army laborers" ...
- He said "in war,…everything is right which prevents anything. If bridges are burned, I've got a right to burn all the houses near it, and Goddamn it, I mean to do it, too" ...
- Sherman said "I didn't agree with Grant or the Administration that niggers could make good soldiers…" ...
- Sherman said "I don't give a damn if you're blown up. I'll not have my own men killed like this" ...
Names referenced in this essay
Sherman, General Sherman, John Bell Hood, Oates, Foote,
Organizations mentioned in this report
Union Army,
Locations talked about in this research paper
Atlanta,
Keywords mentioned in this research paper
Atlanta, New York, Civil War, William Tecumseh Sherman, Foote, Oxford University Press, generals, union army, John Bell Hood, war economy, World War II, Sun Tzu, Savannah, civilian population, niggers, Atlantic Monthly Press, Negroes, morale, subordinate officer, both sides, Joe Johnston, icy creek, Goddamned, a brand, Ebenezer Creek, George M, that day, to remember, North Carolina, Lookout Mountain, middle georgia, Ballantine Books, military operations, military justice, President Lincoln, too easy, Jeff Davis, military law, Random House, women and children, outspoken, unjust, western world, engineers, rape, Patton, accurate, rail, Publishers, Hovsepian,
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