Sherman's March to the Sea
A pristine architectural record of Savannah's passage through time remains with us today thanks to the decision by General William T. Sherman not to burn our city, as he had Atlanta, on his infamous March to the Sea. Some account indicate the Mayor of Savannah in 1864, Dr. Richard Arnold, signaled the city would surrender. Other historical accounts indicate Savannah value as a seaport as the reason for the city's sparing. Whatever the reason, all of Savannah's citizens today, as well as historians, are happy that the city was spared.
The March to the Sea, which occurred over a six week period in November and December of 1864, is considered the most damaging action against civilian people in the Civil War of 1861 to 1865. The objective of Sherman's March to the Sea was to instil fear in the civilian population of Georgia to abandon the cause of the Confederacy. The March to the Sea played psychological warfare in which General William T. Sherman proved to the Confederation's populace that the government could not shield its civilians from attackers. Marching a military transversely, the state was a public demonstration that the Union contained authority that the Confederacy could not resist, proving statesmanship (Grant, 2017). Sherman's army did not cause destruction in the towns they passed through but instead stole livestock and food and torched barns and houses who demonstrated resistance.
After Sherman's army took control of Atlanta in September 1864, Sherman took several weeks to prepare to change his base to the coastal region. After Sherman and his army lost Atlanta, the Confederate forces set the track to Alabama and Tennessee, attacking supply lines of the Union on their way. Sherman rejected the plan of the Union of going to Mobile via Alabama on the basis that Rear Admiral David G. Farragut had gone through Mobile Bay on August of 1864 and that the Alabama port contained no military significance. Instead, Sherman chose to proceed to Charleston or Savannah, considering a route that could provide forage for the animals and food for the army (Grant, 2017). Though the then U.S President was doubtful and against the plan of Sherman of moving into the enemy region before the Presidential election that was to occur in November, Sherman managed to persuade Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant that the mission could be probable in winter.
Sherman divided the troops into two clusters. Major General George Thomas took control of 60,000 men to counter the Confederates at Nashville. In comparison, Sherman commanded 62,000 men for an offensive march to Savannah through Georgia, destroying things along the way to the sea. The two groups charged using different routes, with a general separation distance being twenty to forty miles separately. The left-wing marched to Augusta while the right-wing took to Macon before they turned and circumvented the cities, heading for the state capital at Milledgeville. The Confederate cavalry, which consisted of around 8,000 troops, opposed Sherman's advancements (Oldham, 2006). Major General Joseph Wheeler commanded the Confederate Calvary, added with several Georgia militia units that Gustavus W. Smith controlled. As much as William J. Hardee has command of Georgia with the control centre being at Savannah, he and Governor Joseph E. Brown had nothing to do with stopping Sherman and his army (Rubin, 2014). The term "bummers" was given to Sherman's hunters with their raiding of plantations and farms. The state capital later surrendered peacefully on 23rd November, with Sherman occupying the capitol building and the governor's mansion.
Several battles occurred between the Union troopers and Wheeler's cavalry, but only two actions hold significance. The first battle occurred on 22nd November east of Macon at a factory urban in Griswoldville when Georgia troops fought with Union infantry, which had catastrophic outcomes. The Union side recorded sixty-two casualties while the Confederates had six hundred and fifty men being wounded and killed. The second battle happened in Ogeechee River that is twelve miles below Savannah, on 13th December. Fort McAllister was captured and assaulted by William B. Hazen, giving a back door leading to the port city. Children, women, and men filled with fear leaped into deep water, with many dying in their attempts to seek safety, after which Davis received criticism from the Northern Press (Rubin, 2014). However, Sherman supported commander Davis stating that his actions were necessary on a military basis.
At Savannah, Confederate Lieutenant General Hardee realized that his small army had no ground of hold. Not seeing the city be levelled as in Atlanta made him order the troops to evacuate the trenches and go to South Carolina (Grant, 2017). Mayor Richard Arnold submitted Savannah to the Union army. However, Sherman was at Hilton Head making his preparation for a siege and informed President Lincoln on 22nd December that the city was now in Union control. After arriving in Savannah, Sherman setup his headquarters at the Green-Meldrim House.
Outcomes of the March include Sherman terrorizing the countryside, destroying forage and food, leaving behind a demoralized and hungry people. As much as no towns were levelled, buildings were damaged in regions that exhibited resistance, with little sympathy given to Millen in which prisoners of war from the Union were held. Sherman either captured or burned the sum of the food provisions that Georgians had collected for the wintertime season (Oldham, 2006). Sherman thought that his campaign on citizens could reduce the war period by defying the Confederate will into fighting, which resulted in him being permitted to continue his psychological warfare to South Carolina during 1865.
References
Grant, U. S. (2017). The Campaign in Georgia-Sherman's March to the Sea-War Anecdotes-The March on Savannah-Investment of Savannah-Capture of Savannah. In The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (pp. 628-648). Harvard University Press.
Oldham, A. S. (2006). Sherman's March (in) to the Sea. Tenn. L. Rev., 74, 319.
Rubin, A. S. (2014). Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman's March and American Memory. UNC Press Books.
