Sherman's March to the Sea: The Destruction of Georgia

"Sherman's March to the Sea (15 November to 21 December 1864) was a significant military campaign in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Hoping to cripple the Confederacy's ability to make war, as well as to crush its will to keep fighting, Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman led 62,000 men on a march from Atlanta, Georgia, to the coastal city of Savannah. In between, he conducted a 'scorched earth' campaign, destroying farms, factories, railroads, and other resources of military value."

"On 2 September 1864, a long line of blue-coated Union soldiers streamed into Atlanta, Georgia. Bands played, cannons fired off salutes, and, above city hall, the Stars and Stripes waved for the first time since the state had seceded nearly four years before. The capture of Atlanta had been extremely beneficial to the Union - its fall had demoralized the South, exposed the underbelly of the eastern Confederate States, and destroyed any chance of the Union accepting a peace that did not include total victory."

From 15 November to 21 December 1864, Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman led 62,000 troops from Atlanta to Savannah in a campaign designed to cripple the Confederacy's ability to wage war and to destroy Southern morale. The army executed a scorched-earth strategy, destroying farms, factories, railroads, and other military resources across Georgia. Sherman's forces captured Savannah on 21 December after causing over $100 million in destruction, deeply disrupting Georgia's agriculture and infrastructure. The devastation required generations for recovery, fulfilled both strategic aims, and significantly contributed to bringing the Civil War to a close months later.

Read at World History Encyclopedia