Sherman's March - 4of5

Perhaps the originator and the first practitioner of what the twentieth century came to know as "total war," William Tecumseh Sherman in 1864 commanded the Union armies of the West in the decisive drive from Chattanooga to Atlanta and the famous "march to the sea" across Georgia.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• military
• documentary
• history
• warfare
• William
• Tecumseh
• Sherman
• 1864
• March
• Georgia
• Atlanta
• Chattanooga
• Union
• Confederate
• Civil
• War
• South
• North
• Blue
• Gray

[gregorygrose]

@gregorygrose .....And your family

[gregorygrose]

Going to the SC capital was like bending the Confederacy over the couch and giving it to her good..With no vasiline....Piss on you John C. Calhoun

[Tiny95]

@IronBrig4 Sherman liked the rumors, though. They scared the southerners and that was the goal.

[IronBrig4]

@farmerne Actually, the Southern tales of rape and murder during Sherman's March are largely exaggerated if not fabricated. Sherman's men behaved themselves for the most part, although there were scoundrels in the army, just as there are in any large group of men. Remember that about half of the Union soldiers were farm boys while 84% of Northerners still lived in rural areas. Look at Sherman's order of battle and most of the troops are from Iowa and Illinois. Not many slums there.

[farmerne]

I think the incidence of rapes during Sherman's March has been under-reported. After all, this was the 1860's and rape was so shameful that the women victims were not likely to advertise the fact--either at the time or in after years. There were out-of-control drunken soldiers filled with a hatred of the "enemy", and women were fair game. Also many Union soldiers had been recruited from the worst of the Northern city slums and criminal classes. You know there had to be plenty of rapes.

[boy18inva]

If the Civil War was fought today, in proportion to the population of the U.S. then and now the total casualties would have been over 6 million.

[zooeyhall]

A great book on the Civil War entitled "Across Five Aprils" has this to say about Sherman's march through South Carolina:

"It was then that South Carolina knew the lash of a triumphant army. Drunk with the plundering of Georgia, and filled with a rage against the state where the Civil war had started. 'This is the place where Secession began' ,they cried. 'And by God, here's where it will end!"

[Pillzbug]

Bah - Such apologetics... Tis well thought that fleeing confederate soldiers had set fire to the city while leaving.

[KayBeeEee1983]

@mtkwaske90 100000? I don't think there were even 100,000 soldiers left in the entire Confederate Army by that point.

[timebandit71]

@KayBeeEee1983 lol now thats an accurate assessment if ive ever heard it....