War and Ruin: William T. Sherman and the Savannah Campaign"I can make this march, and make Georgia howl." -William Tecumseh Sherman The "March to the Sea" shocked Georgians from Atlanta to Savannah. For the first time, suffering and carnage came to their very doorsteps in the form of 60,000 battle-hardened Union troops led by General William Tecumseh Sherman. In the late autumn of 1864, as his troops cut a four-week long path of terror through Georgia, Sherman accomplished his objective: to destroy civilian morale and with it their support for the Confederate cause. His actions elicited a passionate reaction as tales of his dastardly deeds and destruction burned Sherman's name into the Southern psyche. He became the ruthless personification of evil, an arch villain who made war on innocent women, children, and old men. But does the Savannah Campaign deserve the reputation it has been given? And was Sherman truly this brutal? In her new book War and Ruin, Anne J. Bailey examines this event and investigates just how much truth is behind the popular historical notions. Because Sherman's dash through Georgia was so terrifying, it left an indelible impression on the people who were unlucky enough to be in the Union army's way. Bailey contends that the psychological horror rather than the actual physical damage-which was not as devastating as believed-led to the wilting of Southern morale. This dissolution of resolve helped lead to ultimate Confederate defeat as well as to the development of Sherman's infamous reputation. Although he rarely carried out his threats to the South in full, Sherman's thunderous rhetoric nevertheless would resonate through the generations. War and Ruin looks at the "March to the Sea" from its inception in Atlanta to its culmination in Savannah. This fascinating text is a chronicle of not just the campaign itself, but also a revealing description of how the people of Georgia were affected. War and Ruin brilliantly combines military history and human interest to achieve a convincing portrayal of what really happened i |
Contents
A HAVEN OF BLISS Savannah | 1 |
THE BLUE JACKETS RULE THE DAY Atlanta | 17 |
OUR CAUSE Is NOT LOST The Confederate Response | 37 |
JOHN BROWNS SOUL GOES MARCHING ON Sherman Leaves Atlanta | 53 |
LEAVING SUFFERING AND DESOLATION BEHIND THEM Milledgeville and Griswoldville | 65 |
WE HEAR OF TERRIBLE TIMES BELOW Southeast Georgia | 77 |
ALMOST STARVED AND RAGGED Nearing Savannah | 91 |
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Common terms and phrases
Andersonville Army of Tennessee Atlanta Atlanta campaign Augusta battle Beauregard Brigadier burned campaign Carlin cavalry Charleston Christmas city's Civil War Letters civilians Cloth ISBN coast Cobb command Confederacy Confederate army Connolly Corps cotton December defenders destroy Diary enemy Federal fighting foraging Geary Governor Brown Grant Griswoldville Hardee Henry Hitchcock Hitchcock Hood horses houses Howard Howell Cobb Ibid Illinois infantry James Jefferson Davis John Jones Kennett Kilpatrick knew later Lincoln Macon march across Georgia Marching through Georgia McAllister McLaws Memoirs miles military Milledgeville moved mules negroes Northern noted November Oconee River officer Paper ISBN plantation prisoners Pulaski railroad Rebel residents Richmond Sherman's Civil Sherman's march Siege of Savannah slaves Sneden South Carolina Southern told his wife total war town troops Union soldiers University of Georgia University Press USAMHI Virginia wagons wanted West Point Wheeler William Tecumseh Sherman women wrote Yankees York
References to this book
From Mounds to Megachurches: Georgia's Religious Heritage David Salter Williams Limited preview - 2010 |