William T. Sherman and 1864

[Milkman]

All of us who grew up in Ga. recognize the name of General William T. Sherman.
I was educated in the Ga public school system from 1961-1973. I remember having 2 teachers in 3rd and 5th grade who were old maid sisters. These dear old ladies are long ago passed away now. From all the teachings I remember from these ladies I think they had more respect for Satan than for General Sherman.
I think they fully believed that Sherman was soley responsible for all bad things that had happened in the state of Ga from 1864 until the present time.

What if Gen Grant had not ordered Sherman to invade Ga ?

What if Gen Sherman had not chosen to invoke the "scorched earth' policy.

What are your thoughts on the events in Ga from May until December of 1864 ?

 

[Jranger]

I think the message he delivered was not very well recieved... I for one wouldn't have taken very kindly to it either.

 

[Nicodemus]

He didn`t like us, or the Plains Indians, much.

 

[fishfryer]

Those two fine old ladies were right,or at least more right than wrong.Kennedy and Johnson have a share too,with present company not excepted.

 

[Resica]

He didn`t like us, or the Plains Indians, much.

I think he liked southerners Nic and disliked war. Had to do what he had to do. He was superintendent of what became LSU before the war.

 

[slightly grayling]

Both sides of my family are from rural areas in Georgia and have been there well before the Civil War. The impression I get when it comes to Sherman, is that it is almost ancestrial memory/hatred among southerners. Many farms and homesteads that took generations to build were raized and some Union Soldiers were given free reign to plunder and destroy. These were rarely large plantations and few of these were built with slave labor; however, that isn't the popular notion. The hardships that followed scarred famlies and communities for generations. If anything good came out of the plunder of the south, it may be that the population was better prepared for the great depression than most areas of the US.

 

[Randy]

If we did in Iraq what Sherman did in Georgia we would all be crying foul.

 

[Milkman]

If Shermans group in Ga and Sheridans group in the Shenandoah had not decimated all in their path what would have happened?

Would the resources destroyed in the scorched earth campaign have been enough to keep the Southern war effort going for longer?

Would this have resulted in Union initiated peace settlements different than the Confederate surrenders did?

 

[Milkman]

He didn`t like us, or the Plains Indians, much.

One documented fact is that Sherman had a total dislike for the southern black people.

He was a soldier and a good one. Think if you will of taking an Army of 60,000 into enemy territory with no supply line whatsoever. He was cut off from the Northern railroads after leaving Atlanta. Much of what his troops pillaged was for forage for the 60,000 men and the animals it took to pull those wagon trains and cavalry. They took time in the fall of 1864 to determine what counties had the best crop harvests that fall and took full advantage of that. He supplied his Army fully and destroyed most of the rest. Sad but true.

 

[Citiboy287]

All of us who grew up in Ga. recognize the name of General William T. Sherman.
I was educated in the Ga public school system from 1961-1973. I remember having 2 teachers in 3rd and 5th grade who were old maid sisters. These dear old ladies are long ago passed away now. From all the teachings I remember from these ladies I think they had more respect for Satan than for General Sherman.
I think they fully believed that Sherman was soley responsible for all bad things that had happened in the state of Ga from 1864 until the present time.

What if Gen Grant had not ordered Sherman to invade Ga ?

What if Gen Sherman had not chosen to invoke the "scorched earth' policy.

What are your thoughts on the events in Ga from May until December of 1864 ?

I suggest you read Shermans Memoirs, Sherman was a friend of the South > Sherman had mapped the State of Georgia after leaving West Point Which gave me vast knowledge of the State and made contacts with the culture. He was commander of LSU until the war and then , returned to Ohio to form a regiment. He was kicked out about 2 years after the war began because it was believed he was Crazy, Sherman hated war but believed that what ever it took to end it was better than letting the Killing go on and on, His biggest mistake was Kennesaw mountain and he always regreted not flaking Johnson. The myth of him burning Atlanta has never been confirmed, He insists that the burning of 5 point rail head resulted from southern soliders burning a freight train to avoid the union from taking the supplies and the fire got out of hand. Interesting fact - on north side drive in a small traffic island is a historical marker indicating that that was teh spot Atlanta was surrendered, He gave direct orders to not touch the capital near MLK Jr . He was wined and dined by the city of Atlanta Elite. - Upon the departure from Atlanta, he gave orders for teh army to live off the land, His logic was carry no supplies and live off the land, This is where the burnt earth idea got again out of hand, Considering that the Majority of the landowners were the rich elite, it was his way of bringing the war home, actually there were only skirmishes all the way to Savanah, the plan was to get a port to accept additional supplies, Some writers suggest that the need for the port was to arrange for the slaves to be returned to Africa, but Lincoln never sent the ships and by the time Sherman got back to DC , Lincoln had been killed. When sherman marched at the Grand army of the republic victory prade , he marched with his Black road builder unit , so the idea he was a racist was not proven. After he retired he made many trips to the South and again dined with the Elite and was the toast of the town and interesting fact was that when Sherman died , General Johnson acted as a pallbearer ( Johnson Died a few weeks later) ,,,,, Now in retro spec one must consider if Shreman had not Matched accross Georgia and caused the material distruction, How many more members for each sides military would have been killed? Sherman invented the concept that when the civilian population feels the war , the end of the war will be near.
There can be many many comparisons drawn from this concept. In ww2 every family was involved in the war effort , Today Iraq and Afganistan effects a small number of families , so there is not any realy investment in the outcome... By bringing the war to Georgia , the families felt the effect of the war -------- I beleive that this is an old rural saying , Ham and eggs, the chicken make a donation, the pig make a committment -----

 

[35 Whelen]

Just finished reading "Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea" by Noah Andre Trudeau. Very interesting read. According to the author, it was Sherman's idea to march from Atlanta to Savannah and had to sell the idea to Grant and Lincoln.

 

[lagrangedave]

He read Sun Tzu.

 

[CAL]

I am told that because Madison,Ga. was such a beautiful city.Sherman ordered nothing to be burned or destroyed!To me it is a beautiful city today.

 

[Jeff Raines]

Probably 15 years ago,I was in the uncle remus museum in Eatonton.While there I was talking with the elderly woman that was working .Man,the way she talked about Sherman you'd think he personally slapped her.
But uncle billy did what he had to do to make the war end.

 

[Resica]

I am told that because Madison,Ga. was such a beautiful city.Sherman ordered nothing to be burned or destroyed!To me it is a beautiful city today.

I heard he knew the mayor or something along those lines.

 

[chiefsquirrel83]

My history professor in college stated that if Sherman didn't burn Atlanta...then Atlanta would probably be the size of Macon or Columbus.....so thank a yankee for all the traffic, pollution, and crime we have now....

 

[Resica]

I thought Hood burned her.

 

[rongohio]

I am told that because Madison,Ga. was such a beautiful city.Sherman ordered nothing to be burned or destroyed!To me it is a beautiful city today.

He did the same with Cheraw, SC, another beautiful town where some friends of mine used to live. Other than that though, it's my understanding that SC got it a lot worse than Georgia did.

 

[Milkman]

I am told that because Madison,Ga. was such a beautiful city.Sherman ordered nothing to be burned or destroyed!To me it is a beautiful city today.

I heard he knew the mayor or something along those lines.

Sherman may have visited Madison Ga before the war, but his memoirs document that he was traveling with the right wing which never got closer than 20 miles to Madison. They went the route from Covington - Shady Dale - Eatonton It may have been one of his commanding generals who made the decision. Some stuff was burned in Madison.

From the books I have read most of what was burned in the towns they passed through was governmental buildings and anything that could provide resources to the Confederate war effort. Things like warehouses, gins, depots, factories,
However if the local Militia gave resistance the town suffered accordingly.

 

[Milkman]

He did the same with Cheraw, SC, another beautiful town where some friends of mine used to live. Other than that though, it's my understanding that SC got it a lot worse than Georgia did.

Ron,
The things the Union troops under Sherman did in SC were worse than in Ga from what I have read. Whole towns were burned and werent rebuilt.