"The south must be ruled or will rule," he is quoted as saying, "We must fight it out army against army, man against man." While the south's forces were preoccupied elsewhere, Sherman had successfully made the psychological strike required to break the psychological thread that held the south together by way of southern pride and philosophy. "He intended to make the people 'so sick of war that generations would pass before they would again appeal to it.'"
That Sherman received the people of Savannah as a host in their own city to grant favors, and allowed the city government to go about their daily business proved the confidence Sherman had in his strength of force and the power he now wielded over the southern city on the sea. While some residents of Savannah held out hope that the Confederacy would persevere, others embraced their reunion with the Union; even if somewhat reluctantly. Sherman's presence in Savannah, and the 300-mile path of destruction that he cut across Georgia, served to increase the sense of "loss that was slowly eroding Rebel society." It served to show the importance of conducting a campaign that delivered an extreme blow to the confidence of the population, so that they would cease to devote what little resources they continued to have to their cause.
Sherman's march had evoked unconscious emotional response that previously had appeared only as impotent discontent. Not long after Christmas, a group of Savannah Unionists asked Governor Brown to call a convention to discuss the merits of continuing the war, and many anxious Georgians in nearby counties concurred."
Hopelessness, like a spread, spread with the taking of the "heart of Dixie." Georgia was a strategic and psychological gain for the Union. Without it, there is only speculation as to how long the southern population might have braced itself against accepting the end of the war. Sherman's march was both militarily and psychologically necessary to bring about a close to the war.
References www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24198293
Bailey, a.J. (2000). The Chessboard of War: Sherman and Hood in the Autumn Campaigns of 1864. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24198491 www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002502757
Bailey, a.J. (2002). Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, Joe Johnston, and the Yankee Heavy Battalions. Journal of Southern History, 68(4), 960+. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002502757 www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5006734604
Bailey, a.J. (2004). Legacy of Disunion: The Enduring Significance of the American Civil War. Journal of Southern History, 70(3), 696+. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5006734604...
Sherman's March To The Sea Services and trainings at military Marriage and Career Services in Civil Wars Brilliant strategic Sherman's March Year 1864 (Atlanta Event): Preparation of War 4 March to the Sea Event Move to South Carolina Event Move to North Carolina Event Consequences of the Sherman's March Research Paper Sherman's March to the Sea William Tecumseh Sherman who was also known as General Sherman (born on 8 February, 1820 in Lancaster-Ohio) that is nearby Hocking River shore. By profession, his
However, despite the personal successes, he felt personally responsible for the loss and would use the events from Bull Run to questions his effectiveness as a military officer. Next, Sherman would serve under Robert Anderson. Where, he would eventually succeed him and take command of all Union forces in Kentucky. This was important, because Kentucky was considered to be a neutral state in the war, where the Union army was
Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, commander of the western armies that took Atlanta in 1864. Specifically, it will look at how his capture of Atlanta and eventual March to the Sea eventually ended the Civil War. GENERAL WILLIAM T. SHERMAN AND ATLANTA You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it...War is hell" (William T. Sherman). William Tecumseh Sherman is one of the
The warfare was also psychological because the looting of southern homes and the pillaging of southern farms greatly diminished the resources of the confederate army. The confederate army was running out of options. In addition to the use of psychological warfare, Sherman also used traditional warfare tactics to bring about surrender and ultimately victory. Sherman's strategies during the Civil War also had an influence upon the manner in which the
Civil War Born in 1826, George B. McClellan served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He was also a politician who became a major general at the time of the Civil War from 1861-1865 as well as a railroad president. In 1861, he was in command of the Army of Potomac, which he organized. McClellan also served the Union Army as the general-in-chief for a short time. He was
American Civil War Warfare in the American Civil War The Western characteristic of total war best exemplifies warfare in the American Civil War because it was this definitive tactic which helped the Union to completely crush any remaining hopes of victory in the South. Two Generals effected a policy of total war against the South: General Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley and General William Tecumseh Sherman in his March to the
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now