A Reexamination

[Ambrose Bierce]

This is pretty interesting, and particularly since we are finishing 1864 and heading into 1865. Sherman's March to the Sea began 150 years ago tomorrow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/us/150-years-later-wrestling-with-a-revised-view-of-shermans-march.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Sherman's March Through the Carolinas by John G. Barrett presents a very different account, particularly of that of the foraging parties and some of the outright atrocities committed in selected instances.

He makes no apologies, but his sources do not support a solely military-infrastructure based targeting during Sherman's campaigns.

[Coatsy]

Re: A Reexamination

Ivan, thanks for posting. "Southern Storm, Sherman's March to the Sea" by Noah A. Trudeau has a similar theme throughout it as well, supported by first hand accounts from US, CS, and civilian sources.

[J. Donaldson]

Re: A Reexamination

The Hard Hand of War by Mark Grimsley is an excellent study of the change in Federal war policy towards civilians that culminated in the "hard war" tactics of the final eighteen months of the war. Grimsley divides the war into essentially three phases, the final phase encapsulating Sherman's campaigns through Georgia and the Carolinas, as well as the 1864 campaigns through the Shenandoah. His thesis is that by late 1863/early 1864, the administration and the Army chose to fight a punitive campaign in order to remove the will of the Southern populace to continue to resist. Personally, I think that role of food and agricultural resources in that scenario has been under represented, while railroads have been had too much concentration. Lisa Brady's "War upon the Land" offers discussion on that topic.

As to the behavior of Sherman's men in the field, I really haven't seen much that counters the trend that (essentially) Georgia was a warm up, South Carolina suffered, and that by the time the army reached the North Carolina border, the destruction began to wind down due to a number of factors.

[Mississippian]

Re: A Reexamination

Don't forget the true warm up for Sherman's various marches: The Meridian Expedition of Jan-Feb 1864. Most people only know about the northern part of the raid where Sooy Smith got crushed by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Smith was supposed to meet Sherman in Meridian but of course never got there. Still, Sherman did tremendous damage to central Mississippi, and in someways that part of the state has never really recovered.

Will MacDonald

[J. Donaldson]

Re: A Reexamination

Meridian finally convinces Sherman that you could feed an army off the land in enemy territory. Perhaps most important is Holly Springs the year previously; Grant is forced to live off the land while retreating following the loss of his supplies, and he comes to the conclusion that this was plausible. Everything springs from that retreat.

[Ambrose Bierce]

Re: A Reexamination

Interestingly, Sherman actually had an affinity for the South due to his pre-war posting to Charleston where he was warmy welcomed into Southern society. He saw the preservation of the Union and ending of the Rebellion as paramount and wanted to do so as efficiently as possible. Will and Bob are correct in that he perhaps tested his theory and put it to practice over a series of campaigns.

To your point, Bob, the way the army lived off the land is impressive on many levels. Both Barrett's and Bradley's books on the Carolina campaign and Robert Strong's and William Cram's memoirs support that the soldiers were able to supply themselves fairly well (with a few lean times, to be sure). One of them (and I am paraphrasing) went so far as to say that as long as he had ammunition he could live quite comfortably off of the land.

Perhaps the saddest crime was committed at Columbia, SC. In an effort to prevent drunkeness, looting--and drunken looting!--Sherman ordered all of the liquor in the town to be poured into the streets. Probably not all of this order was followed to the letter and the fact that the town burned for nigh on four days is testament to the directive's effectiveness....truly a waste of good liquor; so tragic!

[Coatsy]

Re: A Reexamination

Great points with the Meridian Campaign Will. I finally picked up "Sherman’s Forgotten Campaign: The Meridian Expedition" by Margie Bearss last year, and I was surprised how much the soldier's accounts in the book were in line with what the men of Sherman's army said during the Savannah Campaign.