Sherman therefore planned an operation that has been compared to the modern principles of scorched earth warfare. Grant, believed that the Civil War would come to an end only if the Confederacy's strategic capacity for warfare could be decisively broken. Sherman's "March to the Sea" followed his successful Atlanta Campaign of May to September 1864. Background and objectives Military situation įurther information: Western Theater of the American Civil War and American Civil War The poem would go on to lend its name to Sherman's campaign, and a version set to music became an instant hit with Sherman's Army and later the public. Sherman, reading the paper later in the day, was moved by Byers' poem, and promoted Byers to his staff the two became lifelong friends. When Byers was freed by the Union Capture of Columbia, he approached General Sherman and handed him a scrap of paper. During his imprisonment, Byers wrote a poem about the Savannah campaign which he titled "Sherman's March to the Sea", which was set to music by fellow prisoner W. Byers was a Union prisoner of war held at Camp Sorghum, near Columbia, South Carolina. The March to the Sea owes its common name to a poem written by S. The portion of this march through South Carolina was even more destructive than the Savannah campaign, since Sherman and his men harbored much ill-will for that state's part in bringing on the start of the Civil War the following portion, through North Carolina, was less so. Sherman's decision to operate deep within enemy territory without supply lines was unusual for its time, and the campaign is regarded by some historians as an early example of modern warfare or total war.įollowing the March to the Sea, Sherman's army headed north for the Carolinas Campaign. The operation debilitated the Confederacy and helped lead to its eventual surrender. His forces followed a " scorched earth" policy, destroying military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property, disrupting the Confederacy's economy and transportation networks.
The campaign began on November 15 with Sherman's troops leaving Atlanta, recently taken by Union forces, and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major general of the Union Army.
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