On November 15th, 1864 Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman, commander of the Grand Army of the West, embarked on a raid which would become known as the march to the sea designed to cut a 60 mile wide swath from Atlanta to Savannah. Once in Savannah he would turn north through South and North Carolina and on into Virginia to help Grant defeat Lee at Richmond. As Sherman?s soldiers were leaving Atlanta, now in flames, they went forward with the intent of shortening the Civil War. Sherman?s troops accomplished this with a brand of warfare seen only sporadically in the previous four years of battle. Sherman decided to turn his attention on destroying the ?enemy?s war economy? (Oates, 1998, p.594), going after the infrastructure of the South. Along the way his troops burned, pillaged, stole personal belongings, and confiscate possessions and property of the civilian population. Did the end justify the means and was this a just course of action? By November 1864, the Civil War had seen gruesome days to be sure. By the end of the war the total number of soldiers killed in combat and by disease and other non-combat related causes for both the North and South were 623, 026 (Foote, 1974).
The total wounded for both sides were 471,427 (Foote, 1974).
These numbers are staggering in that only 2,750,000 soldiers participated in the war. The battles of Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Antietem to name a few, were some of the most bloody of the war. The Union Army had changed commanders many times, among them Meade, Hooker, McClellan twice, Burnside, and Grant. Ulysses S. Grant was there to stay. Grant?s best subordinate officer was General Sherman. Sherman had taken command of the Western Theater and pushed Joseph Johnston off Lookout Mountain outside of Chattanooga, then maneuvered him out of position after position until Johnston fell back upon Atlanta, where Joe Johnston was relieved and the firebrand John Bell Hood took command. This was significant because Hood?s aggressiveness, it was feared by his troops, would surely get them killed (Carter, 1976).
The Essay on Explain the Impacts the Vietnam War Had on Soldiers
The Vietnam was a war like no other and the nature of the fighting in this war had great impacts on the soldiers. At this time, communism was seen as a great threat, especially by Western countries, and so extreme emphasis was placed on the domino theory that when one country falls to communism, others would follow and that forward defence would be the only solution to this issue. Also during this ...
They were not very wrong. Hood attacked Sherman almost immediately, launching several failed attacks intended to push Sherman away from Atlanta. They all failed and weakened Hood?s army so severely he had to give up Atlanta and allow Sherman many options on what to do next. Sherman?s intent was to tear through the heart of Georgia wrecking the infrastructure of the state. Sherman?s orders upon leaving Atlanta were ?that nothing be left intact that might be of use to the rebs when they returned? (Foote, 1974, p. 641).
Sherman?s orders for the march were similar, though he instructed his troops not to enter civilian dwellings or commit any trespass (Foote, 1974).
Sherman did order his men to ?forage liberally? (Oates, 1998) in organized details. Sherman wanted to bring the war to a region of the South previously untouched, middle Georgia. The tactic of foraging has certainly been used throughout history. Sun Tzu wrote essays about the art of war around 500 BC and even that far back the concept he proposed was ?the wise general sees to it that his troops feed on the enemy? (Griffith, 1971, p. 74).
When discussing doctrinal stability, Archer Jones writes ?the Union?s logistic strategy never had a chance to demonstrate its effectiveness? (1987, p. 417) because what ultimately shortened the war was Southern troops deserting their units. This may have been a lesser factor, but was likely brought about due to raids like Sherman?s that showed the true vulnerability of the South. The destruction of the South?s infrastructure such as rail lines, bridges, warehouses, and material that could be used to support military operations, is another principle which is a common occurrence in war. In Atlanta, the Mayor ?begged Sherman to rescind his order expelling the citizens from the city? (Groom, 1995, p.112) which Sherman refused to do because he was about to fire the town. While his intention was not to disturb civilian homes on the march, he would in fact authorize the burning of homes if it was found that owners had willfully destroyed crops or other things which the Union army could use. With that little bit of latitude, some Union soldiers would in fact loot and pillage for their own gain. Later, in Sherman?s after action report, he shrugged off what happened by saying that some of his men ?did some things they ought not to have done? (Groom, 1995, p.113).
The Essay on Why Following Orders In The Army Is Important
There are many reasons why a soldier should follow all of the orders they are given because every one of them is important in any circumstance. An order is a task given to a soldier that has to be done in a certain period of time in an efficient manner. There are three main reasons of why it’s important for a soldier to follow the orders they are given: To be disciplined, an effective combat, and ...
One of the most tragic events of the war involving non-combatants occurred during the march to the sea. With just tens of miles to go before Sherman?s troops reached Savannah, they had at their rear 25,000 blacks who had left their plantations and were determined to follow Sherman to freedom (Foote, 1974).
Oates quotes Sherman as saying ?I also told the army not to take any nigger refugees. Grant had urged me to ?clean the country of Negroes,? but I wasn?t going to do that: would just slow us down. Only niggers I wanted were able bodied men to work as army laborers? (1998, p. 590).
Sherman and his generals had admonished the Negroes to go home, that the war would soon be over and they would be free but to little avail. Even though many of these had turned back from exhaustion and fatigue, there were still a considerable number of blacks, women and children included, when Sherman?s column was crossing Ebenezer Creek. The creek was unfordable and a span was put in place by Sherman?s engineers. After Sherman?s troops finished crossing, he ordered the span removed and left all of the blacks on the other side. With Confederate horsemen closing on their position, the Negroes surged forward and then stampeded into the creek, determined not to be left behind by their deliverers who they thought would lead them out of bondage (Foote, 1974).
Many of those drowned to the horror of the engineers standing on the far bank. Seeing the disaster that their actions had brought on, the engineers waded into the icy creek to save who they could. To be accurate, it is important to note that Sherman did not know of this incident until much later and made no specific order to rid himself of the blacks who he saw as a burden. He did however, make it crystal clear through comments to his subordinates and directly to black ministers that he did not want them anywhere around his soldiers. The blacks did not heed the advice or the warnings. Sherman was deemed a brilliant, innovative and astute commander (Jones, 1987) by the end of the war. Even though he fell from grace early in the war, his beliefs and approach in time proved extremely accurate. Sherman was in fact very outspoken. He said ?in war,?everything is right which prevents anything. If bridges are burned, I?ve got a right to burn all the houses near it, and Goddamn it, I mean to do it, too? (Oates, 1998, p. 598).
The Term Paper on William T Sherman War General March
William Tecumseh Sherman (1820 - 1891) A True American Achiever One of the most colorful characters of the Civil War was a General named William T. Sherman. During the period of the war (1861-1865), General Sherman went full circle from being forced to retire on trumped up charges that he was insane, to becoming a key player in bringing this bloody war to a close. He entered the annals of military ...
Sherman firmly believed in fighting an extreme brand of war. He wanted to make the experience so painful that no one involved would ever have the desire to do so in the future. This actually is a very commendable and noble goal. Even though Sherman was fiery, outspoken, and justifying his actions with his own beliefs, they were not necessarily wrong or unjust. The march to the sea produced some events which in a different place or time would most definitely be judged differently. Taken individually, even his remarks would get him removed from office had he lived in our era. Sherman said ?I didn?t agree with Grant or the Administration that niggers could make good soldiers?? (Oates, 1998, p. 572).
Regarding the burning of Atlanta, ??the South made a big howl?but I would have been a Goddamned fool to take a town at such cost and leave it occupied by a hostile people. If Jeff Davis and Hood didn?t like it, *censored* ?em? (Oates, 1998, p.573).
Clearly Sherman liked the idea of tough ideas and tough action, but it is important to remember that neither he or his troops condoned crimes against a person such as murder or rape. The harshness with which he fought was motivated by a pure desire to end the war and leave such a distaste for it that no one would be in a hurry to have another. Did the end justify the means? Sherman had other options when he was in Atlanta. The option that President Lincoln and general Grant wanted him to take was to pursue General Hood and destroy his army. Even though Hood was defeated at Atlanta as Robert E. Lee had privately predicted (Long, 1983), he still had a considerable and very mobile force with which to fight. Sherman knew how costly and futile a pursuit would be. He knew he would have to garrison, Atlanta, guard the railroads, and chase Hood. ?That Goddamned Hood was afraid to fight me on open ground and therefore moved around and north of Atlanta?? (Oates, 1998, p.577).
The Essay on William Tecumseh Sherman War Troops Grant
William Tecumseh Sherman was, and still is, probably the most hated man in the history of Georgia. William was born on February 8 th, 1820, in Ohio. His father died when he was young, and his mother had to send him off to be raised by a foster parent. Sherman later married his foster parents daughter, Ellen Ewing. Sherman graduated from WestPoint military academy in 1840, and in the Mexican war, ...
Sherman knew that Hood was not burdened with many supplies or bags, and Hood already had a days march on him. He would be very hard indeed to catch. The cost in men and morale was also a factor. Trying to pursue Hood would mean marching into ambushes, fighting battles on ground of Hood?s choosing, and generally lowering the number and morale of Sherman?s soldiers. Chasing Confederate soldiers had proven extremely difficult throughout the war and there was no reason to think that Hood would be any different. With Hood moving north and west, Sherman would be pulled away from where he felt he could end the war sooner with fewer casualties, the South. When all is taken into account, the brutal battles, the staggering casualties, families divided against each other, the monumental devastation of resources, can anyone point a finger and say that what Sherman did by conducting a campaign against a hostile country was wrong or unjust. Only those who have been in that situation can really know what justice means. Did Sherman break civilian and military law? He probably did. It is too easy to look at each individual act in a wartime situation. An example of this would be when Sherman was within nine miles of Savannah he came upon a group of men standing around an officer whose leg had been blown to pieces by a mine, or torpedo as it was called in that day. As they were waiting for a doctor, another officer stepped on a mine and wounded him and several others. ?The *censored*ing cowards had planted eight inch shells in the road?this wasn?t war, it was Goddamned murder? (Oates, 1998, p.604).
Enraged, he made a group of Confederate prisoners use picks and shovels to uncover the rest of the mines in the road, even though they insisted that they had no idea that they were even there. Sherman said ?I don?t give a damn if you?re blown up. I?ll not have my own men killed like this? (Oates, 1998, p. 604).
This act is, in military justice, illegal. If that were to happen today, Sherman had a 50/50 chance of being charged. Morally, he was and would be hailed by his troops. Having been in a wartime situation myself, I understand that the issue of whether something is just differs between peacetime and wartime, region to region, and era to era. The core moral laws, however, don?t change. To cold bloodedly murder a civilian, rape, and torture of a civilian would clearly be immoral in any arena. Sherman did nor condoned any of this. Sherman had compassion for his enemy but was ruthless in dealing with them, much like general George S. Patton was in World War II. Both Patton and Sherman are considered to be among the greatest generals this country has ever produced. In my opinion Sherman?s plan, execution, and intent were just. The end most certainly justified the means. The march to the sea was a crushing blow to the resources of the South, isolated all regions of the Confederacy by destroying the rail hub in Atlanta, and permanently reducing the South?s morale and desire to fight.
The Term Paper on 1992 State University Of New York Press Work Modern Medieval
Work has always been an integral part of our lives as far back as 776 BC in the times of the Greeks to the present day. As Applebaum states, Work is like the spine which structures the way people live, how they make contact with material and social reality, and how they achieve status and self-esteem. 1. It appears from this quote alone that work is necessary in the development of the human ...
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References Carter, S. (1976).
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(1971).
Sun Tzu the art of war. New York: Oxford University Press. Groom, W. (1995).
Shrouds of glory: The last great campaign of the Civil War. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press. Jones, A. (1987).
The art of war in the western world. New York: Oxford University Press. Long, A.L.. (1983).
Memoirs of Robert E. Lee. Secaucus: The Blue and Grey Press. Oates, S. (1998).
The whirlwind of war: Voices of the storm 1861-1865. New York: Harpers Collins Publishers.
