Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea

The Atlanta Campaign took place in the Spring and Summer of 1864, just before the end of the civil war. In it, Union General William T. Sherman marched into Atlanta and took the city, which was the heart of almost all Southern manufacturing power. Atlanta, at the time, was also a major railroad hub of the south, which allowed for exporting and importing of tons of goods. Sherman's men were mostly not contested, and while there were some battles along the way, the majority of Sherman's men lived and Atlanta was taken and 1/3 of it was burned down as well. This was the beginning of morale war, which is when the lives of civilians are effected to make a conflict much less popular. The events leading up to it was the need for a final death blow to the now struggling south, and it led to the loss of one of the biggest southern cities there was. Sherman, however, did not stop here. He waited for a few months in Atlanta, and then went of a march to the sea when Lincoln gave him the go-ahead. Sherman's plan was simple, but dangerous. He planned to march south from Atlanta all the way to Savannah, living off the land as he and his army went. Before he set off, he had all of his men checked for illness, and those who were injured or sick had to stay put. Sherman's plan was risky because he was going to pillage farms and things as he went along to feed troops, and Georgia did not have a very well settled back-country. In the end, his plan worked and they arrived in Savannah, which was surrendered to him because the governor had heard of what happened in Atlanta and submitted. The burning of Atlanta gave Sherman the confidence for his march, and it led to the loss of yet another important city and port, Savannah.




http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2713
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-march-to-the-sea-begins
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