On this date in 1865

General William T. Sherman's sixty thousand soldiers, organized into six corps, began marching out of their camps around Savannah, GA, headed North. Like Georgia, they would make South Carolina howl.

Well sure, if you empty the New York prisons of every rapist and murderer you can find, collect them all together, and set them loose on a civilian population you can indeed “make them howl”.

The man built an army of criminals and set them loose on women and children. The only one worse than Sherman was Sherman’s wife. She literally called for genocide of all southern people in her letters to him.

Most all of the troops in Savannah were gone by Jan 25, 1865. Shortly after they left, a Ammo dump exploded on the west side of town and burned more than 100 homes. It is not known if it was a Union Action, Confederate Action, or, just an unfortunate accident. I tend to lean towards the unfortunate accident myself.

I had not heard of the fire until I was grown, but, always wondered why that side of town had no old buildings in it. Up until the 70s it was just old warehouses, and, a few businesses. The area changed a LOT over the years.

“Well sure, if you empty the New York prisons of every rapist and murderer you can find, collect them all together, and set them loose on a civilian population you can indeed “make them howl”.”

Not quite. Of the 117 infantry regiments making up the six Corps of Sherman’s Army 14 regiments were from New York. And a few from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts. 80% of the Sherman’s army was composed of infantry regiments from West of the Appalachian Mountains

Now, there you go with them confusin' facts. That's not what great-grammy taught so that didn't happen...

If quotes weren't so abbreviated, folks would see that Sherman was talking about the hell of war, and how it needed to be taken to those that were supporting the rebellion and sustaining the war. They (the populace insulated from the fighting) had to be made to feel the consequences of their actions, and thereby share in the misery and pain - and thereby lose their will for continuing.

A lot of parallels with this 'first modern war' and what happened with Germany in WW1. The final defeat of Germany (despite lots of faulty US history and propaganda) came from the collapse of the civilian structure - they were hollowed out and starving. The kamikaze admirals and their decisions that brought about the Kiel mutinies were just the spark that lit the already well-prepared fuse.

Sherman’s thoughts on the subject in a letter to General Halleck dated 24 Dec. 1864.

“we are not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people, and must make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war, as well as their organized armies”

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