Posted on 12/22/2005 4:30:33 AM PST by mainepatsfan
This Day In History | Civil War
December 22
1864 Sherman presents Lincoln with a Christmas gift
Union General William T. Sherman presents the city of Savannah, Georgia, to President Lincoln. Sherman captured Georgia's largest city after his famous "March to the Sea" from Atlanta. Savannah had been one of the last major ports that remained open to the Confederates.
After Sherman captured Atlanta in September 1864, he did not plan to stay for long. There was still the Confederate army of General John Bell Hood in the area, and cavalry leaders like Nathan Bedford Forrest and Joe Wheeler, who could threaten Sherman's supply lines. In November, Sherman dispatched part of his force back to Nashville, Tennessee, to deal with Hood while Sherman cut free from his supply lines and headed south and east across Georgia. Along the way, his troops destroyed nearly everything that lay in their path. Sherman's intent was to wreck the morale of the South and bring the war to a swift end.
For nearly six weeks, nothing was heard from Sherman's army. Finally, just before Christmas, word arrived that Sherman's army was outside Savannah. A Union officer reached the coast and found a Union warship that carried him to Washington to personally deliver news of the success. Sherman wired Lincoln with the message, "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton."
No Union general is hated as much as Sherman in the South; the South hasn't forgotten Sherman's March to the Sea or his promise to make "them howl."
MilHist ping
Which is interesting considering Grant's army killed many more Confederate soldiers.
Actually, Sherman didn't so much "capture" Savannah as Savannah gave up. The city's mayor, not wanting to see it end up like Atlanta, sent word to Sherman that they would give up, provided her didn't raze it. Sherman agreed and the city basically turned itself over to the good General. One reason so many historic buildings still remain in Savannah. City officials left the city for SC the night before Sherman's men went in. Nothing was destroyed in Savannah and Sherman's men marched north through SC soon after.
They didn't want to go through another Vicksburg or Petersburg because the outcome was not in doubt.
True but Gen. Grant did not march through the heart of the Confedracy and commit atrocities on them. Victors always write the hisory books and the glossing of Sherman's atrocities on civilians is just another example.
Sherman is usually glorified by most people north of Mason-Dixon who do not know his notorious treatment of Southern civilians, Black and White. I have lived in the hearts of both the former Union and the former Confedracy. Funnily enough, I initially learned about Sherman's atrocities from a hardcore Union supporter in the Northeast.
BTW, Gen. W.T. Sherman was one of the founders of what we call LSU today!! Under Sherman, LSU was known as the Louisiana State Seminary and Military Academy.
Sherman even managed to kill-off another Reb AFTER his death... Joe Johnston.
"...the city basically turned itself over to the good General."
I gather that this was true in case of some towns in North Carolina too. BTW, see comment #7 on this thread; do you think my characterization is accurate?
In World War II, American and British soldiers did not hate, but in fact admired, General Erwin Rommel, while holding the Nazi leadership in contempt. During the occupation of Germany, we treated veterans of the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe far more leniently than the veterans of the Waffen SS.
And it won the war. Did Patton do the same in WW2? You bet he did! Yet we dont hear nothing about Pattons army leveling whole German towns do we.
BTW. I wholely support BOTH. Take the war to the civilians and make it as nasty as you can.
The SS perfected Sherman's Total Warfare concepts in WW1 and WW2.
"War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over"
- William T. Sherman
WW1?!
Funny thing about Sherman; he helped in founding Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, after the war. When I went to visit a family member enrolled in graduate studies there back in the 80's, I was shocked while touring the campus and seeing his statue. So, they may hate him, but at least he tried to "rebuild" the South through creation of higher education institutions.
Sorry....should have read "The Kaiser's Army practiced Total Warfare in WW1 and the SS perfected it in WW2."
Damn fool wouldn't put on his hat!
Madison, Georgia, was also spared. Many of the antibellum plantation houses are still standing. I used to service fire alarms in several mills in the vacinity of Madison and I always looked forward to service calls out that way about Christmas time. Beautiful place, if you ever get the chance to visit.
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