[putupon]

No, they went "above and beyond" by doing some pillaging of private homes, etc.

Sherman's order was to destroy only public property in his take the "war to the people" 20 mile wide swath of total destruction on the March to the Sea?

The only private property destroyed by Sherman's troops was that done by the 1st Alabama US Cavalry?

How did Sherman plan to "take the war to the people" if he wasn't planning to destroy private property?

[Grand Old Partisan]

First off, it was 60-mile swath.

Second, Sherman's army ate up all the food they came upon, inflicting great harm on the Confederacy, but this was something the rebels had already done in Maryland, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. His troops destroyed did not (much) destroy private homes, etc. but did destroy war-related production facilities such as railroads.

Third, Sheridan's 1864 campaign in the Shenandoah Valley was far more destructive.