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Albany, New York December 22, 1864

attle maps oI Sherman`s victories. 1) The Atlanta Campaign
2) The Savannah Campaign

ighly successIul general William Tecumseh Sherman,
proponent oI scorched earth policies
Sherman`s March to the Sea
y: Christopher Chen

In March, General Sherman had moved his
Division oI the Mississippi (around 100,000 soldiers
and comprised oI the Army oI the Tennessee, Army oI
the Ohio, and Army oI the Cumberland) southward
through Tennessee to strike through Georgia. is
mission was to crush ConIederate General Joseph
Johnston`s Army oI Tennessee (comprised oI the
Army oI Tennessee and the Army oI Mississippi and
oI around 60,000 strong) and capture the city oI
Atlanta, which was second in industrial importance
behind Richmond to the ConIederates.
In early May, Sherman`s three armies met
the outnumbered armies oI Johnston, who promptly
retreated to a more deIensible position. Then, both
armies sent out probing attacks which were all easily
repulsed. With both armies entrenched, Sherman
decided to attempt a Ilanking maneuver, which caused
Johnston to once again retreat. During this time, there
was hope among the ConIederacy that Abraham
Lincoln would be deIeated by a peace-advocating
candidate in the upcoming election, so Johnston tried
to hold a deIensive position in Iront oI Atlanta.
owever, ConIederate President JeIIerson Davis
replaced him with John ood, a more aggressive
general.
While Sherman attempted to attack Atlanta
Irom the North and East, ood launched his own
attacks. It was during these battles that Union General
James McPherson was killed. AIter these Iailed
attacks, Sherman attempted more Iailed attacks Irom
the West, and went back to Iutile attacks Irom the East.
owever, a cavalry division under ConIederate
general Joseph Wheeler attempted to attack Union
railways near Dalton, but was repulsed. While he was
away, Sherman sent Lt. General Judson Kilpatrick to
raid ConIederate railways, and was somewhat
successIul. Sherman sent more troops to attack the
railways, and ood sent William ardee and his two
corps to attack Union armies, which was a disaster. A
Union counterattack broke through ardee`s lines and
ood was Iorced to pull away Irom Atlanta on
September 1, burning supplies that he couldn`t take
with him. With the capture oI Atlanta, Lincoln handily
won his election, riding on the wave oI Sherman`s
victory. Union losses: ~31,500. ConIederate losses:
~35,000.
From Atlanta (aIter a good deal oI looting
and burning), Sherman turned his sights on the seaport
city oI Savannah. From the Union depot at Nashville,
Sherman broke oII contact with General Grant and
marched through Georgia with Iour corps oI 62,000
troops and 20 days oI emergency rations. From there,
Sherman`s armies split, leaving General Oliver
oward with one and Sherman leading the other, in
order to conIuse the ConIederates about their
movements.
For the next month, Sherman`s armies,
marching on a 60-mile wide Iront, tore through the
land, employing Sherman`s scorched earth 'total war
policy. They burned what they couldn`t take and
slaughtered countless livestock along the way.
Railways were heated and twisted into 'Sherman`s
neckties. oward`s armies encountered slightly more
resistance. General Wheeler`s cavalry attacked
General Kilpatrick`s cavalry. Meanwhile, the Georgia
militia launched an ill-advised attack on Union troops,
which was repulsed easily. AIter more small actions,
where the ConIederate counterattack was repulsed, the
Union armies arrived at Savannah. owever, ardee
had entrenched 10,000 men in good position, so
Sherman sent William azen`s division oI oward`s
army to attack Fort McAllister (located near Savannah
and blocking Sherman oII Irom U.S. Navy support),
which was an easy success. Then, with supplies Irom
the Navy, Sherman easily surrounded Savannah, when
ardee escaped instead oI surrendering.
The Confederacy Falls Further
y: Christopher Chen
From the beginning, those ConIederate
rebels Iaced no hope oI victory. And yesterday,
Sherman concluded his wildly victorious Atlanta and
Savannah campaign with his Iinale: his March to the
Sea.
From Tennessee, he marched southward,
grinding down the ConIederate Army at Atlanta.
Those damn rebels Iled with their tails between their
legs. From there, all the ConIederate armies in the
world couldn`t stop Sherman Irom running all over
and smashing the land oI the ConIederates, deposing
their precious 'King Cotton and making neckties out
oI their railroads.
Then, the pathetic ConIederate Army under
that cowardly ardee ran Ior it aIter Sherman
surrounded Savannah. Those cowards shot General
McPherson while he was rallying his troops, while the
rebel generals were hiding in their tents and drinking
Iine wines while being pampered by their slaves. And
those rebels were banking on Old Abe being deIeated
in an election? Ridiculous.
It`s also ironic that their general Johnston
was actually doing everything right (he had the smaller
army so by all means, he should`ve been holding down
a deIensive position) but that idiot upstart 'president
JeIIerson Davis ruined everything Ior the ConIederate
chances (had there been any chance to win) by sending
in John ood.
The rebels were always bragging about
how they supposedly had better generals but too bad
Robert Lee and all their other 'Iine, gentlemanly
generals couldn`t stop Sherman Irom doing as he
wanted in Georgia, without communications nor
enough rations.

Destruction oI railroads by Sherman`s army











A Brave Leader Falls
y: Christopher Chen

Earlier this year, Union General James
McPherson was killed in the attle Ior Atlanta. e
Iought bravely and valiantly and was killed in the thick
oI the action, rallying his men. A graduate oI West
Point, he was an excellent general and, so Iar, the only
Union General to die on the Iield. May his name live
on in honor, peace, and the Union.

Major General James . McPherson, graduate oI West Point,
commander oI the Army oI the Tennessee, XVII Corps, and
the Corps oI Engineers