William Sherman Room

Sherman was convinced that the Confederacy’s ability to wage further war had to be definitively crushed if the fighting was to end. Therefore, he believed that the North had to employ scorched earth tactics to destroy the economic and military backbone of the enemy. Sherman’s advance through Georgia and the Carolinas was characterized by widespread destruction of civilian supplies and infrastructure, and sometimes accompanied by looting; although officially forbidden, historians disagree as to how well this regulation was enforced. Indeed, the point of Sherman’s campaign was to destroy the will and ability of the South to make war. The speed and efficiency of the destruction by Sherman’s army was remarkable. The practice of bending rails around trees — leaving behind what came to be known as Sherman’s neckties — made repairs difficult.

Accusations that civilians were targeted and war crimes were committed on the march have made Sherman a controversial figure to this day, particularly in the South. Many Southerners reviled him for ransacking their homes and economy, while slaves hailed him as a liberator. Neither of these claims tells the whole truth. The damage done by Sherman was almost entirely limited to property destruction — particularly property that could aid the Confederate war effort. Sherman claimed he and his men had, in Georgia alone, caused $100,000,000 in damages. The loss of life (especially civilian life) was remarkably minimal, especially considering the size of his two-pronged army advance through the area (60,000 plus troops, in an advance that was 60 miles wide and 300 miles long). His army suffered approximately 100 dead and 700 wounded. The destruction of property and infrastructure was always Sherman’s goal and several of his Southern contemporaries noted this fact and commented on it. The slave issue was also not clear-cut. Sherman disapproved of chattel slavery and his actions did free many slaves from bondage.