Sherman’s March to the Sea

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Union General William T. Sherman led 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864.The purpose of the March to the Sea was to scare Georgia’s citizens into abandoning the Confederacy. Sherman’s soldiers did not demolish any of the towns in their path. Yet they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of those who tried to fight back.General Sherman’s troops took over Atlanta on September 2, 1864. This was an important achievment, because Atlanta was a railroad center and industrial center for the Confederacy. It stood between the Union Army and the Gulf of Mexico to the west and Charleston to the East. After the confederacy lost, the Confederate army started west into Tennessee and Alabama. They attacked Union supply lines. Sherman was reluctant to set off on a wild goose chase across the South. Major General George Thomas took 60,000 men to meet the Confederate army in Nashville.Sherman took the other 62,000 on a march through Georgia to Savannah.Sherman believed that the Confederacy obtained its strength from the material and moral support of Southern whites. Factories, farms, and railroads supplied the Confederate army with the things they needed. He thought if he could destroy their necessities, the Confederate war effort would fall apart.Sherman’s troops marched south toward Savannah. On November 22, 3,500 Confederate cavalry started a conflict with the Union soldiers at Griswoldville.650 Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded.