Rape and murder
Make no mistake.
A large army of servicemen, who had not seen women for extended periods of time, will and did rape - and by necessity, drunkenness and accessibility- murder civilians with total impunity. This was especially true the more removed they were from the main column, where there was virtually no supervision by senior officers.
Those civilians, although structurally a part of the southern system, were innocent. Brutalizing and killing women and children is the type of action that should and will leave a scar in the history of a nation and the history of warfare in general.
The proof of its inherent evil is that even if it may have worked for the purpose of wining the civil war- according to Sherman's rationalization- it also became the seed of what ultimately led to its inevitable conclusion: the atomic bomb.
Lets not be distracted by Sherman's brilliant character as a military man and his talent as a writer: once you purposely approved the hostile action by desensitized military veterans against innocent women and children you have mangled your legacy and left a gift of unaccountability and hopelessness for humanity.
Something we would learn much too well in the 20th century and today.
SHERMEN'S MARCH
tHIS BOOK SHOULD BE READ BY SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAS READ MUCH ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR, iT IS CHOCK FULL OF PERSONAL INFO,BUT WILL BE CONFUSING TO THE A READER WHO IS NOT FAMILAR WITH THE CHARACTERS AND PLACES
One Of The Best Books I've Read
This book is easy to read! The author does not write above or below the reader. It's a great straight forward book filled with a large amount of information. The information presented will be appreciated by Civil War buffs of any level. He covers both the military and civilian angles.
And Now for the Details...
I have been a Civil War buff all my life and thought I knew a fair amount of detail on all of the major engagements of the war. However, until I read "Sherman's March", I really didn't know anything about his post-Atlanta campaign except that he marched to Savannah. Presumably his soldiers fought battles along the way and presumably they did something after capturing Savannah but I guess my curiosity never led me to find out more. It was in the Atlanta campaign that my great great grandfather was captured so I thought I should find out what happened after that.
What the author, Burke Davis, chronicles is what exactly DID happen after the fall of Atlanta. He has put together a fascinating account of the March to the Sea (and beyond) by compiling first-hand accounts of the events of the campaign. Sherman's men found little oppostition after Atlanta but their march had a devestating effect on the South. The brutal, unforgiving thievery that his foragers and "bummers" committed led to a great loss of resources and morale for the Southern folks. What few battles there were did not register on the richter scale of war but the destruction wrought by his troops was of tsunami proportion. There is much about the various communities put to the torch (beginning with Atlanta) and focussing on Columbia, SC. There is also much to suggest that Sherman was guilty of oversight by not maintaining tight control over his troops. His attitude was that the South needed to learn the consequences of their wrongly conceived rebellion. The sooner their morale was broken, the sooner the war would end and the fewer number of soldiers would become casualties (on both sides). While the reader may find truth in Sherman's attitude, it is hard not to become enraged at the extent of the mayhem.
Davis also presents a fair amount of information of the slaves that were freed along the way and the attitude of the different Union Generals towards their emacipation. In the 21st Century it is pretty commonly felt that the Civil War was about slavery. However, a significant percentage of the Union's fighting men felt the issue of the South's secession from the Union was the cause they were fighting for, Sherman included. Nonetheless, they used the freed slaves whenever it was to their advantage and abandoned them when it wasn't.
Sherman's concept of a large army invading deep into enemy territory with no lifeline of support was a challenging concept at the time and its' success influenced military strategy thereafter. Although Davis documents that the soldiers were able to take far more than they needed, it was still an impressive campaign. There were plenty of things the men did without for roughly six months; clothing, pay, letters from home, and many other things that the Army of the Potomac took for granted.
After Savannah, their march through the Carolinas spelled the defeat of the South and Davis does a good job of detailing Sherman's significant involvement in the war's end. There was controversy surrounding that and Sherman found himself at odds with the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Davis concludes by giving us a brief synopsis of the rest of Sherman's life after the war.
During the first chapter I was apprehensive about Davis's style of writing but the rest of the book made me appreciate his approach to the subject. His frequent use of primary sources was helpful yet not overdone. His writing gave way to some editorial comments but, overall, I thought the book was pretty well balanced. I gave it 5 stars because, after the first chapter, I couldn't put it down and because I learned so much about an aspect of the Civil War that no one else seems to make much mention of.
Unrelenting aggressive slash and burn good read
Based upon civilian, military, and reporters eyewitness accounts. Davis' wonderfully written account of this mercurial Union general's march through the South moves along at a fast pace. There are those who would have us believe Sherman was just a troubled man and his military actions were inhuman; he may, in part, had these attributes, but we shouldn't disregard his compassion. His brilliance as a military leader is unquestionable; ruthless against the enemy but sensitive to the woman and children. I found myself shaking my head with sorrow through one paragraph only to switch to a chuckle on the very next. The bibliography is extensive.
Beginning with the fall of Atlanta, we follow the unrelenting aggressive slash and burn total warfare of General Sherman's Union troops, and then the final march into Raleigh. The strategy was to beat the Rebels into submission----a quicker end to the war. Although not stated in the book, I think the "march" introduced the creation of mobile warfare. Sherman to wife Ellen: "there are some very elegant people here who I knew in better days and who do not seem ashamed to call on the 'Vandal Chief'. They regard us just as the Romans did the Goths and the parallel is not unjust. Many of my men with red beards and stalwart frames look like giants". In battle was not the only way a soldier lost his life: many union troops died after a forced march back home; despicable and troubling. The finale march was a victory parade through Pennsylvania Avenue.
There are stories of rescue and caring among the carnage, such as the feeding of confederate families. Davis does a good job of showing the human side of the lives of the confederate people. Atrocities occurred on both sides; alcohol and the lax in discipline were no doubt the culprit in the burning of property. Sherman made the mistake of overextending negotiations for surrender; he was relieved, but Grant kept him on; only small changes were made in negotiations. Sherman to a friend: "General Grant is a great general. I know him well. He stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he ws drunk; and not, sir, we stand by each other always". Just a note: the free press aided the enemy then as it does so today.
"It was to be almost a century before military scholars proclaimed the general as the most original and influential of Civil War field commanders, whose concepts forecast developments in the twentieth century."
Wish you well
Scott
(25 reviews)
