Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
|
Sherman was a great strategist and as best I can tell a good man. (He is also the source of one one of my favorite quotes; when urged to run for the U.S. Presidency sometime after Grant's term, he declined, saying, "If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve.") Sherman's march through Georgia (my home state) achieved important military objectives. He proved that the South was an empty shell, seriously reduced Southern morale, persuaded a large number of citizens - and soldiers to boot - that the war was a lost cause, disrupted Southern communications, disrupted the harvesting and transportation of crops (Georgia was an important Southern "breadbasket" and Sherman's march came just after harvest and wreaked mayhem on that process); and delivered Savannah, one of only a few remaining Southern ports, into Union hands. Sherman knew the way to win a war was to break a country's will to fight. The sooner the war ends the better. Disclaimer: I am a native, loyal, and proud Southerner and my ancestors fought for the Confederacy (primarily 3rd Georgia Infantry Regiment), so don't go thinking I'm some Yankee apologist or Sherman fan.
< Message edited by Canoerebel -- 4/7/2008 5:10:53 PM >
|