[4] Consuming supplies, wrecking infrastructure, and undermining morale were Sherman's stated goals, and several of his Southern contemporaries noted this and commented on it. (C) Sherman moved deep into enemy territory without supply lines, but he stood with confidence. (A) Sherman's hard war strategy was to conduct the Norths campaign as a war of conquest and employ a scorched earth tactic to break the rebellion. Sherman’s March to the Sea Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was a contradiction embodied. This page was last modified on 18 March 2009, at 20:55. But the hard-war strategy left a legacy of bitterness that lasted for generations. summarises the points and evidence you provided to support your thesis. His vision of hard war brought the Confederacy to its knees, … Sherman's March to the Sea refers to a long stretch of devastating Union army movements that took place during the United States Civil War.In the fall of 1864, the Union General William Tecumseh ("Cump") Sherman took 60,000 men … After serving during the Mexican War of 1846–1848, he resigned his commission in 1853. After the fall of Atlanta in 1864, Sherman ordered the city's evacuation. The essence of the Union’s hard war strategy is demonstrated in General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea, a path of destruction across the State of Georgia principally from Atlanta to Savannah. “I wonder if the vengeance of heaven will not pursue such fiends!” Le Conte wrote of Sherman’s army. The author's main theme is the development by Sherman of his "hard war" strategy and the destruction of the enemy's capacity to make war by destroying his economic base and his support among the population. His father died while William was still a boy and after his father’s death, he was raised by a family friend, attorney Thomas Ewing. Sherman himself downplayed his role in conducting total war, often saying that he was simply carrying out orders as best he could in order to fulfill his part of Grant's master plan for ending the war. Sherman's hard war must have worked. General Sherman's record as a tactician was mixed, and his military legacy rests primarily on his command of logistics and on his brilliance as a strategist. Liddell Hart, foreword to the Indiana University Press's edition of Sherman's. For instance, Alabama-born Major Henry Hitchcock, who served in Sherman's staff, declared that "it is a terrible thing to consume and destroy the sustenance of thousands of people", but if the scorched earth strategy served "to paralyze their husbands and fathers who are fighting ... it is mercy in the end."[5]. Therefore, he believed that the North had to conduct its campaign as a war of conquest and employ scorched earthtactics to break the backbone of the rebellion, which he called "hard war". The cover page and reference page in correct APA do not count towards the minimum word amount. General Sherman's record as a tactician was mixed, and his military legacy rests primarily on his command of logistics and on his brilliance as a strategist. His siblings all enjoyed professional success. William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. Liddell Hart credited Sherman with mastery of maneuver warfare (also known as the "indirect approach"), as demonstrated by his series of turning movements against Johnston during the Atlanta Campaign. President Lincoln and Generals Sherman and Grant embraced a “hard war-soft peace” philosophy by the end of the war, with General Sherman being its principal proponent; given that General Sherman was a war criminal, it makes sense that he supported such brutal policy. (C) Sherman moved deep into … My guess is you're referring principally to Sherman's "March to the Sea" near the end of 1864, i.e., the last full year of the U.S. Civil War, in which this general led a vast Union army from Atlanta through northern Georgia and parts of South Carolina to Savannah on the Atlantic coast, effectively splitting the territory of the Confederacy. Separate each section in your paper with a clear heading that allows your professor to know which bullet you are addressing in that section of your paper. Sherman’s tactics along with those used by Union cavalry commander Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley are seen as the first use of modern total warfare. Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was a contradiction embodied. 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. This masterly campaign comprised a series of cat-and-mouse moves by the rival commanders. The results were his March to the sea which ultimately broke the confederates. . Let's use Sherman's March to the Sea as a template to understand the reasoning. Its importance rested more in its impact on Sherman’s evolving policy toward Southern civilians and the Union strategy to win the war than on immediate military ramifications in Mississippi. . What was General Sherman's "hard war," what was his "bold strategy" after taking Atlanta, and how did he justify his unconventional plan to Grant and Lincoln? Like Grant, Sherman was convinced that the Confederacy's strategic, economic, and psychological ability to wage further war needed to be definitively crushed if the fighting were to end. This page has been accessed 17,354 times. The expedition demonstrated to Sherman and other Federal commanders how to conduct “hard war” successfully. "[7] Historian James M. McPherson has concluded that: In this connection, it is noteworthy that Sherman and his subordinates (particularly John A. Logan) took steps to protect Raleigh, North Carolina, from acts of revenge after the assassination of President Lincoln.[9]. arguing that the Meridian campaign holds a greater significance in the development of Sherman's 'hard war' strategy than has been previously admitted. . Sherman's greatest contribution to the war, the strategy of total warfare—endorsed by General Grant and President Lincoln—has been the subject of much controversy. Like Grant, Sherman was convinced that the Confederacy's strategic, economic, and psychological ability to wage further war needed to be definitively crushed if the fighting were to end. (A) Sherman's hard war strategy was to conduct the Norths campaign as a war of conquest and employ a scorched earth tactic to break the rebellion. Sherman himself stated that "[i]f I had made up my mind to burn Columbia I would have burnt it with no more feeling than I would a common prairie dog village; but I did not do it . Step-by-step answer Sherman’s army burned much of Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. The influential 20th-century British military historian and theorist B. H. Liddell Hart ranked Sherman as one of the most important strategists in the annals of war, along with Scipio Africanus, Belisarius, Napoleon Bonaparte, T. E. Lawrence, and Erwin Rommel. 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