"To Prepare for Sherman's Coming"

Author: Wade Sokolosky
Publisher: Savas Beatie
ISBN: 1611212677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
“More than yet another drums and bugles account of a Civil War battle . . . Smith and Sokolosky fully understand the importance of logistics in warfare.” —The Civil War Monitor The Battle of Wise’s (Wyse) Forks, March 7–11, 1865, has long been thought of as nothing more than an insignificant skirmish during the final days of the Civil War and relegated to a passing reference in a footnote if it is mentioned at all. Mark A. Smith’s and Wade Sokolosky’s “To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming” erases this misconception and elevates this combat and its related operations to the historical status it deserves. By March 1865, the Confederacy was on its last legs. Gen. William T. Sherman was operating with nearly complete freedom in North Carolina on his way north to form a junction with Union forces in Virginia. To divert troops away from Sherman, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston executed a bold but risky plan. The Confederates stood for four days and successfully halted advancing Union troops at Wise’s Forks. This delay provided Johnston with the precious time he needed to concentrate his forces and fight the large and important Battle of Bentonville. “The clear and crisp writing, supplemented with original maps, photos, and wonderful research, means this book deserves a place on the bookshelf of any student of the Carolinas Campaign.” —Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning Civil War historian and author of Holding the Line on the River of Death “ ‘To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming’ will remain the definitive work on the battle for many years to come.” —Mark L. Bradley, author of Bluecoats & Tar Heels

"To Prepare for Sherman's Coming"

Author: Wade Sokolosky
Publisher: Savas Beatie
ISBN: 1611212677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
“More than yet another drums and bugles account of a Civil War battle . . . Smith and Sokolosky fully understand the importance of logistics in warfare.” —The Civil War Monitor The Battle of Wise’s (Wyse) Forks, March 7–11, 1865, has long been thought of as nothing more than an insignificant skirmish during the final days of the Civil War and relegated to a passing reference in a footnote if it is mentioned at all. Mark A. Smith’s and Wade Sokolosky’s “To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming” erases this misconception and elevates this combat and its related operations to the historical status it deserves. By March 1865, the Confederacy was on its last legs. Gen. William T. Sherman was operating with nearly complete freedom in North Carolina on his way north to form a junction with Union forces in Virginia. To divert troops away from Sherman, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston executed a bold but risky plan. The Confederates stood for four days and successfully halted advancing Union troops at Wise’s Forks. This delay provided Johnston with the precious time he needed to concentrate his forces and fight the large and important Battle of Bentonville. “The clear and crisp writing, supplemented with original maps, photos, and wonderful research, means this book deserves a place on the bookshelf of any student of the Carolinas Campaign.” —Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning Civil War historian and author of Holding the Line on the River of Death “ ‘To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming’ will remain the definitive work on the battle for many years to come.” —Mark L. Bradley, author of Bluecoats & Tar Heels

Fierce Patriot

Fierce Patriot PDF Author: Robert L. O'Connell
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812982126
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • William Tecumseh Sherman was more than just one of our greatest generals. Fierce Patriot is a bold, revisionist portrait of how this iconic and enigmatic figure exerted an outsize impact on the American landscape—and the American character. America’s first “celebrity” general, William Tecumseh Sherman was a man of many faces. Some were exalted in the public eye, others known only to his intimates. In this bold, revisionist portrait, Robert L. O’Connell captures the man in full for the first time. From his early exploits in Florida, through his brilliant but tempestuous generalship during the Civil War, to his postwar career as a key player in the building of the transcontinental railroad, Sherman was, as O’Connell puts it, the “human embodiment of Manifest Destiny.” Here is Sherman the military strategist, a master of logistics with an uncanny grasp of terrain and brilliant sense of timing. Then there is “Uncle Billy,” Sherman’s public persona, a charismatic hero to his troops and quotable catnip to the newspaper writers of his day. Here, too, is the private Sherman, whose appetite for women, parties, and the high life of the New York theater complicated his already turbulent marriage. Warrior, family man, American icon, William Tecumseh Sherman has finally found a biographer worthy of his protean gifts. A masterful character study whose myriad insights are leavened with its author’s trademark wit, Fierce Patriot will stand as the essential book on Sherman for decades to come. Praise for Fierce Patriot “A superb examination of the many facets of the iconic Union general.”—General David Petraeus “Sherman’s standing in American history is formidable. . . . It is hard to imagine any other biography capturing it all in such a concise and enlightening fashion.”—National Review “A sharply drawn and propulsive march through the tortured psyche of the man.”—The Wall Street Journal “[O’Connell’s] narrative of the March to the Sea is perhaps the best I have ever read.”—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post “A surprising, clever, wise, and powerful book.”—Evan Thomas, author of Ike’s Bluff

War and Ruin

War and Ruin PDF Author: Anne J. Bailey
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780842028509
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
The "March to the Sea." It shocked Georgians from Atlanta to Savannah. In the late autumn of 1864, as General William Tecumseh Sherman's troops cut a four-week-long path of terror through Georgia, he accomplished his objective: to destroy civilian morale and with it their support for the Confederate cause. His actions elicited a passionate reaction. Sherman became the ruthless personification of evil, an arch-villain who made war on innocent women, children, and old men. But does the Savannah Campaign deserve the reputation it has been given? And was Sherman truly this brutal? In War and Ruin: William T. Sherman and the Savannah Campaign, Anne J. Bailey examines this event and investigates just how much truth is behind the popular historical notions. Bailey contends that the psychological horror rather than the actual physical damage-which was not as devastating as believed-led to the wilting of Southern morale. This dissolution of resolve helped lead to ultimate Confederate defeat as well as to the development of Sherman's infamous reputation. War and Ruin looks at the "March to the Sea" from its inception in Atlanta to its culmination in Savannah. This is a chronicle of not just the campaign itself, but also a revealing description of how the people of Georgia were affected. War and Ruin brilliantly combines military history and human interest to achieve a convincing portrayal of what really happened in Sherman's epic effort to smash Confederate spirit in Georgia.

No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar

No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar PDF Author: Mark A Smith
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781611216639
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book is based upon extensive archival and firsthand research. It includes new original maps, orders of battle, abundant illustrations, and a detailed driving and walking tour for dedicated battlefield enthusiasts. Readers with an interest in the Carolinas, Generals Sherman and Johnston, or the Civil War in general will enjoy this book.

Demon of the Lost Cause

Demon of the Lost Cause PDF Author: Wesley Moody
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
ISBN: 0826219454
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: The Prewar Years and the Early War -- Chapter 2: The Atlanta Campaign and the March to the Sea -- Chapter 3: The Commanding General versus the North -- Chapter 4: The War of the Memoirs -- Chapter 5: Sherman's Last Years -- Chapter 6: Sherman versus the Lost Cause -- Chapter 7: Embracing the Lost Cause -- Chapter 8: Sherman in Film -- Chapter 9: Sherman and the Modern Historians -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

When Sherman Marched North from the Sea

When Sherman Marched North from the Sea PDF Author: Jacqueline Glass Campbell
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 9780807876794
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Home front and battle front merged in 1865 when General William T. Sherman occupied Savannah and then marched his armies north through the Carolinas. Although much has been written about the military aspects of Sherman's March, Jacqueline Campbell reveals a more complex story. Integrating evidence from Northern soldiers and from Southern civilians, black and white, male and female, Campbell demonstrates the importance of culture for determining the limits of war and how it is fought. Sherman's March was an invasion of both geographical and psychological space. The Union army viewed the Southern landscape as military terrain. But when they brought war into Southern households, Northern soldiers were frequently astounded by the fierceness with which many white Southern women defended their homes. Campbell argues that in the household-centered South, Confederate women saw both ideological and material reasons to resist. While some Northern soldiers lauded this bravery, others regarded such behavior as inappropriate and unwomanly. Campbell also investigates the complexities behind African Americans' decisions either to stay on the plantation or to flee with Union troops. Black Southerners' delight at the coming of the army of "emancipation" often turned to terror as Yankees plundered their homes and assaulted black women. Ultimately, When Sherman Marched North from the Sea calls into question postwar rhetoric that represented the heroic defense of the South as a male prerogative and praised Confederate women for their "feminine" qualities of sentimentality, patience, and endurance. Campbell suggests that political considerations underlie this interpretation--that Yankee depredations seemed more outrageous when portrayed as an attack on defenseless women and children. Campbell convincingly restores these women to their role as vital players in the fight for a Confederate nation, as models of self-assertion rather than passive self-sacrifice.

Sherman's March Through the Carolinas

Sherman's March Through the Carolinas PDF Author: John G. Barrett
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469611120
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
In retrospect, General William Tecumseh Sherman considered his march through the Carolinas the greatest of his military feats, greater even than the Georgia campaign. When he set out northward from Savannah with 60,000 veteran soldiers in January 1865, he was more convinced than ever that the bold application of his ideas of total war could speedily end the conflict. John Barrett's story of what happened in the three months that followed is based on printed memoirs and documentary records of those who fought and of the civilians who lived in the path of Sherman's onslaught. The burning of Columbia, the battle of Bentonville, and Joseph E. Johnston's surrender nine days after Appomattox are at the center of the story, but Barrett also focuses on other aspects of the campaign, such as the undisciplined pillaging of the 'bummers,' and on its effects on local populations.

Sherman's Mississippi Campaign

Sherman's Mississippi Campaign PDF Author: Buck T. Foster
Publisher: University Alabama Press
ISBN: 9780817358273
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
The rehearsal for the March to the Sea With the fall of Vicksburg to Union forces in mid-1863, the Federals began work to extend and consolidate their hold on the lower Mississippi Valley. As a part of this plan, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman set out from Vicksburg on February 3, 1864, with an army of some 25,000 infantry and a battalion of cavalry. They expected to be joined by another Union force moving south from Memphis and supported themselves off the land as they traveled due east across Mississippi. Sherman entered Meridian on February 14 and thoroughly destroyed its railroad facilities, munitions plants, and cotton stores, before returning to Vicksburg. Though not a particularly effective campaign in terms of enemy soldiers captured or killed, it offers a rich opportunity to observe how this large-scale raid presaged Sherman’s Atlanta and Carolina campaigns, revealing the transformation of Sherman’s strategic thinking.

Sherman's March in Myth and Memory

Sherman's March in Myth and Memory PDF Author: Edward Caudill
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742550285
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
General William Tecumseh Sherman's devastating "March to the Sea" in 1864 burned a swath through the cities and countryside of Georgia and into the history of the American Civil War. As they moved from Atlanta to Savannah--destroying homes, buildings, and crops; killing livestock; and consuming supplies--Sherman and the Union army ignited not only southern property, but also imaginations, in both the North and the South. By the time of the general's death in 1891, when one said "The March," no explanation was required. That remains true today. Legends and myths about Sherman began forming during the March itself, and took more definitive shape in the industrial age in the late-nineteenth century. Sherman's March in Myth and Memory examines the emergence of various myths surrounding one of the most enduring campaigns in the annals of military history. Edward Caudill and Paul Ashdown provide a brief overview of Sherman's life and his March, but their focus is on how these myths came about--such as one description of a "60-mile wide path of destruction"--and how legends about Sherman and his campaign have served a variety of interests. Caudill and Ashdown argue that these myths have been employed by groups as disparate as those endorsing the Old South aristocracy and its "Lost Cause," and by others who saw the March as evidence of the superiority of industrialism in modern America over a retreating agrarianism. Sherman's March in Myth and Memory looks at the general's treatment in the press, among historians, on stage and screen, and in literature, from the time of the March to the present day. The authors show us the many ways in which Sherman has been portrayed in the media and popular culture, and how his devastating March has been stamped into our collective memory.

William Tecumseh Sherman: In the Service of My Country: A Life

William Tecumseh Sherman: In the Service of My Country: A Life PDF Author: James Lee McDonough
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393242129
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 832

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Book Description
The New York Times best-selling biography of one of America’s most storied military figures. General William Tecumseh Sherman’s 1864 burning of Atlanta solidified his legacy as a ruthless leader. Evolving from a spirited student at West Point, Sherman became a general who fought in some of the Civil War’s most decisive campaigns—Shiloh, Vicksburg, Atlanta—until finally, seeking a swift ending to the war’s horrendous casualties, he devastated southern resources on his famous March to the Sea across the Carolinas. Later, as general-in-chief of the U.S. Army, Sherman relentlessly paved the way west during the Indian wars. James Lee McDonough’s fresh insight reveals a man tormented by fears that history would pass him by and that he would miss his chance to serve his country. Drawing on years of research, McDonough delves into Sherman’s dramatic personal life, including his strained relationship with his wife, his personal debts, and his young son’s death. The result is a remarkable, illuminating portrait of an American icon.