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Question Sheet for Sherman’s March to the Sea Educator Copy

Questions on the Video Clip, “Sherman’s March”

1. What was the general strategy behind General Sherman’s march to Savannah, Georgia? How important was this march to both the North and the South?

Sherman proposed to march his army all through the heart of Georgia, destroying everything in the path that could conceivably aid the Confederacy. This not only reduced needed supplies for the Rebel Army, but also psychologically demoralized the Southern population, hindering their will to fight. If the strategy failed, the Union, and especially its leaders, would be ridiculed for not ending the war. If it succeeded, it would mean the end of the Confederacy.

2. Accounts by historians and men on the march give the impression that the march to Savannah was an easy one. Why were Sherman and his men confident that this would be the case?

Some of the statements made by Sherman and his men can be attributed to military bravado. But they understood that the Confederate armies were in shambles, and no Confederate force was strong enough to directly confront Sherman’s army. The best the Confederate forces could do was to divert the ’s attention with efforts to regain territory elsewhere, and hopefully slow its progression or pick it apart.

3. There were many factors that led both Yankee and Rebel armies to be so destructive throughout the war. How did the spectacle of Andersonville Prison and Sherman’s March to the Sea burn in the memory of the Union and Confederate populations respectively?

Andersonville Prison was a prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia. Overcrowded with inadequate water and food supplies and unsanitary conditions, nearly one-third of the prisoners died there. The discovery of the prison during Sherman’s march further motivated the Union Army (and the Northern population) to take vengeance out on the South. Sherman’s army wrought total war on Georgia, tearing up railroads, plundering private homes, and killing or taking everything in their way. Southerners never forgot the sight of burned out houses and dead livestock left along the path.

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4. Explain how the tactic of Southern General in Tennessee led to the destruction of his army.

General Hood moved his army north to join forces with ’s cavalry and invade Tennessee, hoping that the threat of retaking Tennessee would stop or slow down Sherman’s march. What he did not count on was meeting up with Union General George Thomas and his fresh and larger army. At the Battle of Franklin, Hood ordered several hopeless charges directly into the heart of the Union army, destroying his own army in the process. Hood’s decimated troops were eventually defeated a month later at Nashville.

Questions on General Sherman’s Letter to General Grant

5. Describe how Sherman believed the geographic conditions and recent good weather would assist his army in taking Savannah.

Sherman wrote of how the Union’s control of the Ossabaw Sound and Ogeechee River gave it an advantage in supplying an army operating against Savannah. Seafaring vessels could navigate the Ogeechee River up to fourteen and a half miles west of Savannah. The terrain was low and marshy. This would be difficult in wet weather, yet Sherman reports that the weather had been favorable, and they had an opportunity to double-corduroy the marshes, reinforcing these areas with logs placed side-by-side.

6. How did Sherman describe how he provisioned his men? Describe the type of food his men had. Why did the army have more food at this point in the march compared to when it began?

The army had various kinds of livestock, including cattle, turkeys, chickens, sheep, hogs, as well as poultry, potatoes, bread, and sweet potatoes. The men were able to forage by taking supplies from farms they passed on their way to Savannah.

7. Why was Sherman confident Savannah would fall into Union possession? What evidence did he present to Grant that the position of his army would prevent the city from obtaining necessary supplies?

Sherman reported that Savannah “would surely fall into our possession, for we hold all the avenues of supply”. He went on to say that the enemy had made two desperate efforts to get boats above the city which were both foiled by General Slocum, “capturing the steamer Resolute, with seven naval officers and a crew of twenty-five.”

8. Summarize the report Sherman gave Grant on General Thomas and his actions against General Hood’s army.

Sherman noted, "I myself am somewhat astonished at the attitude of things in Tennessee." He added that he was concerned about Thomas because of Thomas’s lack of action against Hood in Tennessee. He stated he knew "that General Thomas [was] slow in mind and action, but…judicious and brave, and the troops [felt] great confidence in him.”

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9. How did Sherman describe General Hardee’s Confederate forces and defenses in Savannah? Why was he confident Savannah could not successfully defend itself?

Sherman believed General Hardee had “good artillerists, some 5,000 or 6,000 infantry, and… a mongrel mass of 8,000 to 10,000 militia.” However, during Sherman’s entire march though Georgia, Hardee had not forced Sherman’s army to employ anything greater than a skirmish line (a defensive line for light combat operations).

Questions on the Lyrics of the Song “Marching Through Georgia”

10. Explain how the first two stanzas of “Marching through Georgia” describe Sherman’s March to the Sea.

The song mentions the 50,000 strong singing as it marches through Georgia, singing the chorus from Atlanta to the sea.

11. How does the song corroborate Sherman’s remarks about foraging through Southern farms?

The lyrics note "the turkeys gobbled which our commissary found… how the sweet potatoes even started from the ground…”

12. The song mentions “Union men” people who disagreed with succession and wanted to keep the Union together. How does the song describe these Union men’s reaction to seeing Sherman’s army? How realistic do you think this claim is and why?

The song states the “Union men who wept with joyful tears when they saw the honored flag they had not seen for years.” The song was sung to raise the spirits of those who supported the Union and, though there were very few Union sympathizers in the South. As such, it is unrealistic to imagine that Union men wept with joy at the sight of the flag while the Union Army was marching through Georgia.

13. How does the song summarize the mission of the Union to defeat the South?

The song speaks of making a “thoroughfare for freedom” and that “Treason fled before us for resistance was in vain.” These lyrics underscore the stance that the war was fought for freedom of the slaves, and to stop the traitors attempting to divide the country.

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