Genera General Sherman's Cruelty: Total War

General Sherman once said, “War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” This quote of his rang especially true during his march through Georgia, where he garnered most of his military fame and accolades with the sacking of Atlanta, and the subsequent march from there to Savannah, which served to break the military back of the Confederacy once and for all. Sherman invented a form of warfare that would come to be known as “Total War”; it was brutal and destructive, and was designed to make not only those that fought for the Confederacy wish that they had chosen the Union side, but also those that did not wear the Confederacy’s uniform feel the “hard hand of war”, making their lives so uncomfortable that they wouldn’t fathom supporting the Confederate cause. These tactics would eventually evolve into what would be considered “modern warfare” at a time when armies were still exchanging volleys via musket lines. …show more content…
This was a devastating blow to the Confederacy and an important victory for the Union. It had munitions factories, foundries and warehouses that kept the Confederacy supplied with food, weapons, ammo and other supplies.[1] A railroad hub and the industrial heart of the Confederacy, it’s fall into Union hands made it extremely tough for the Confederacy to continue producing and moving the goods it needed to keep fighting. It also served as a moral blow to the Confederacy; if their greatest city could fall, a symbol of their pride and strength, what could they possibly do to stop Sherman and the Union from taking over the rest of the South? Atlanta’s fall made even the most staunch Confederate supporters question whether or not they could win the war and successfully remove themselves from