Sherman's March to the Sea

Sherman's March to the Sea
Part of the American Civil War
Sherman's March to the Sea, Alexander Hay Ritchie
Date November 15 – December 21, 1864 (1 month and 6 days) Location Georgia Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
William T. Sherman	William Hardee Joseph Wheeler
Units involved
Army of the Tennessee[1] Army of Georgia[1]	Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
Strength
62,204[2]	12,466[3]
Casualties and losses
More than 1,300 casualties	Around 2,300 casualties
Economic loss: $100 million[4]

Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major general of the Union Army. The campaign began on November 15 with Sherman's troops leaving Atlanta, recently taken by Union forces, and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. His forces followed a "scorched earth" policy, destroying military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property, disrupting the Confederacy's economy and transportation networks.

The operation debilitated the Confederacy and helped lead to its eventual surrender.^[5] Sherman's decision to operate deep within enemy territory without supply lines was unusual for its time, and the campaign is regarded by some historians as an early example of total war or "hard war" in modern warfare.

Following the March to the Sea, Sherman's army headed north for the Carolinas campaign. The portion of this march through South Carolina was even more destructive than the Savannah campaign, since Sherman and his men harbored much ill-will for that state's part in bringing on the Civil War; the following portion, through North Carolina, was less so.^[6]