Episode 63 - Sherman's March to the Sea

By 1864, war fatigue threatened Lincoln's re-election. His opponent, former general George McClellan, campaigned on ending the war through negotiation. Lincoln needed a military victory. William Tecumseh Sherman delivered one. After capturing Atlanta on September 2, 1864, Sherman transformed the political landscape and secured Lincoln's landslide re-election. Days later, Sherman cut his own supply lines and marched 300 miles across Georgia, destroying railroads, warehouses, and factories. He captured Savannah on December 21 and telegraphed Lincoln, offering the city as a Christmas gift. One month later, the 13th Amendment passed the House, constitutionally abolishing slavery.

Key Takeaways

By 1864, casualties and war fatigue threatened Lincoln's re-election. His opponent, former Army of the Potomac commander George McClellan, campaigned by calling the war a failure and urging a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy.
In March 1864, Grant made Sherman commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi. Sherman started south from Chattanooga toward Atlanta in May. Confederate General Joe Johnston adopted a strategy of retreat rather than open battle, which led Jefferson Davis to replace him with John Bell Hood on July 17.
Sherman captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864. The news electrified the North. Overnight, Democratic calls for negotiation rang hollow, and Lincoln won re-election on November 8 with 55% of the popular vote and 212 electoral votes to McClellan's 21.
On November 15, 1864, Sherman began his March to the Sea. He cut his own supply lines, marched eastward across Georgia toward the Atlantic coast, and his army lived off the land. They tore railroads apart, burned warehouses, destroyed bridges, and dismantled factories to break the Confederacy's economy and will to fight.
Sherman captured Savannah on December 21, 1864, and telegraphed Lincoln: 'I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.'
In January 1865, one month after Sherman took Savannah, the 13th Amendment passed the House. By the end of the year it was ratified, constitutionally abolishing slavery throughout the United States for the first time in American history.

Questions & Answers (FAQ)

Q1: Why was the capture of Atlanta so important to Lincoln's re-election?

By the summer of 1864, the war had dragged on for over three years and public opinion in the North was turning against Lincoln. His opponent, George McClellan, campaigned on the platform that the war was a failure and urged a negotiated settlement. Sherman's capture of Atlanta on September 2, 1864, proved the war could be won and shifted the political climate overnight. Lincoln won re-election in a landslide on November 8 with 55% of the popular vote.

Q2: What was Sherman's March to the Sea?

Sherman's March to the Sea was a military campaign from November 15 to December 21, 1864, in which Union General William Tecumseh Sherman marched roughly 300 miles from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. Sherman cut his own supply lines, lived off the land, and systematically destroyed railroads, warehouses, bridges, and factories along the way. The campaign was designed to break the Confederacy's economic capacity and civilian will to continue the war.

Q3: Why did Jefferson Davis replace Joe Johnston with John Bell Hood?

As Sherman advanced toward Atlanta in the summer of 1864, Confederate General Joe Johnston adopted a strategy of retreat and defensive maneuvering rather than direct confrontation. While this preserved his army, it frustrated Jefferson Davis, who wanted aggressive action to stop Sherman's advance. On July 17, 1864, Davis replaced Johnston with John Bell Hood, a more aggressive commander. Hood's offensive tactics led to heavy Confederate losses, and Sherman captured Atlanta on September 2.

Q4: What did Sherman's telegram to Lincoln say?

On December 22, 1864, after capturing Savannah the previous day, Sherman sent a telegram to President Lincoln: 'His Excellency President Lincoln. I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton. W. T. Sherman, Major General.' The telegram became one of the most famous communications of the Civil War.

Q5: How did Sherman's March to the Sea connect to the 13th Amendment?

Sherman's victories strengthened Lincoln's political position. Before Lincoln's re-election, the 13th Amendment, which constitutionally abolished slavery, had failed to pass the House. After Sherman captured Savannah in December 1864, the political climate shifted further. In January 1865, just one month later, the amendment passed the House. It was ratified by the end of the year, abolishing slavery throughout the United States for the first time in American history.

Lincoln Needs a Win

By 1864, the entire nation was feeling the terrible costs of the Civil War. Casualties on the battlefield and general fatigue with the war threatened Lincoln's bid for a second term as president. So bad was the political environment that Lincoln's opponent was his former army commander, George McClellan.

So much did the war wear on the public in the North that McClellan campaigned by declaring the war a failure and by urging a negotiated settlement. Lincoln needed a change in the national climate. He needed a significant win. Just such a win would come his way in the South. William Tecumseh Sherman was on the march, all the way to the sea.

William Tecumseh Sherman's Early Life

William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Ohio in 1820. Nine years later, his father, Judge Charles Sherman, died. With eleven children, the Shermans were in dire straits, and young William was given over to the custody of the family of a future U.S. Senator, Thomas Ewing. It was Ewing who helped secure Sherman's appointment to West Point. After thirteen years in the Army, Sherman tried his hand as a banker, then a lawyer. Just before the war, he served as superintendent of Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, which would later become Louisiana State University.

Sherman and Grant's Shared Vision

During the war, Sherman was close to Ulysses S. Grant. The two generals shared a belief that they had to break the South's ability and will to continue fighting. In March of 1864, Grant made Sherman commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi. Two months later, Sherman started south of Chattanooga toward Atlanta.

The March Toward Atlanta

His chief opponent for the first part of the campaign was General Joe Johnston. Rather than confront Sherman head on, however, the Confederate general adopted a series of retreat maneuvers, much to the chagrin of Jefferson Davis. On July 17, the Confederate president replaced Johnston with John Bell Hood. On September 2, 1864, Sherman captured Atlanta.

Atlanta Falls and Lincoln Wins Re-Election

The news electrified the North. Overnight, the political climate radically shifted. Lincoln had the victory he needed. No longer did Northern voters believe the war might never end, and Democratic calls for negotiation rang hollow. To further broaden his appeal, Lincoln replaced Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, a traditional Republican, with Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, a Southern Democrat who had remained loyal to the Union. Union soldiers voting from camps and battlefields across the country supported Lincoln by an overwhelming margin. On November 8, 1864, Lincoln won re-election in a landslide, with about 55% of the popular vote and 212 electoral votes to McClellan's 21.

The March to the Sea

Only days after the election, on November 15, 1864, Sherman began his march to the sea. Leaving Atlanta behind him, he cut his own supply lines and marched eastward across Georgia toward the Atlantic coast. Sherman's army lived off the land as they advanced. They also tore railroads apart, burned warehouses, destroyed bridges, and dismantled factories, all in the attempt to lay waste to the Confederacy's economy and infrastructure.

Sherman also intended that Southern civilians understand how lost their cause was. Confederate independence, he wanted them to see, had become impossible. Further resistance would only bring further destruction.

Sherman's Christmas Gift to Lincoln

The march ended on December 21, 1864, the day when Sherman captured the coastal city of Savannah. In the evening on December 22, the victorious general telegraphed Lincoln: 'His Excellency President Lincoln. I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton. W. T. Sherman, Major General.'

The 13th Amendment

A few months before Lincoln's re-election, the 13th Amendment, which constitutionally abolished slavery, failed to pass in the House. In January 1865, just one month after Sherman took Savannah, the amendment passed. By the end of the year, it would be ratified, and for the first time in American history, slavery would be constitutionally abolished throughout the United States.