Sherman's March to the Sea

November 15 – December 21, 1864 · Western Theater

Phases

1. 1Nov 15–16 — Two Wings Leave AtlantaNovember 15–16, 1864
2. 2Nov 22–23 — Griswoldville & the CapitalNovember 22–23, 1864
3. 3Dec 13 — Fort McAllister & the FleetDecember 10–13, 1864
4. 4Dec 21 — A Christmas GiftDecember 17–21, 1864

November 15–16, 1864

“I can make the march, and make Georgia howl.” Cutting his own supply line and telegraph, Sherman burns Atlanta’s war industries and marches 62,000 picked veterans southeast in two wings, sixty miles apart — the right feinting at Macon, the left at Augusta, so no Confederate force knows what to defend. There is no army left in Georgia to stop them; the march will live off the land.

• ●Atlanta — the war factories burned behind them
• ➤Right Wing (Howard) — Feints toward Macon
• ➤Left Wing (Slocum) — Feints toward Augusta
• ●Macon — militia and Wheeler’s cavalry only
• ●Augusta — the powder works, never touched