Why Was Sherman's March Important

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Sherman’s March The Civil war was an event that shaped America. There were many important battles,events, and inventions that changed the course of the war. One of those important events was Sherman’s March. Sherman’s March changed the way the rest of the civil war was fought, by entering, “total war” (Carr). Sherman’s March was a March led by General William T. Sherman. With him he had 62,000 union troops (Funk and Wagnalls). He led his troops from Georgia, through the Carolina’s, and ended at Virginia. At the start of the war the Union wasn’t winning a lot of battles. This encouraged the Confederates to fight more for their freedom, so that they could keep slavery alive in the South. General Sherman came up with the idea that they should …show more content…

They headed for South Carolina because it was known as the breeding grounds for the South’s independence movement (Funk and Wagnalls). It took them 66 days to travel from Savannah to Columbia, South Carolina. It took them so long because they had to pass through swamps. Instead of going through the swamps, they built bridges over them. When they made it to Columbia they took over the city. Enraged by the fact that South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union, the union soldiers burned the city. Though Sherman claims that his soldiers did not start the fire, he claims they actually help put the fires out. After the city burned to the ground Sherman’s forces marched through North Carolina as well, but with not as much ferocity as they had when they marched through South Carolina. Overall, Sherman caused about 100 million dollars in damages to the south. They stole food, burned cotton, burned houses, looted houses, tore up railroads, slaughtered farm animals, and burned crops. All of these many things that Sherman’s army did had a huge impact on the South. After the war, the South would have to rebuild their economy and infrastructure during the Reconstruction period. All in all, Sherman and his army caused a lot of problems for the South, and a lot of victories for the Union. His march was even said to have saved Lincoln in getting re-elected. If Sherman's army didn’t enter, “total war” then the battle