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Sherman's March to the Sea Timeline

(November 15, 1864 – December 21, 1864)

Sherman's March to the Sea was a military campaign led by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman during the American Civil War. From November to December 1864, Sherman's forces marched from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, using 'total war' tactics—destroying railroads, crops, and infrastructure—to cripple the Confederacy's ability to wage war and break Southern civilian morale. Less

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Campaign Planning

1860 United States census conducted

1860

The 1860 United States census collected livestock and crop production data that Sherman would later use in planning his march, allowing him to lead his troops through areas of Georgia where he believed they would be able to forage most effectively.

Image source: Sherman's March to the Sea

1860 United States census conducted

Special Field Orders No. 120 issued

1864

Sherman's Special Field Orders No. 120 prohibited Union soldiers from entering Confederate dwellings and encouraged soldiers to appropriate Confederate horses, mules, and wagons only from 'the rich', mitigating some effects of the previous year's Lieber Code.

Special orders warn of retaliation for local hostility

1864

Orders such as Special Field Orders No. 120 indicated that should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest the march, or inhabitants burn bridges or obstruct roads, army commanders should enforce a devastation more or less relentless according to the measure of such hostility.

Atlanta campaign begins

May 1864

Union major general William T. Sherman launched the Atlanta campaign of May to September 1864, the successful operation against Confederate forces in Georgia whose capture set the stage for his subsequent March to the Sea.

Atlanta campaign concludes successfully

Sep 1864

Sherman's successful Atlanta campaign of May to September 1864 concluded with Union forces in control of the vital rail hub of Atlanta, giving Sherman the strategic position from which he proposed to march across Georgia.

Sherman plans the Savannah campaign using census data

Oct 1864

In planning the march, Sherman used livestock and crop production data from the 1860 United States census to route his troops through areas of Georgia where they could forage most effectively off the land.

Grant approves Sherman's proposal

Nov 2, 1864

General Ulysses S. Grant trusted Sherman's assessment and on November 2, 1864 sent him a telegram stating simply, 'Go as you propose,' giving final approval for the march across Georgia toward Savannah.

The March

Savannah campaign begins

Nov 15, 1864

On November 15, 1864, the 300-mile (480 km) march began as Sherman's Union armies departed the captured city of Atlanta and cut loose from their supply lines, beginning the Savannah campaign through the heart of Georgia.

Foraging parties live off the Georgia countryside

Nov 15, 1864 - Dec 21, 1864

Throughout the march, Union troops sustained themselves by foraging livestock and crops from the countryside, guided by the 1860 census data Sherman had used to select routes through Georgia's most productive regions.

Union troops appropriate horses, mules, and wagons

Nov 15, 1864 - Dec 21, 1864

Following Special Field Orders No. 120, which discouraged entering dwellings, Union soldiers appropriated Confederate horses, mules, and wagons during the march — officially only from 'the rich' — as part of the campaign's economic warfare.

Widespread destruction inflicted along the route

Nov 15, 1864 - Dec 21, 1864

As the armies advanced through Georgia, they destroyed railroads, infrastructure, and resources supporting the Confederate war effort, inflicting damage that Sherman himself would later estimate at $100 million in destruction.

Local hostility could trigger 'relentless devastation'

Nov 15, 1864 - Dec 21, 1864

Per Sherman's field orders, any guerrilla attacks, burned bridges, obstructed roads, or other manifestations of local hostility along the route justified a 'devastation more or less relentless according to the measure of such hostility.'

African Americans risk everything for freedom along the march

Nov 15, 1864 - Dec 21, 1864

Thousands of enslaved African Americans sought freedom behind Union lines as the armies moved through Georgia, with many risking their lives to follow the columns — an experience later commemorated by a historical marker erected in 2011.

Union soldiers sing songs during the March

Nov 15, 1864 - Dec 21, 1864

Union soldiers sang many songs during the March, though it was one written afterward, Henry Clay Work's 'Marching Through Georgia', that came to symbolize the campaign in American memory.

Image source: Marching Through Georgia

Union soldiers sing songs during the March

Savannah falls to Sherman's armies

Dec 21, 1864

On December 21, 1864, the Savannah campaign concluded when Sherman's forces captured the port city of Savannah, Georgia, completing the 300-mile march begun six weeks earlier and presenting the city to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift.

Immediate Aftermath

Sherman estimates the campaign caused $100 million in destruction

Dec 1864

Sherman estimated that the campaign had inflicted $100 million (equivalent to about $1,038 million in 2025) in destruction, noting that roughly one fifth 'inured to our advantage' while the remainder was 'simple waste and destruction'.

Capital destruction contracts Southern agriculture and manufacturing

1865

According to a 2022 American Economic Journal study, the capital destruction induced by the March led to a large contraction in agricultural investment, farming asset prices, and manufacturing activity in affected areas.

Johnston surrenders to Sherman in North Carolina

Apr 26, 1865

Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his forces to Sherman in North Carolina on April 26, 1865, following Sherman's continuation of operations into the Carolinas after the fall of Savannah.

Legacy and Historiography

Henry Clay Work writes 'Marching Through Georgia'

1865

Henry Clay Work wrote 'Marching Through Georgia' in 1865, and although Union soldiers had sung other songs during the March itself, this later tune came to symbolize the campaign more than any song sung at the time.

Decline in agriculture persists for decades

1920

A 2022 American Economic Journal study measuring the medium- and long-term economic impact of the March found that elements of the decline in agriculture persisted through 1920, demonstrating enduring economic scars from the capital destruction.

British historian assesses the March

1929

In 1929, British military historian B. H. Liddell Hart published influential analysis of Sherman's campaigns, contributing to long-running assessments of the strategic significance of the March to the Sea.

'Marching Through Georgia' popular among 20th-century soldiers

1940

Written in 1865, 'Marching Through Georgia' remained widely popular among US soldiers of 20th-century wars, cementing its place as the enduring musical symbol of Sherman's campaign.

Historical marker commemorates African Americans of the March

2011

In 2011, the Georgia Historical Society erected a historical marker to commemorate the African Americans who had risked so much for freedom during Sherman's March through Georgia.

Scholars debate 'hard war' versus 'total war' interpretations

2012

Authors of two 2012 studies, Brady and Nelson, argued that absolute destruction and dislocation take many forms and must ultimately be defined by the victims of war, fueling historiographical debates between scorched earth 'hard war' proponents and 'total war' mainstays.

Debates threaten studies of ecological devastation

2014

Historians noted that historiographical debates between 'hard war' and 'total war' proponents threatened to overshadow studies on the ecological devastation wrought by campaigns such as the Valley Campaigns of 1864.

Review essay examines violations of Confederate women's privacy

2014

In a 2014 review essay, historian Daniel E. Sutherland and others highlighted neglected topics including Union soldier violations of the 'spatial and corporeal privacy' of Confederate women during the Carolinas campaign.

Study measures long-term economic impact of the March

2022

A 2022 American Economic Journal study sought to measure the medium- and long-term economic impact of Sherman's March, finding that the capital destruction induced by the March caused large contractions in farming investment, asset prices, and manufacturing.

Historian concedes critics of 'total war' usage often heavy-handed

2023

In a 2023 encyclopedia entry on irregular civilian, southern Unionist, and guerrilla warfare, historian Matthew Stith conceded that critics of 'total war' usages in Civil War historiography were often 'heavy-handed', while debates over the war's severity still begged for attention.

Studies on irregular warfare complicate casualty counting

2023

Recent scholarship on 'irregular warfare' exacerbated but also reconfigured challenges in counting civilians and counting combatants during the Civil War, complicating assessments of the human cost of campaigns like the March.

Guerrilla warfare debates remain open in scholarship

2023

Matthew Stith's 2023 entry observed that debates about the nature of guerrillas themselves — noble warriors or bloodthirsty criminals — beg for more attention, even if each side might consider the case closed regarding the war's severity.

Key Facts

  1. General William T. Sherman led approximately 62,000 Union troops on the march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.
  2. The march began on November 15, 1864, after Sherman ordered the burning of much of Atlanta's military and industrial infrastructure.
  3. Sherman employed 'total war' tactics, destroying railroads, factories, farms, and supplies to weaken the Confederate war effort.
  4. Union forces reached Savannah on December 21, 1864, capturing the city and presenting it to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift.
  5. The march split the Confederacy in two, devastated the South's economy, and is widely credited with hastening the end of the Civil War.

Source

This Sherman's March to the Sea timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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