Overview

I can make this march, and make Georgia howl. -William Tecumseh Sherman The March to the Sea shocked Georgians from Atlanta to Savannah. In the late autumn of 1864, as Sherman's troops cut a four-week long path of terror through Georgia, Sherman accomplished his objective: to destroy civilian morale and with it their support for the Confederate cause. His actions elicited a passionate reaction as tales of his dastardly deeds and destruction burned Sherman's name into the Southern psyche. But does the Savannah Campaign deserve the reputation it has been given? In her new book War and Ruin, Anne J. Bailey examines this event and investigates just how much truth is behind the popular historical notions. Bailey contends that the psychological horror rather than the actual physical damage-which was not as devastating as believed-led to the wilting of Southern morale. War and Ruin looks at the March to the Sea from its inception in Atlanta to its culmination in Savannah. This fascinating text is a chronicle of not just the campaign itself, but also a revealing description of how the people of Georgia were affected. War and Ruin brilliantly combines military history and human interest to achieve a convincing portrayal of what really happened in Sherman's epic effort to smash the Confederate spirit in Georgia.

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9780842028516

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Reviews

I can make this march, and make Georgia howl.

Noted historian Anne Bailey's new book provides scholars and general readers alike with excellent insight into the changing nature of the Civil War and Sherman's major role in it. This slim volume puts to lie, yet again, the Lost Cause view of sherman. This is a book that deserves a wide reading.--Marszalek, John F.

Author Information

Anne J. Bailey is professor of history at Georgia College and State University.

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