Want this question answered?
To attack the civilian infrastructure behind the Confederate war-effort - burning farms, wrecking railroads, helping to starve the troops in the field and destroying civilian morale. It shortened the war by at least six months, at almost nil casualties,.
It deprived the Confederate armies of food, and interrupted rail movement by troops and civilians. It also devastated morale.
By destroying the farms that fed the Confederate armies, and by eroding civilian morale.
By destroying farms, and so driving the Confederate armies closer to starvation. By destroying Southern civilian morale and the will to fight on. By raising Northern morale, and helping Lincoln win re-election. By demonstrating to the whole world that the Confederacy was too weak to survive.
The crossing of Georgia, making punitive raids on civilians, destroying the farms, helping to starve the Confederate armies, altogether devastating Southern morale.
He saw a chance to wage psychological warfare by laying waste to rich farmland, at very little risk to his troops, destroying civilian morale as well as helping to starve the Confederate armies.
The Southern economy and civilian morale. By destroying farms and railroads, he would help to starve the Confederate troops in the field quicker than by trying to pursue them into the mountains.
It shattered civilian morale, which was the underpinning of the military effort. It allowed Sherman to live off the land, and forget his vulnerable supply-line. When the troops had taken all they could eat, they burned the rest and killed the livestock, helping to starve the Confederate armies.
By burning the farms and destroying the railroads, to starve the Confederate troops, wreck the Southern economy and ruin civilian morale, while living off the land all the way and sustaining almost ni
Immediate - total despoiling of the rich Georgia farmland, serious threat to Confederate food-supply, destruction of railroads, and devastation of civilian morale (and corresponding leap in Northern morale, helping Lincoln to get re-elected.) Long-term - slow and painful reconstruction programme, lasting resentment of the vandalism and cruelty of the Union army, personal loathing of Sherman.
Sherman had failed to destroy the Army of Tennessee, and believed that he could bring the war to a conclusion quicker by destroying the rich Georgia farmland, devastating Southern morale and bringing the Confederate armies closer to starvation.
To devastate civilian morale and help to starve the Confederate armies.