What are general William Tecumseh Sherman controversies?

Answer 1

Sherman was felt to have exercised unnecessary brutality in his punitive raids on civilians in Georgia and South Carolina.

He certainly approached the job in a harsh spirit, but the March to the Sea was a brilliant tactic that shortened the war by months at almost nil casualties. Grant had told him to "make Georgia howl", and he certainly fulfilled the brief.

Attacking civilians always looks bad, but his own orders to the troops strictly forbade violence against the person. Where this occurred, it was mostly at the hands of the lawless stragglers who rode alongside the army for the pickings.

It is possible that the burning of Columbia, South Carolina, was deliberate. But this was the state that had started the war, with a huge display of defiance and contempt for the USA. If the Confederates had ever managed to invade Washington or Philadelphia, I don't think they would have left much of it standing.