This was a humorous reaction to the end of the March to the Sea, when Sherman was able to contact Grant and Lincoln for the first time in six weeks (because the wires had been cut), and he discoveed on December 24th that the Confederates had fled from Savannah, so there wouldn't be a destructive battle in that beautiful city.
To celebrate the re-occupation of Savannah, he jokingly offered it to Lincoln as a Christmas present.
Savannah Georgia
Sherman (Union) expected a battle in Savannah with the small Confederate army under Hardee. But that army escaped across the river into South Carolina, where Sherman would soon pursue it. Having occupied Savannah, Sherman sent Lincoln a joke-telegram offering him the city as a Christmas present. It was the first time he''d been able to communicate with the Government for five weeks, as all the overland wires had been cut.
Sherman captured Savannah in December 1864. He had expected a battle with the small Confederate army that had taken refuge in the city, but they escaped across the river into South Carolina, so it was a bloodless victory. As Sherman reached the coast and made contact with the US Navy, he was able to signal Washington for the first time in six weeks, as all the wires had been cut. He used the opportunity to send Lincoln a joke-telegram offering him the city of Savannah as a Christmas present.
Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton."
General William T. Sherman led his lightly-armed troops on his "March to the Sea" from Atlanta to Savannah in late 1864. They generally foraged off the land as they traveled, destroying railways and disrupting Confederate enterprises. When they reached Savannah, they captured a small fort and linked up with a Union fleet, then demanded the city surrender or be destroyed. On December 20, the Confederate defenders slipped away, and Sherman occupied Savannah, completing his bold plan to further weaken the South.
William Sherman
Savannah Georgia
Savannah
Savannah, GA.
Which Southern city did Sherman present to Lincoln as a Christmas gift
Savannah was at a hinge point of the campaign across Georgia and then north to the Carolinas. As Savannah was a major port it served as a good base from which to launch the next phase of Sherman's march. An intact Savannah was more useful to the overall campaign than a ravaged city.
William T. Sherman was the Union general that captured Savannah Georgia in December of 1864. As Confederate forces had evacuated the city to avoid capture, the mayor of Savannah surrendered to Sherman.
The city of Savannah was captured by Gen. William Sherman on December 21, 1864, after its evacuation by the Confederate garrison.
Savannah.
General Sherman's march was directed toward the coastal port city of Savannah, Georgia, in November-December of 1864. Sherman called the capture of the port a "Christmas gift" for President Abraham Lincoln.
On December 17, 1864, Confederate troops under the command of General Hardee evacuated the city of Savannah, Georgia. On the next day, the city's mayor informed General Sherman that he's surrender the city. Sherman's forces entered the city without resistance and Sherman spared it any destruction.
Fredericksburg, Virginia ANSWER. The advance guard of Sherman's Army entered the city of Savannah, but already on Dec. 21, 1864.