How was Union Major General William T Sherman important during the US Civil War?

Answer 1

Answer

William T. Sherman:

•Served as a major general in the Union Army

•Lead Sherman's March, which started in Atlanta and travelled southeast through Georgia, destroying everything in his path and living off of the land along the way. This made it impossible for Confederate troops to use any resources in the area.

•Captured Savannah just before Christmas.

•Marched through (and destroyed) South Carolina to aid General Grant in his fight against General Lee.

•Provided support to General Grant at Fort Donelson.

•Commanded the Army of West Tennessee, where he then fought in the Battle of Shiloh, and won.

•Handed out food and other supplies when he reached North Carolina as he anticipated the end of the war.

•Started campaigns that led to the fall of the Confederate strongholds near the Mississippi River, where he helped with the routing of the Confederate armies in Tennessee.

•Captured the city of Atlanta, which contributed to the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln.

•Accepted the surrender of all the Confederate armies in North and South Carolina.

•Succeeded General Grant as Commanding General of the Army for his outstanding war strategy and skill.

•Published his Memoirs, which became one of the best-known accounts of the Civil War.

* Sherman earned the reputation of being a ruthless commander. This he carried on after the war when killing Native Americans.

Answer 2

Raised Union morale by his energetic organising of the new armies, where he was especially popular with the rank-&-file.

When it came to conducting operations, however, he caused so many delays that some of Lincoln's cabinet began to question his loyalty to the cause.

Some of these can be explained innocently enough. He was reluctant to make a move until everything was ready. Also he was misled about enemy numbers - vastly over-calculated by Pinkerton - and was also fooled by some highly successful deception tactics by Confederate General Magruder.

However, when he failed to pursue the enemy after Antietam (Sept 1862), Lincoln said "If General McClellan does not want to use the army, perhaps I may borrow it for a while."

After being fired, he became a Democratic politician, and stood against Lincoln in the General Election of 1864. We do not know what would have happened if he had won. He claimed not to be a Copperhead (anti-war Democrat), but it is hard to see how the war could have been carried on if Lincoln had been voted out.

Answer 3

Not as much as Grant would have liked. His orders were to destroy the Army of Tennessee, and he never succeeded in doing this.

The capture of Atlanta wasn't really on the agenda, but it sounded like big news, and helped restore Northern morale in advance of the 1864 presidential elections.

Sherman then told Grant that his supply-line was too long and vulnerable to support a campaign in the mountains. So he would ignore the Army of Tennessee, and conduct punitive raids across Georgia, wrecking farms and railroads, to help starve the Confederate armies in the field.

This may have had the effect of shortening the war by months at almost nil casualties.

Answer 4

Several key accomplishments of General McClellan need to be noted to properly give credit where credit is due. After the Union disaster at the First Battle of Bull Run, President Lincoln was wise enough to bring McClellan to Washington DC. There he was responsible for creating the Army of the Potomac and made it an elite fighting force.

Prior to that, his troops basically "freed" what would become West Virginia.

He quite correctly advised President Lincoln that the Peninsula campaign was the best route to capture Richmond. This was a failure for sure, but his concept was brilliant.

Also, as the general in chief he had carefully planned his strategy of simultaneous assaults on the South. His removal from that position set back the Union's efforts to end the war faster than it actually did.

Although the Battle of Antietam was historically a "technical" Union victory, without McClellan leading the Army of the Potomac, General Lee would have wrecked havoc in Maryland and the North as a whole.

His faults are well known, but he was a key to the Union success. Not the single key, but a key nevertheless.

Answer 5

Union Major General William T. Sherman was a successful commander, especially in the Western Theater. Troops under his command helped generals US Grant and Buell secure a victory at the Battle of Shiloh in the Spring of 1862. He also played a key role in the siege and surrender of Vicksburg in 1863. He was able to conduct raids into Southern territory. One example of this was his raid on the Confederate arsenal at Meridian, Mississippi. Of great value was his campaign that captured Atlanta late in the Summer of 1864. His infamous "March to the Sea" after Atlanta, helped to destroy possible supplies for the Rebel army. This was controversial as his soldiers destroyed property owned by civilians and despite orders to the contrary, some Federals invaded civilian homes. His march ended with the surrender of Savannah, Georgia on the eastern coast and he was able to hook-up with Union naval forces there as well. Sherman also conducted surrender negotiations with Confederate General Johnston some weeks after General Lee had surrendered to General in Chief, US Grant.

Answer 6

General Sherman was a Union general who captured Atlanta, Georgia. His famous March to the Sea in 1864 severely hampered the Confederate war effort.

Answer 7

Sherman's March to sea is where he goes as south as possible and destroy as much building, crops as possile.