"General Sherman's Views on Modern War"

The Civil War was a war of great bloodshed and a war in

which brothers fought against brothers and neighbors against

neighbors. The war caused many devastating tragedies and

affected many people in many different ways, but one man

stood out amongst the rest in this civil unrest. This man

was General "Cump" Sherman. General Sherman at the time of

his home state of Louisiana's secession from the Union was a

proslavery and negrophobic white man who found great

disturbance in the fact that the South, which he was so fond

of and loved so much, would cause the break up of the

nation. He was outraged with the South for this and

believed that they must be severely punished for opening the

way to such chaos. He had learned to love the South and

Louisiana, but he loved the Union more, and because of this

chose to use his strong military knowledge to fight along

side Ulysses S. Grant for the Union cause of antislavery.

Sherman related extremely well with Grant, they

complemented each other. They operated together in perfect

harmony. Sherman was the side of the more intelligent and

excitable nature, where as Grant held strong qualities of

determination and calm stability which linked him and

Sherman together so well. Sherman and Grant not only gave

help and confidence to each other the brought them together

in aid of the Union. Sherman believed that Grant brought a

"simple faith in success" to the Union that enabled himself

to "act with confidence." These two war heroes paired

together left the Confederacy with only the option the

bicker and complain that Grant was a psychotic and

bloodthirsty man that wanted no more than to see the

complete death of the people he turned his back on.

Sherman's reputation among white Southerners was that

of a killer, but there are many strong points to support the

fact that he wanted no bloodshed but only to see the nation

to become a whole again. He was not a psychotic, he was

simply a man with a vivid imagination. The point that

greatly backs up the fact that General Sherman was not one

for bloodshed is in his plans of his march through Georgia.

He did not want to kill the people, but only there spirits

and there will to resist. His plan consisted of ruining the

South's will to resist in the way of literally burning all

crops, houses, and possessions in his way. This he believed

would cause the South to surrender because they would have

no reason to fight and this was General Sherman's view of

what modern war was.

In Sherman's march through Georgia he "left his army in

the air and started off without a base to march from Georgia

to South Carolina, he had either done one of the most

brilliant or one of the most foolish things ever preformed

by a military leader." This is what the British had to say

about the tactics that Sherman put into play. Sherman knew

what he believed modern war was supposed to be and his

reasoning reflected his understanding of this. He knew that

in order to win they must fight against the hostile people

that stood with the C.S.A. and the had to let the feel the

wrath of war for themselves, not in the way of blood but

lost spirits and will.