Thank you very much paul. And thank you all very much for coming. Merchant of terror, demon, a killer. If you type was sherman a into google the auto complete includes war criminal, hero or villain. And if you add a couple more letters you get terrorist. The urban dictionary, a popular website, describes generally william t. Sherman as having employed the vicious tactic of targeting civilians. Continuing, such tactics had previously been deemed morally unacceptable. The deliberate targeting of the civilians for attack was taken up in world war ii ending in the deaths of millions. The bombing of european cities by both sides of the war and japanese cities by the u. S. , as well as attacks on civilians in china, the philippines and korea by japan were consistent with and encouraged by shermans precedent. The logic of saving lives in the long run by these tactics seems to have been refuted by history. Finally if you scroll through this entry, the words related to general william t. Sherma
Of washington. More than anything, the waterway really to find the attack on washington come on the ultimate attack on baltimore. The british were really making good use of the waterways, Chesapeake Bay, and all of the rivers that feed into the bay, including the potomac. By 1813, the chesapeake had pretty much turned into a british lake. The real navy squadron, under the command of her admiral George Cockburn had established domain over the water. George cockburn was a very effective officer, who served under nelson in the wars with france. He had been sent over here to pep things up. He was a very capable officer, ruthless without being vicious. He pretty quickly determines that the americans are not capable of providing much in the way of a real defense. From the start, he sees washington as being vulnerable. Very quickly, as he spreads his terror up and down the bay, he becomes not only the most feared man in america, but also the most hated. He is compared to a till of the han and
In may 1864, had hundreds and hundreds of trains moving down a rail system through kentucky and tennessee stockpiling supplies in nashville and chattanooga. In chattanooga alone between the months of march and may of 1864, there are 145 rail cars unloading on a daily basis there. So hes Building Supply bases that hell need as he advances into georgia. During the campaign, he had about 5,000 wagons that were constantly on the move from the railroad to the army in the field. As Richard Mcmurray, who is one of the foremost scholars of the Atlanta Campaign writes in one whats one of the best overviews of the campaign, and like some of the other speakers youve heard, ill throw out some book titles. If youre like me, you love books about the civil war. Mcmurrays atlanta 1864 is a very, very, very good overview. If youre looking for one book that gives you an overview, decision in the west by Albert Castel is also an outstanding book. Mcmurray points out that sherman had a couple of big advan
Question. Of course, natchez does the same thing. But i have another question. In 1863, confederate troops went out of their way, in fact, arrived late at gettysburg, because theyre busy burning down Thaddeus Stephens house. Chasing free blacks all over pennsylvania and rounding them up. Is there anything equivalent in shermans march that says does his army target politicians house, do they march out of their way just to seek revenge against particular politicians and are they rounding up any white confederates and enslaving them . No, i wouldnt say they go out of their way, but sherman takes a particular delight, and he has a long passage about it in his memoirs about camping for a night in georgia, and freeing cobbs slaves. And the next one that comes in for a lot of destruction, the South Carolina poet simms. They destroy his house. I read a diary that soldiers were dismayed, because its one thing if they sort of trash the house, but they burn a lot of the books in simms library, an
Us on facebook, and follow us on twitter. 200 years ago on august we fourth, 1814, British Forces august 24, 1814 British Forces entered washington dc, and burned the capitol building, the president s house, and most of the Federal Buildings. Next, steve vogel, author of through the perilous fight six weeks that saved the nation, texas on a river truer of washington. His program is about 90 minutes. Ipad a boat on the potomac i have had a boat on the potomac for about 30 years. It is a great way to see the city. It is a different city. I think of the potomac is an obstacle on the way you have to cross on your way to d. C. Is the reason the city is where it is. Its one of the most remarkable urban rivers in the country. We are in the middle of the Potomac River, right off for washington, maryland. Maybe eight or nine miles south of washington. More than anything, the waterway really to find the attack on washington come on the ultimate attack on baltimore. The british were really making