“Atlanta Is Ours”
Defeat at Jonesboro ended John Bell Hood’s hopes of holding Atlanta. He abandoned the city the evening of September 1, destroying all useful military stores that could not be moved (a scene later immortalized in the book and film Gone With The Wind). The next morning (150 years ago today), Atlanta’s mayor surrendered the city to Sherman’s troops; over the next days, Sherman’s army group consolidated in and around the city. After 4 months and 23,000 casualties (vs 27,000 Confederate losses), Sherman’s men had achieved a great victory. “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won,” telegraphed Sherman on September 3.
Atlanta’s fall electrified the North. Just the previous month, George McClellan had been nominated on a Democratic platform that called the war a failure. Sherman’s announcement destroyed that claim. This measurable land success changed public opinion, and turned the 1864 election campaign to Lincoln’s advantage, never to be lost.
The fall of Atlanta also sparked one of the most interesting and important letter exchanges of American military history, between Sherman and the city leaders. On September 4, Sherman ordered the population evacuated; the mayor and city council protested. Sherman’s reply on September 11 offers perhaps the best glimpse into the myriad currents running through this complex leader; an intersection of professional, political, personal, and humanitarian impulses all put together. It also offers the true and vitally important statement that “war is cruelty and you cannot refine it.” The full text is available here: http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/sherman/sherman-to-burn-atlanta.html.
In the end, Atlanta’s population left the city. But Sherman’s job was not complete; he owned the city, but had not defeated the army that had protected it. Soon Hood would be on the move.
I really cannot fathom the assessment of Sherman currently in vogue. You are right that he was many things, thus “complex” seems accurate–but humanitarian??? I believe this would have brought forth sneers from him. Many rebuttals come to mind, among them the Roswell millworkers and Ebenezer Creek. As to the latter, his letter to his wife dismissing the tragedy as an annoying inconvenience should banish any notion that he held any regard for humanity.
Reblogged this on The Winds of War and commented:
Since we’re in the midst of 1864 Civil War commemorations this year, it’s worth remembering that this week saw some pretty important events in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.