Sherman's March to the Sea

To try to end the war and severely weaken the Confederates, Sherman ordered a march throughout the south, destroying land, and anything that could aid the Confederates during war.  Starting in Atlanta, Sherman and over 50,00 soldiers marched through Georgia burning buildings, homes, and land.  The soldiers took a major risk joining this march because they were not ensured food or shelter.  When soldiers passed homes or farms, they would take food and any necessities; and the owners had no choice but to hand it over.  The Union's main goal/ reasoning for doing this was to scare the south, to show them total war.  This march ended in Savannah, Georgia where the city surrendered before there was any major fighting.  Sherman left Atlanta in ruins bringing down the civilians pride and moral.

Sherman and his soldiers.
Sherman's March to the Sea. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 4 Feb 2014. <http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/grimsley1/dialogue/postcolonialism/war/war_is_hell.JPG>.

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign

The Atlanta Campaign was setup to help accomplish many goals for the Union army.  First, capturing Atlanta would boost the Union's pride and moral, and would also bring the Confederate army down because Atlanta was a city that Georgia idolized.  Lincoln also needed an ensured election because even northerners were starting to doubt Lincoln because they were so tired of war and just wanted it to end.  Sherman was asked to lead this campaign, and the first thing he told the citizens of Atlanta to do was to evacuate.  He did this because he knew Atlanta would be turned into a supply hub and that it was not a place for families; as well as the fact that he didn’t want the citizens to ruin his military plans.

Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 3 Feb 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Atlanta_campaign.svg/900px-Atlanta_campaign.svg.png>.

Andersonville

Andersonville was the Confederate prison camp where they help captured Union soldiers.  It was one of the largest and worst prison camps during the Civil war.  The Confederate army was suffering from lack of supplies already, so the prisoners suffered to the extreme.  There was a limited amount of food for the soldiers, so the rations of food and water for the prisoners was very small until a miracle happened.  There was one small creek running through the middle of the camp that was used for just about everything; during a big thunderstorm, lightning struck the creek and it seemed like there was a fountain with endless, clean water.  Many died everyday but the clean water saved many lives.  As prisoners entered the camp they were told they had to build their own shelter with whatever they could find, as well as a couple of guidelines/ rules.  Most important of the rules was to not pass the dead line, if you crossed if with even a finger, a guard would shoot you, therefore giving it the name dead line.  Many guards would torture the starving Union soldiers by placing food right outside the dead line to taunt as if they were animals.  Andersonville was a very cruel place that created controversy throughout even the southern states.  

The Dead Line in the Andersonville prison camp.
Dead Line in Andersonville. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 3 Feb 2014. <http://www.civilwar.org/education/assets/images/prisoners_web.jpg>.

Chattanooga, Chickamauga, and the Union Blockade of GA's coast

The battles of Chattanooga and Chickamauga were very important events/ battles in Georgia; the Union army came down south where hey ended up trapper in Chattanooga.  The Union army was able to open a supply line and kept traveling south to Chickamauga.  The Union army had enough confidence from conquering Chattanooga that they decided to go down to Chickamauga where one of the first major battles in Georgia took place.  The Union army lost the battle and ended up retreating back up north towards Chattanooga.

Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 2 Feb 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Chickamauga.jpg>.

The Union had a very intelligent battle plan that would cut off the Confederate army; they decided to blockade Georgia's coast.  This meant cutting off supplies coming through Savannah, which was a major port.  The south still managed to import and export a limited amount of supplies with the help of smaller ships.  This gave a major advantage to the Union army and was a crucial step in winning the war for the north.

Union Blockade of Georgia's Coast
Union Blockade of Georgia's Coast. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 2 Feb 2014. <http://pascocemeteries.org/brooksville_bayport_raid_11.jpg>.