The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns [Paperback]

Joseph T. Glatthaar (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: New York University Press (October 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814730086
• ISBN-13: 978-0814730089
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,966,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph T. Glatthaar is Stephenson Distinguished Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is author of numerous books and articles, including: The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns (New York University Press, 1985), Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and Their White Officers (The Free Press, 1989), Partners in Command: Relationships Between Leaders in the Civil War (The Free Press, 1994), Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians in the American Revolution (Hill & Wang, 2007) with James Kirby Martin, General Lee's Army: From Victory To Defeat (The Free Press, 2008), and Soldiering in the Army of Northern Virginia: A Statistical Portrait of the Troops Who Served under Robert E. Lee (University of North Carolina Press, 2011). He is currently President of the Society for Military History.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look at 'Uncle Billy's boys, January 26, 2004

By 

bixodoido (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns (American Social Experience Series, Volume 1) (Hardcover)

This book contains an examination of the army that General William Tecumseh Sherman led through Georgia and the Carolinas, in late 1864 and early 1865. Instead of being just another narrative of the March to the Sea and Carolina campaigns, however, Glatthaar's book is a look at the individuals that composed the army. In it, he examines the social and ideological backgrounds of the men in Sherman's army, and evaluates how they felt about various factors of the war--slavery, the union, and, most significantly, the campaign in which they were participating. The result is a fascinating look at Sherman's campaigns through the eyes of the everyday soldier. Glatthaar makes the army come alive, and shows the men not as heartless animals who delighted in wanton destruction, not as mechanized marching machines who could perform the most difficult marches without even flinching, but instead as real human beings, complete with sore feet, empty stomachs, and minds engaged in contemplation over the ethical ramifications of what they were doing to the people of the South.

This book, and others like it (such as James McPherson's For Cause and Comrades), is a refreshing change from the norm in Civil War history. The value of this book lies in its helping the reader understand that the war was fought by individuals, not masses of blue and gray, and that these individuals felt and thought a great deal about the cause they were engaged in. I have read much on the subject of Sherman's march, but never before this book did I truly feel like I understood the mentality of the 60,000 man army he led. This book will not give you a detailed and thorough account of Sherman's campaigns, but it will give anyone who already is somewhat familiar with the marches an incredible amount of insight that, I believe, cannot be gained elsewhere.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A view of the war from ground level, August 10, 2000

By 

John C. Mckee "cmckee6" (Spring TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns (Paperback)

I have to confess a bias; Professor Glatthaar taught me US history in my first semester of college and was a very engaging, entertaining and clear teacher.

This book is history of the very best kind. It is extensively documented from primary sources, it is well written and draws the reader in and the text of the book is free from cumbersome and often distracting academic citation apparatus. It also has selected a topic of almost epic proportions.

The March to the Sea, coming on the heels of the devastating fall of Atlanta was the straw that broke the South's back. After years of war and the related hardships, the devastation that this march produced in the South dealt a death blow to the South's war effort.

In one of the great strategic decisions of the war, Sherman breaks his lines of communication and supply and, like a modern day nuclear sub, disappears only to resurface at Savannah. The freedom of movement that this decision allowed made this march even more effective.

Further, the productivity of the South, even after years of warfare is evidenced. The author presents data showing an increase in the weight of soldiers due to the richness of the diet they were able to secure from those unfortunate enough to be in the path of Sherman's army.

To quibble with a prior reviewer, this is not a novel. This is academic history of the best sort but written in a easy and accesible manner. A great book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn more about Sherman's Soldiers- in their own words, February 26, 2000

By 

D. Keating (Bristow, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns (Paperback)

Joseph Glatthaar wrote this book in order to examine Sherman's march across the South "from the level of the common soldier, both enlisted and officer". In the introduction he states that by writing the book from this perspective, he hoped "to restore the reality of the campaigns, to understand the underlying motivation of Sherman's men for adopting a policy of devestation and to shed light on the total-war concept in military history".

Mr. Glatthaar's efforts have resulted in this very informative and engaging book. I did not know a lot about Sherman's Army before reading this book, and feel that I now have a much better understanding of the men who filled the ranks and led the regiments in their famous march to the sea. In his text, Mr. Glatthaar presents many quotes directly from letters and diaries written by Sherman's men, which really enhances the story and his conclusions.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn about Sherman's Army- why it was successful, why it adopted a policy of total war, destroying much of the South, and why it remains controversial to this day.