Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

The March to the Sea and the subsequent traversing of the Carolinas was an early introduction in the United States to something like total warfare. When Sherman said later that "War is all Hell," he was well describing his army's depredations against the heart of the Confederacy.

The book begins with context, the background of the forces that made the long march. The four corps that made up the force--the 14th, 15,th, and 16th Corps, all from the Western armies. The 20th Corps, however, was an amalgamation of the old Army of the Potomac's 11th and 12th Corps, sent West to help Ulysses Grant break out of the siege at Chattanooga. Background information includes chapters in the Army and blacks, and the Army and southern whites. Discussion of camp life also occurs.

But it is the march that is the centerpiece of this book (and it takes a while to get to that centerpiece). By Chapter 6, we get to the march. As the author, Joseph Glatthaar, says (Page 100): "Sherman's Savannah and Carolinas campaigns were very different from any other campaign in the War." The author explains why, and then describes that march, the foraging that accompanied the march, and the destruction (especially in evidence in South Carolina, the originator of secession). Toward the end of the Carolinas campaign, the Confederacy put together a force, with the remnants of the Army of the Tennessee (after John Bell Hood had largely destroyed the army in his self-destructive battles at Franklin and Nashville) and other forces based in the Carolinas (it would have been nice to have an order of battle so that one could clearly see the various units involved in battle). We see the final Confederate defeats at Averasborough and Bentonville.

Finally, the surrender of Joseph Johnston's forces to Sherman and the Grand Review in Washington, D. C. as the federal troops marched through the streets.

Overall, a nice work. Not overly detailed and lengthy and it takes a while to get started. But a good summary of what went on.

I thought this a good book for anyone reading about or studying Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea and the March through the Carolinas. It captures the thoughts and personalities of the Army behind the man and gives the reader an insight to why they did some of the things that are so controversial today.

Individuals who belong to a Civil War reenacting association, history buffs, and serious scholars of the Civil War will all find quiet enjoyment in Joseph Glatthaar's historical novel on Major General Sherman's march to Savannah and through the Carolinas. Glatthaar's perspective of bringing the war down to the level of the individual soldier is not always found in historical novels. He writes about the soldier's innermost feelings, not about the glorious generals, the great armies, or the magnificent campaigns. I believe that individual battles do not win wars, but that it is the men composing the fighting force that can turn a potential devastating defeat into a glorious victory. Mr. Glatthaar has done a great justice in his portrayal of the men who conducted the march to the sea and beyond. I would highly recommend the book to anyone who wishes better to understand the soldiers that fought for Sherman