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Marching Through Georgia: The Story of Soldiers and Civilians During Sherman's Campaign

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I was raised in Georgia and attended public school in Athens in the 60s and 70s. Even in a university town some 100 years after the Civil War there were people with embittered attitudes toward the North who saw themselves as citizens of a conquered country. This was surely due in part to Civil Rights legislation enforcing integration; and in part to that fable of Southern life, GONE WITH THE WIND. Most white Southerners know and many revile the name of William Tecumseh Sherman; not because they are ardent historians but because Margaret Mitchell and director Victor Fleming immortalized Sherman's burning of Atlanta on celluloid. In fact, although I hardly studied anything about the Civil War in public school, our class did take a 60-mile bus ride to watch GONE WITH THE WIND at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Although many years have passed, I have no reason to believe that today's young Georgians are any more informed about the actual history of their state; whether this is through official ignorance, shame, fear, or willful deceit I cannot say.

Lee Kennett's book, MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA goes a long way toward addressing this ignorance, and should be required reading for every Georgian. The book focuses on Sherman's North Georgia Campaign, the Battle of Atlanta and the March to the Sea as it affected the soldiers and civilians of both sides. His discussion of strategy is general and primarily about Sherman's decision to have his army forage off the land. Even this is included because of the consequence such forage had for the people involved--Kennett lays the blame of the Union atrocities at the feet of this decision, but takes care to point out the nature of such "atrocities", and that truly severe crimes other than the destruction of property was rather rare. Indeed, what makes Kennett's book so valuable is its evenness of tone regarding the issues and personalities. A Sherman biographer, he neither idolizes nor demonizes the General. Sherman, though not the main subject of this book, emerges as a recognizable and very human figure. Sherman's devotion to duty was horrifyingly single-minded--Kennett relates an incident in which 28 Union soldiers are too ill to travel, and Sherman left them in the care of a Confederate hospital in Milledgeville while he moved on with his troops: "'If they die, give them a decent burial,' Sherman said, 'if they live, send them to Andersonville [the prison in south Georgia where Union soldiers were held in appalling conditions to die in the thousands], if course,' Dr. Massey may have looked a bit nonplussed at this, for Sherman added: 'They are prisoners of war, what else can you do? If I had your men I would send them to prison.'" In another incident, Sherman refused to accept Union prisoners from Andersonville in a prisoner exchange because they were too ill or wounded to fight.

Kennett's descriptions of Sherman's progress were very meaningful to me as a native of the state. Non-Georgians might get bogged down a bit in the geography, and this is one of the book's weaknesses, but a minor one. There are two maps included, but as neither shows a complete map of the state some readers might well be bewildered. The Andersonville prison played an important role as at least a potential target but appears on neither map. It was not liberated during Sherman's Georgia campaign, and had it been shown on the map its distance from Sherman's path would have been immediately clear. The only other flaw is the paucity of information on black Georgians and how the campaign affected them. Kennett addresses this, relating that most information on their situation is related by whites and is mostly stereotypical. He provides one touching conversation passed along from Joel Chandler Harris (author of the Uncle Remus/Brer Rabbit tales): "...an old black couple he found in a corner of fence, not far from the road Sherman's army had just passed: 'Who is that lying there?' asked Joe. 'It my old man, suh.' 'What is the matter with him?' 'He dead, suh, But bless God he died free.'"

Also extraordinary is the comradeship that grew between members of the opposing sides whenever contact was allowed. Animosity between combatants is expected, but over and over Kennett relates encounters between the two armies, or between Union soldiers and Southern civilians that are remarkable in that so many concerned seemed able to view their opposite number as a fellow human rather than an evil enemy. Southerners now know only the destruction Sherman's forces brought, emptying and burning Atlanta and many other towns; but at the time Sherman's actions were seen at least by some as a reasonable response to the Confederates' burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA is full of fascinating information: North Georgia, mostly populated by poor white farmers who didn't own slaves, was largely loyalist and opposed succession; Governor Joe Brown (after the war a US Senator!) supported States' Rights to the extent that he clashed repeatedly with Confederate President Jefferson Davis; Sherman's forces faced the most opposition and most difficult fighting in primarily loyalist North Georgia; after the burning of Atlanta Sherman was able to move through Georgia with very little fighting at all; and rather than "bushwacking" Sherman's forces and provoking a fight with vastly superior forces, most Georgians preferred to let him move quickly through their land.

The Civil War buff, fans of War Histories and Southern History and Georgians in general will all find much of interest in Marching Through Georgia. My knowledge of my home state has been immeasurably improved, and I am looking forward to reading Kennett's biography, SHERMAN.

Lee Kennett is an excellent historian who combines exhaustive research with a splendid narrative pace in his "Marching Through Georgia."

This is not a book about Sherman's military campaign through the Peach State. The battles and maneuvers provide only the backdrop. The story is of the common soldiers who fought with and against Sherman and the citizens of Georgia who endured both armies during 1864.

The author makes heavy use of diaries and first person accounts. He focuses on several perspectives across the book: life in the trenches, on the battlefield, camp life, foraging, life on the March to the Sea, life in besieged and occupied Atlanta, and the life of Georgia's black and white citizens.

What is rendered is an exciting account of what these people experienced during these seminal months in their lives and the life of their country'. Kennett brings it all together as a story -- never falling into the trap of some authors of this genre of over repeating diary entries and accounts in a redundant attempt to be thorough. He achieves just the right mix of memoir and story to keep his book moving along at a good clip.

This book will fascinate and educate.

If you're looking for a tactical study of Sherman's Atlanta campaign, this isn't it. If you're looking to delve into the human aspects of a massive Civil War campaign, this definitely is it. If you're looking for a well written book of interest to a broad range of readers, this is also it. No need to be a "buff" to enjoy Kennett's fast paced work that is full of interesting stories and insights into a broad range of topics. His writing keeps the pages turning. It is a unique combination of "beach" book and reference. I have two quibbles with Kennett's writing and they are technical: 1) Stop separating full sentences with semi-colons. Use periods. It aids in reading. 2) Stop using French terms where they aren't necessary or translate them. The book is too good for that to matter much.

Lee Kennett's Marching Through Georgia could easily be mistaken for a "popular history", the kind of work that scholars will occasionally endorse, but usually dismiss. Marching Through Georgia is certainly as readable as any so-called popular history but this work is a gem of historical scholarship, to be compared with the studies of such authors as Bell Irvin Wiley, James Robertson, Reid Mitchell, and Earl Hess. The number of primary sources consulted is positively staggering. Kennett understands, and communicates the character of Civil War soldiers and soldiering in the Western Armies (North and South) better than any author I've ever encountered with the possible exception of Larry Daniel. An outstanding book!

This is as complete an analysis of General Sherman's Georgia Campaign, his famous March to the Sea, as you will ever read. Starting in Dalton and ending in Savannah, the total event is here: The participants, the politics, the strategy, the horror and, most importantly, the impact.

Stating that he would make Georgia howl, Sherman proceeded to do just that. In the process he demonstrated not only to the North but also to the South that this war was over. Southern armies were no longer contending against Northern aggression. They were swamped by it. They could no longer contain this conflict.

Sherman's March is the signal event of the War. It is unique. It was not fought against an enemy army. It was not fought to achieve a strategic position. It was not fought to out flank or surprise. It was fought to destroy an enemy's heart and soul, against an enemy's will to resist. And it succeeded admirably.

The March demonstrated beyond a doubt the fundamental weakness of the South, the uncontestable dominance of the North and the complete futility of further resistance. It spelled defeat more accurately than any other event in the War's four year history. It demonstrated that the South could no longer defend itself, that they couldn't do a thing about it. It demonstrated that the South was whipped.

This is an excellent account of what transpired.

Lee Kennett brought the March through Georgia to life with letters by the men in Sherman's Western Army and the civilians in the area. This book even brings some of the Southern conceptions about what had taken place to be more along the lines of true stories being twisted to a point where the truth couldn't be found. Certainly there is some truth to some of the stories, some of the things that would be blamed on Union soldiers was the work of Wheeler's Cavalry and by some Civilians themselves.

This book did very well to keep a neutral tone and to let the reader come up with their own decision on whose side they would agree with, seeing as my father says there is no such thing to stay absolutely neutral on Civil War topics... and he appears to be right... to a degree. I would say this is a must on the shelves of any Civil War Historian or buff.

A very enjoyable book about Sherman's march through Geaorgia. A story of personal experiences of soldiers and civilians of the time.

Lee Kennett has made a major contribution to the literature of "The March." He has drawn from a huge number of little known sources; private correspondence, diaries,and eyewitness accounts. The book has a good "feel" of the history of the period. His writing style is informal and allows the reader to see the events as if through the eyes of the participants.
I have researched & written extensively on the history of Milledgeville, Georgia and can say that Kennett covered the Milledgeville period as well as it has been covered by anyone.

Hugh T. Harrington
author of: "Civil War Milledgeville, Tales From the Confederate Capital of Georgia," "Remembering Milledgeville, Historic Tales From Georgia's Antebellum Capital" and "More Milledgeville Memories."

Lee Kennett is an excellent historian who combines exhaustive research with a splendid narrative pace in his "Marching Through Georgia."

This is not a book about Sherman's military campaign through the Peach State. The battles and maneuvers provide only the backdrop. The story is of the common soldiers who fought with and against Sherman and the citizens of Georgia who endured both armies during 1864.

The author makes heavy use of diaries and first person accounts. He focuses on several perspectives across the book: life in the trenches, on the battlefield, camp life, foraging, life on the March to the Sea, life in besieged and occupied Atlanta, and the life of Georgia's black and white citizens.

What is rendered is an exciting account of what these people experienced during these seminal months in their lives and the life of their country. Kennett brings it all together as a story -- never falling into the trap of some authors of this genre of over repeating diary entries and accounts in a redundant attempt to be thorough. He achieves just the right mix of memoir and story to keep his book moving along at a good clip.

This book will fascinate and educate.

This was a well researched and well written book about Sherman's campaign in Georgia. Lots of details are included, and the reader gets a real sense for what it was like to be a common person (whether in the ranks or otherwise) during this epic campaign. Highly recommend the book!