I have found several sources that say the same thing.
Sherman's intent was to cross the PeeDee, then cross the Lumber, and then reach Fayetteville and the Cape Fear River.
Sherman's intent was to cross the PeeDee, then cross the Lumber, and then reach Fayetteville and the Cape Fear River. Either there or somewhere beyond, he'd reestablish supply lines for the final push which he hoped would end the war.
Fayetteville, N.C. and it's railroad complex that provided a supply link with northern North Carolina. Here's a informative video from Civil War Trails that gives an overview of what was happening in the Fayetteville area in those early days of March 1865 after Sherman's Corps had all crossed the Pee Dee:
Then came the astounding news. Sherman wasn't going to attack Charleston, after all.
He was going to attack Cheraw!
He intended to cross the Pee Dee River at Cheraw and ravage North Carolina and then Virginia.
1865 General William T. Sherman was out to make Cheraw, South Carolina pay for what it had done.
He had turned from Savannah and marched toward Columbia, the capital at mid-state. That put him on a direct path to my hometown, 70 miles away. He intended to cross the Pee Dee River at Cheraw and ravage North Carolina and then Virginia.
Edit - Sherman did go through Cheraw, but Cheraw is on the west side of the Pee Dee, so he went through Cheraw before he crossed the Pee Dee, not after.