A reason why no one is really sure !!!!!!

whitworth

2nd Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 18, 2005
"No one is really sure why Sherman skipped Augusta on his way to and from the sea, though the number of Confederate soldiers placed to defend Augusta is one theory."

Actually, no one in the Confederacy would readily admit that Sherman was a genius at warfare and far outwitted the confederacy. 150 years later and the neo-confederates still can't admit it. Sherman's brillant tactics were followed and used by the U.S. Navy and Marines in the island hopping campaigns of WWII. Sherman left the Confederate troops alone in Macon, Augusta, and Charleston. He merely reduced the supplies in these areas to nothing, not by destroying them, but by cutting the rail lines from these places to Alabama and Lee in Virginia.

Cutting the rail lines at Branchville, SC, totally unknown to virtually all students of Civil War, Sherman cut the lines to Charleston and north to Virginia and R.E. Lee. Cutting the line was the same as attacking Augusta and losing supplies and troops in battle. Cutting the railroad line, left Augusta hanging in the air. They had gunpowder; they had no way of getting it to Alabama, Charleston and Virginia. So brilliant was Sherman.



RICHMOND, VA., December 19, 1864.
General R. E. LEE,
Petersburg, Va.:
The following dispatch just received from General Beauregard.

SAVANNAH, December 18, 1864.
(Via Hardeeville.)
General Sherman demanded the surrender of Savannah yesterday of General
Hardee, which was refused. The loss of Savannah will be followed by that of the railroad from Augusta to Charleston, and soon after of Charleston itself.

JEFF’N DAVIS.
 
"No one is really sure why Sherman skipped Augusta on his way to and from the sea, though the number of Confederate soldiers placed to defend Augusta is one theory."
We don't have a lengthy treatise written by Sherman explaing why he skipped Augusta, but his actions clearly show his intentions.

He did pretty much the same at Macon and throughout the March: Tie up the forces available, then go somewhere else, tear up the rails, and leave 'em useless.

I believe you're quite right in noting that he avoided, as much as possible, doing battle when the same result could be achieved by tearing up rails.​
 
I've long thought Sherman doesn't get as much credit for being a very forward thinking military commander. Of course, I also believe Grant and Sheridan recieve far too much credit.
 
Simply put, Sherman didn't need to attack every target of opportunity...he had a lot of troops to shuffle to Savanna, their up-coming supply base. Hood attacking the supply route to Dalton was a big factor in getting Sherman to decide which course. All he needed to do was do as much damage to Georgia, and the moral of the Confederate forces and people, on the way to his re-supplying his army.

Kevin Dally
 
Growing up there was a story about why he left Augusta alone. I do not remember it compleatly but it had to do with a love interest that lived there. Anyone else ever heard something similar?
 
It's all hindsight, but if Sherman had not made The March, he'd have been just another army commander. But he did, and history recognizes that with mixed emotions.

We can't know by how many months the March shortened the war. For sure, it did, but by how much is speculative.

When Sherman was done with his March, the citizenry of the Confederacy knew that the War was over. Lee's surrender was anticlimactic.
 
It's all hindsight, but if Sherman had not made The March, he'd have been just another army commander. But he did, and history recognizes that with mixed emotions.

We can't know by how many months the March shortened the war. For sure, it did, but by how much is speculative.

When Sherman was done with his March, the citizenry of the Confederacy knew that the War was over. Lee's surrender was anticlimactic.
 
Growing up there was a story about why he left Augusta alone. I do not remember it compleatly but it had to do with a love interest that lived there. Anyone else ever heard something similar?
I've read it had to do with some financial matter.
 
I have read of 8 rounds per man during the retreat to Appomattox.

In any event, the AoNV was finished. Most of the Rebs who surrendered knew it. It is to their credit that, had Lee said the word, they would have taken their 8 rounds and made the most of it.
 
Tin Cup is pretty close to the reason, I believe. Sherman said in his memoirs that both Augusta and Macon were left alone because they did have both troops and home guard, and he didn't want any major battles. By passing between them he kept the Confederates on guard - and he did a couple clever feints with the two wings of his army to promote the idea that Howard was headed for Augusta and Slocum for Macon. So, the Confederates could not abandon these two places. Augusta had as much manufacturing and military supplies as Atlanta but, once the railroads were destroyed, that arsensal was rendered unavailable to the Confederate troops. He also sent Kilpatrick to do some battling at Augusta and he got whipped before he got there, but the raid served its purpose of keeping rebel troops out of his way. Another very good reason Sherman didn't attack Augusta was the probability of that garrison reorganizing in his front. By leaving it alone, the troops had to stay put. He did a good job of making them think he would attack but not doing so, thereby eliminating obstacles in his front.
 
I've read it had to do with some financial matter.
Typical. Of course, it had nothing to do with being an army commander. It had to be some selfish motivation ... a love interest or a financial consideration.

Can we at least talk about the Civil War with character assassination? Geez!
 
I've read it had to do with some financial matter.
Typical. Of course, it had nothing to do with being an army commander. It had to be some selfish motivation ... a love interest or a financial consideration.

Can we at least talk about the Civil War without character assassination? Geez!
 
Tin Cup is pretty close to the reason, I believe. Sherman said in his memoirs that both Augusta and Macon were left alone because they did have both troops and home guard, and he didn't want any major battles. By passing between them he kept the Confederates on guard - and he did a couple clever feints with the two wings of his army to promote the idea that Howard was headed for Augusta and Slocum for Macon. So, the Confederates could not abandon these two places. Augusta had as much manufacturing and military supplies as Atlanta but, once the railroads were destroyed, that arsensal was rendered unavailable to the Confederate troops. He also sent Kilpatrick to do some battling at Augusta and he got whipped before he got there, but the raid served its purpose of keeping rebel troops out of his way. Another very good reason Sherman didn't attack Augusta was the probability of that garrison reorganizing in his front. By leaving it alone, the troops had to stay put. He did a good job of making them think he would attack but not doing so, thereby eliminating obstacles in his front.
Tin Cup is spot on. Only a fool gets into fights when he can send the opposition yapping after a thrown stick.

The ideal of field maneuvers is to get the opposition to leave its position without having to expend troops. Sherman did that. Several times. Often.

So he wasn't a Wellington or a Napoleon ... he gained enemy territory by maneuvering them out of it. Usually. Or simply, in several cases, leaving them in strong defense of it and waving goodbye while trashing their connection to the Confederacy.
 
Odd, as I read during the Appomattox campaign that there weren't even enough rifles in Lee's ANV to go around, let alone powder.
The reason wy there wasn't enough rifles and ammunition at Appomattox was that the fully equipped soldiers who left the Richmond/Petersburg lines threw them away. Federals corduroyed the roads with discarded rifles. It was not a logistical problem but a morale problem with a whipped army.
 
By the way, Sherman knew Augusta inside and out. As a lieutenant about 20 years earlier he'd been sent on a mission to map Georgia. While in Augusta he was proudly shown all around by the city dignitaries - he knew everything about the place from cotton to peanuts, and made several maps. It would definitely have gone down had he decided to take it - it didn't suit his purpose, would have hampered it instead.
 
Tin Cup is pretty close to the reason, I believe. Sherman said in his memoirs that both Augusta and Macon were left alone because they did have both troops and home guard, and he didn't want any major battles. By passing between them he kept the Confederates on guard - and he did a couple clever feints with the two wings of his army to promote the idea that Howard was headed for Augusta and Slocum for Macon. So, the Confederates could not abandon these two places. Augusta had as much manufacturing and military supplies as Atlanta but, once the railroads were destroyed, that arsensal was rendered unavailable to the Confederate troops. He also sent Kilpatrick to do some battling at Augusta and he got whipped before he got there, but the raid served its purpose of keeping rebel troops out of his way. Another very good reason Sherman didn't attack Augusta was the probability of that garrison reorganizing in his front. By leaving it alone, the troops had to stay put. He did a good job of making them think he would attack but not doing so, thereby eliminating obstacles in his front.
Tin Cup is spot on. Only a fool gets into fights when he can send the opposition yapping after a thrown stick.

The ideal of field maneuvers is to get the opposition to leave its position without having to expend troops. Sherman did that. Several times. Often.
 
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